The Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program is a municipal electricity aggregation, which is a kind of group electricity buying program.
Typically, your electric utility, National Grid, provides two sets of services to you:
But in Massachusetts, consumers actually have three options for electricity supply:
For a brief overview of the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program, click here. (PDF)
The Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program provides three electricity supply choices, all of which provide more of your electricity supply from renewable sources, stable electricity supply prices that will not change for the contract term, and consumer protections like the ability to leave anytime with no fee or penalty. Learn more about program benefits.
City Council voted to pursue aggregation on June 20, 2017. After a period of state regulatory review and approval, the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program launched with February 2020 meter reads.
The City of Worcester has signed a contract with Direct Energy to supply electricity to Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program participants until December 2027 meter reads. The City intends to sign a new electricity supply contract when the current contract ends. The electricity supplier and renewable energy content may change, and the price may be higher or lower than the current price. You will continue in the same program option at the new price unless you inform the program otherwise. The City will provide advance notice of any such changes, and you will be free to opt out or change your option before the changes take effect. However, if the City decides the program is not beneficial to the community, it is free to cancel the program at the end of the current electricity supply contract and return all participants to National Grid’s Basic Service.
Municipal electricity aggregation was enabled by the Massachusetts Restructuring Act of 1997 (Chapter 164, Section 134), which allows local municipal governments to aggregate the electricity supply loads of the electricity consumers within their geographic boundaries in order to negotiate more favorable terms with an electricity supplier.
State law requires aggregations to use an automatic enrollment model. Worcester did not have a choice as to whether the program would be opt in or opt out.
However, participation is never required. You have the option to opt out before being automatically enrolled, or you may try the program and leave later. There is never any fee or penalty to opt out, and you may do so at any time.
For all three options, the renewable energy added voluntarily comes from new renewable energy projects in the New England region (MA Class I RECs). Most of the voluntary renewable energy comes from wind energy sources. Wind is a dominant renewable energy source in New England in terms of its generation capacity.
The electricity purchased from renewable and/or clean electricity sources to meet state requirements comes from a variety of sources. Learn about the state requirements.
If you have received a notice of automatic enrollment from the City, you do not need to take any action. Your account will be automatically enrolled after the opt-out deadline listed in the notice. View the most recent notice of automatic enrollment.
If you have not received a notice of automatic enrollment, you may request enrollment.
Visit the Participating page for more information.
To choose Worcester 100% Green or Worcester Basic Green, complete the online form or call customer support at 833-926-1207.
Participation is open to all metered electricity accounts in Worcester.
For more details, please see the Participating page.
Yes, however if you opt out of the program and want to re-enroll, you are not guaranteed the program price when you re-enroll. There’s a possibility that you will be charged a higher market price instead of the program price. If the program’s electricity supplier decides to charge market pricing, you will be notified before enrollment and can decide then whether to continue with enrollment or not.
You will see two changes on your National Grid electric bill as a result of participating in the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program:
Additionally, the amount of your electricity supply from renewable sources will increase.
Otherwise, everything else will remain the same. You will remain a customer of National Grid because they are Worcester’s only electric utility. National Grid will continue to deliver your electricity, and their delivery charges will appear under the Delivery Services section of your bill. You will continue to receive your electric bill from National Grid, you will continue to pay National Grid, and you will continue to call National Grid if the power goes out.
If you are eligible for any discounts from National Grid, such as a low-income discount or fuel assistance, those discounts will be unaffected by your participation in the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program.
The Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program will be integrated into your existing National Grid electric bill. You will not receive a separate bill from the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program.
National Grid continues to send your bill, and you continue to pay them using whatever method you have set up with them.
To see what your electric bill will look like, view an example bill.
The Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program will appear as your electricity supplier under the Supply Services section on your National Grid bill, and your Electricity Supply price will reflect the program option you are enrolled in. View an example National Grid bill to see where the program and price appear on your bill.
No. There will be no change in the consistency or reliability of the electricity coming into your home or business as a result of participating in the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program.
National Grid remains responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of electricity in Worcester. Further, they have no preference whether they are your electricity supplier or you choose another supplier. National Grid does not profit from the Supply Services section of your bill. They make their profit from the Delivery Services section.
Participating in the program means that more of the electricity that is put onto the grid on your behalf will come from renewable sources, but this does not change the overall reliability of the electricity on the grid.
Yes. If you are participating in community solar, or if you are receiving net metering credits or incentive payments for electricity produced by solar panels on your property, you will continue to receive your credits or incentive payments as a participant in the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program.
Further, there will be no change in how they are calculated. Their calculation is not connected to your electricity supply price.
However, you could see a benefit. If your electricity supply charge is lower because the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program price is lower than National Grid’s Basic Service price, the credits or incentive payments could go further in offsetting that charge.
Please note, however, that because National Grid’s Basic Service prices change and their future prices are not known, savings compared with National Grid can never be guaranteed.
No. National Grid will not allow you to participate in both.
If you enroll in the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program, your account will no longer be enrolled in National Grid’s GreenUp program, and you will start receiving renewable electricity supply via the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program instead.
Program prices are available on the Prices page.
To see how much your monthly supply charge will be, use the calculator.
Maybe! According to a report by UMass Amherst, the majority of communities with aggregation programs do see some savings compared with National Grid’s Basic Service prices.
However, the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program offers long-term fixed prices that will not change for the contract term, while National Grid’s prices change every 6 months or less. As a result, savings compared with National Grid can never be guaranteed.
If you are not happy with the program, you are always free to leave the program at any time with no fee or penalty.
No. National Grid’s Budget Plan will continue to apply to your total bill.
If you are eligible for any discounts, including a low-income discount or fuel assistance, you will continue to receive that discount with no change.
No. The delivery charges on your electric bill are not impacted by whether or not you participate in the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Municipal Aggregation Program. These charges are regulated.
