GREENFIELD — The New Year will bring a 30 percent rate drop for Greenfield Light & Power electricity customers.
According to a news release from the town, rates will drop to 8.041 cents per kilowatt hour beginning in January, and Greenfield Light & Power will continue to offer the community 100 percent green electricity. These lower rates are the result of a new 12-month contract for electric supply between Greenfield Light & Power and Public Power LLC.
The lower rates will take effect with the customers’ first meter read after Jan. 1 and participants will see the new rate on their February Eversource bill. The average residential usage is 600 kilowatt hours per month, and will result in a savings of just over $20 per month. The new prices apply to all rate classes, including residential, small commercial and medium and large commercial accounts.
Eversource’s residential basic service rate will be 9.126 cents per kilowatt hour starting in January. The Greenfield Light & Power rate is a savings of just under 12 percent for residential customers over Eversource’s Basic Service. Savings for small commercial and large commercial are 14 percent and 21 percent over Eversource’s expected winter rates of 9.331 centers per kilowatt hour and 10.165 cents per kilowatt hour, respectively.
Beginning in January, residents who opened a new Eversource account since the Greenfield Light & Power program started in January 2015 will automatically be enrolled and start receiving their electricity at 8.041 cents per kilowatt hour unless they choose to opt out. These residents will receive a notification letter in the mail that will explain how they can opt out or choose the greener electricity option.
Going forward, all new Eversource Basic Service customers will likewise be automatically enrolled in the Greenfield Light & Power program. If you opted out in the past, or do not use Eversource as your supplier, you can opt-in by calling Public Power at 800-830-2944 and telling them you want to join Greenfield Light and Power. More details are available at masspowerchoice.com/greenfield and customer support is available by email at greenfield@masspowerchoice.com or by calling 844-483-5004.
“I am very pleased to announced such an attractive rate for all Greenfield electricity customers, both residential and commercial. We are excited to extend the savings to those new Eversource customers who have opened accounts since January 2015,” Mayor William Martin said in the release. “Greenfield Light & Power is committed to supplying green electricity at a cost savings. Our current offer is an especially competitive alternative for commercial customers and we look forward to expanding the program over the next year.”
The Greenfield Light & Power program is municipal energy aggregation. By bulk purchasing electricity for the entire community through this program, Greenfield is working to make electricity costs more predictable and more stable, bring 100 percent green energy to town and give participants more control over the price and environmental impact of the electricity they use.
The Greenfield Light & Power Standard Option is made up of just under 80 percent wind power and just over 20 percent solar and other renewable energy sources.
“In the first two years of the program, Greenfield’s use of 100 percent green power has reduced the whole community’s carbon footprint by 32,600 tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of removing more than 6,200 vehicles from the road for one year,” Greenfield Director of Energy and Sustainability Carole Collins said in the release.
The new rates will be in effect through January 2018.