Acton Power Choice is a municipal electricity aggregation, which is a type of group electricity buying program.
Typically, your electric utility, Eversource, provides two sets of services to you:
But in Massachusetts, consumers actually have three options for electricity supply:
Acton Power Choice provides two electricity supply choices, including the option to purchase 100% of your electricity from new renewable Northeast resources, stable electricity supply prices, and consumer protections. Learn more about program benefits.
Municipal aggregation was approved at the Town Meeting on April 4, 2016. After a period of state regulatory review and approval, Acton Power Choice launched with September 2017 meter reads.
The Town of Acton has contracted with First Point Power to supply electricity to Acton Power Choice participants until December 2029. The Town intends to sign a new electricity supply contract when the upcoming 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 Town 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 Town decides the program is not beneficial to the community, it is free to cancel the program at the end of the upcoming electricity supply contract and return all participants to Eversource’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. Acton 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. Opt out.
Acton Power Choice previously included more renewable energy than was required by state law in its default option, Acton Power Choice Standard. The goal was to build demand for renewable energy, which would drive the development of new renewable energy projects. However, it has now become difficult to build new renewable energy projects because of changes at the federal level. With higher demand no longer able to drive the construction of new projects, the Town cannot justify the extra cost to participants. As a result, Acton Power Choice Standard is being retired in December 2026. Learn more.
If you have received a notice of automatic enrollment from the Town, 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 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.
If you have Eversource’s Basic Service, yes.*
If you did not sign a private electricity supply contract, you have Eversource’s Basic Service. New accounts on Basic Service are eligible for automatic enrollment. The automatic enrollment process happens on a roughly quarterly basis throughout the year. All similar programs throughout the state use an automatic enrollment model, but you are free to opt out before being automatically enrolled. You will receive a notification from the Town in the mail in advance. See the notice of automatic enrollment.
* Please note: If you have asked Eversource to place a supplier block on your account, you will not be eligible for automatic enrollment, even if you have Eversource’s Basic Service.
If you have a private electricity supply contract, no.
If you signed a private electricity supply contract, your account will not be eligible for automatic enrollment, but you can request enrollment online or by contacting customer support with our program consultants. (Restrictions apply for large business accounts.) We recommend that you carefully check the terms and conditions of your supplier agreement. Your ability to terminate your agreement with your supplier may be restricted.
To choose Acton Power Choice Green, complete the online form or call 844-379-9933. Be sure to have an Eversource electric bill with you when you fill out the form or call, as you’ll need information from your bill to make the request.
Participation is open to all metered electricity accounts in Acton.
For more details, please see the Participating page.
Yes, however, if you opt out and then wish to re-enroll in the program, you are not guaranteed the program price when you re-enroll. The electricity supplier is entitled to charge you a market price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract, which may be higher. 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 Eversource electric bill as a result of participating in Acton Power Choice:
Additionally, the amount of electricity you receive from renewable sources will increase if you are enrolled in Acton Power Choice Green.
Otherwise, everything else will remain the same. You will continue to receive your electric bill from Eversource, you will continue to pay Eversource using whatever method you have set up with them, and you will continue to call Eversource if the power goes out.
If you are eligible for any discounts from Eversource, such as a low-income discount, fuel assistance, or a heat pump rate, those discounts will be unaffected by your participation in Acton Power Choice.
If you have Eversource’s Budget Billing, it will continue to apply to your total bill.
Acton Power Choice will be integrated into your existing Eversource electric bill. You will not receive any additional bills because of participating in Acton Power Choice.
Eversource 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 program will appear on your Eversource electric bill, and your Generation Service Charge will reflect the program option you are enrolled in. View an example Eversource 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 Acton Power Choice.
Eversource remains responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of electricity in Acton. Further, they have no preference whether they are your electricity supplier or you choose another supplier. Eversource does not profit from the supply portion of your bill. They make their profit from the delivery portion.
If you participate in Acton Power Choice Green, it means 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 Acton Power Choice.
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 Acton Power Choice price is lower than Eversource’s Basic Service price, the credits or incentive payments could go further in offsetting that charge.
Please note, however, that because Eversource’s Basic Service prices change and their future prices are not known, savings compared with Eversource can never be guaranteed.
Tax-exempt accounts that wish to maintain their tax-exempt status in Acton Power Choice must submit tax-exemption documentation to the program’s electricity supplier.
This means that tax-exemption documentation must be submitted each time the program’s electricity supplier changes.
The program’s electricity supplier is required by the State of Massachusetts to have valid tax-exemption documentation on hand for all tax-exempt accounts.
You may have submitted tax-exemption documentation to Eversource already, but Eversource does not share this documentation with the program’s electricity supplier. It is the customer’s responsibility to submit this documentation.
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 Eversource’s Basic Service prices.
However, Acton Power Choice offers long-term fixed prices, while Eversource’s prices change every 6 months or less. As a result, future 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.
No. 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.
If you have Eversource’s Budget Billing, it will continue to apply to your total bill.
No. Acton Power Choice has no impact on Eversource’s heat pump rate. The heat pump rate impacts the delivery portion of your bill. Acton Power Choice impacts the supply portion of your bill.
No. The delivery portion of your electric bill is not impacted by whether or not you participate in Acton Power Choice. These charges are regulated.
