Committee advances 20-year municipal net metering deal that would cut city electricity bills by roughly 15%

City energy staff and a Colonial Power representative briefed the Budget & Finance Committee on a proposed 20-year net metering agreement that would supply municipal buildings such as City Hall, the water treatment plant and the public library with renewable generation credits and a guaranteed discount.

Simon Perra, the city's supervisor of energy projects, said the proposal (facilitated by Colonial Power and offered by New Leaf Energy/Agilitas Energy) would procure about 14,000,000 kilowatt-hours over two decades. Mark Cabadano of Colonial Power described the deal as a "rich net metering deal" that provides a 15% discount off municipal electricity bills and estimated the city could save roughly $12 million over 20 years.

Councilors pressed for clarity on the relationship between this municipal net metering arrangement and the city's residential community-choice aggregation program. Cabadano and Perra explained the two are separate: the municipal net metering contract covers city accounts only and provides a percentage discount off the city's total municipal bill; the city's residential aggregation (run by Colonial) has a separate aggregation rate (13.2 cents per kWh through November 2027) that protects residential customers from an anticipated National Grid increase.

After questions about the supply rate, delivery charges and whether the discount depended on the underlying supply contract, the committee voted to send the net metering item to the full council with a favorable recommendation.