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Stoddard committee questions CCP and CPCNH on joining community power; follow-ups set
Summary
At a Jan. 6 meeting, Stoddard's Community Power Committee questioned Cheshire Community Power (CCP) and Community Power Coalition NH (CPCNH) about joining, exit rules, reserve/adder handling, timelines and representation; representatives advised a roughly nine-month launch window and committed follow-ups on withdrawal timing and liability.
The Stoddard Community Power Committee met Jan. 6 at Gould House to question representatives from Cheshire Community Power and the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire about how the town would join, leave, and govern a community power program.
Chair Herb Healy opened the session and said the committee would ask CCP and CPCNH questions to determine which organization best meets Stoddard's needs if the town chooses to elect Community Power. Guests Jackson Kaspari of CPCNH and Terry Clark of CCP explained exit options, reserve funds, membership roles and timelines.
Kaspari and Clark said there are three exit paths: an individual ratepayer can opt out and return to the default utility (Eversource) within one billing cycle; the town acting as a ratepayer can also revert quickly; and a full town-plus-ratepayer program withdrawal requires cost-sharing calculations and can take up to a procurement/buying cycle (generally under six months for a small load such as Stoddard's). They told the committee secondary reserve funds funded by a local "adder" (CCP's example adder is currently one-third of a cent) are allocated by town and would be returned to a town that left the program, while primary operational reserves remain with the coalition. The presenters said there are no punitive costs for a town withdrawing from either CCP or CPCNH.
Committee members asked about participation obligations. The presenters said towns have minimal administrative work: each town is asked to appoint a resident representative (selected by the board of selectmen) who votes on rates and projects; at CCP each town has one vote regardless of size, while CPCNH membership involves a 20-member board and gives each member a representative and an alternate and the ability to participate in committees and vote for board seats.
On timing and market competitiveness, presenters advised Stoddard to plan roughly a nine-month timeline to join, though small-load towns may sometimes join sooner. They cautioned that towns should avoid launching during an unfavorable rate-setting cycle; at the time of the meeting Eversource's default rate was quoted at 8.929 and CCP's default at 8.900, narrowing the margin for savings. CPCNH representatives emphasized that Community Power can add value beyond immediate rate savings through rate stability, product choice and discretionary project funds, and noted CPCNH has reported $25 million in customer savings to date.
The committee requested follow-ups: Jackson Kaspari agreed to have CPCNH data experts model a withdrawal timeline and cost scenario tailored to Stoddard's load, and Terry Clark said he would consult CCP counsel about potential town liability (he expected none but would confirm). The committee scheduled an informational update to the Board of Selectmen for Jan. 13 and a recommendation meeting for Jan. 27.
Votes at a glance: The committee approved the Dec. 10, 2024 minutes (motion by Bob Englund; seconded by Jason Kovarik; passed unanimously) and later adjourned at 9:53 p.m. on a motion by Bob Maden, seconded by Don McCormick (passed unanimously).
The committee recorded several outstanding items for the recommendation packet, including CPCNH/CCP statistics, details on town adder account setup and the status of Bradford net metering work being handled by CPCNH. Members said they will incorporate the presenters' follow-ups before the Jan. 27 recommendation to the Board of Selectmen.
