How aggregation works

Cambridge Community Electricity is a municipal electricity aggregation, which is a kind of group electricity buying program for a city or town.

  • Cambridge buys electricity from an electricity supplier that it chooses.
  • You receive a new price for the electricity supply charge on your Eversource electric bill.
  • Eversource remains Cambridge’s electric utility and continues to deliver your electricity, address power outages, and handle all billing as it does now.

Aggregation is possible because in Massachusetts we can choose our electricity supplier, which is the company that puts electricity on the grid for us. But we have no choice in our electric delivery utility.

Municipal electricity aggregation was enabled by the Massachusetts Restructuring Act of 1997 (Chapter 164, Section 134) and is regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

Before aggregation

Before an aggregation launches, most customers have Eversource’s Basic Service. This means Eversource is supplying (buying) your electricity in addition to delivering it, and Eversource uses their Basic Service price to calculate the Supply charge on your bill. You are placed on Eversource’s Basic Service when you first open your account, and you can always go back to it.

Eversource’s Basic Service prices change every 6 months or less.

Diagram describing how supply and delivery works without the Cambridge Community Electricity Program. Detailed description above after the header Before aggregation.

With an aggregation in place

With an aggregation, the electricity supplier chosen by Cambridge, which is Direct Energy, supplies your electricity. But Eversource continues to deliver your electricity without interruption. Eversource uses the price provided by the supplier to calculate the electricity supply charge on your bill instead of their Basic Service price. Cambridge Community Electricity prices are fixed until January 2029.

Diagram describing how delivery and supply works with Greenfield Light and Power. Detailed description above after the header With an aggregation in place.

Your primary relationship for electricity remains with Eversource:

  • You continue to call Eversource if you lose power.
  • You will continue to receive one bill from Eversource. This is the only electric bill you will receive as a participant in Cambridge Community Electricity.
  • You continue to send bill payments to Eversource.

If you are eligible for a low-income discount or fuel assistance, you continue to receive that benefit.

If you have Eversource’s Budget Billing, it will continue to apply to your whole bill.

If you are participating in community solar, or 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 Cambridge Community Electricity. Further, there will be no change in how they are calculated. Their calculation is not connected to your electricity supply price.

 

Will you save money?

Maybe! According to a report by UMass Amherst, the majority of communities with aggregation programs do see some savings compared with their Eversource’s Basic Service prices. Since program launch, Cambridge Community Electricity participants have saved more than $95 million compared with Eversource’s prices.

However, Cambridge Community Electricity offers long-term fixed prices, while Eversource’s prices change every 6 months or less. As a result, savings compared with Eversource 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.

Learn more about aggregation

Example Eversource bill
Participating
Renewable energy