How aggregation works

Municipal electricity aggregation is a form of group electricity purchasing. Electricity aggregation replaces your electricity supplier, and it changes the price that your electric utility (National Grid or Eversource) uses to calculate the Supply Charges portion of your electric bill. In addition, aggregation can increase the amount of renewable energy in your electricity supply. But electricity aggregation does not replace National Grid or Eversource as your electric utility.

Here’s how it works:

Without Bellingham Power Choice

(Unless you already have a contract with an electricity supplier)

Typically, your electric utility (National Grid or Eversource) provides two services to you as an electricity customer, and your electric bill includes charges for both of these services:

Electricity delivery

Your utility’s primary role is as an electricity delivery company. They deliver electricity to you, maintain the poles and wires, and address power outages. They charge you for these services in the Delivery Charges portion of your electric bill.

Electricity supply

Your utility can also provide a second service, which is as an electricity supplier. They purchase electricity on your behalf and charge you in the Supply Charges portion of your electric bill for the amount you use. When your electric utility (National Grid or Eversource) is your electricity supplier, you have what’s called Basic Service. When you first open your electricity account, you are placed on Basic Service.

Diagram describing how delivery and supply works without Bellingham Power Choice. Detailed description above after the header Without Bellingham Power Choice.

Your utility’s fixed Basic Service prices change seasonally, every 6 months for residential and commercial/small business customers and every 3 months for industrial/large business customers, and their future prices are not known.

With Bellingham Power Choice

In an electricity aggregation like Bellingham Power Choice, your electric utility (National Grid or Eversource) continues to deliver your electricity and you continue to call them when the power goes out, but you no longer have their Basic Service for the supply portion of your electric bill. Instead, the Town of Bellingham uses the group purchasing power of the community to negotiate a contract with an electricity supplier on behalf of its residents and businesses and to determine the price of the community’s electricity supply and whether any additional renewable electricity is included. If you participate in Bellingham Power Choice, National Grid and Eversource use the Bellingham Power Choice price to calculate the Supply Charges portion of your electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

Diagram describing how delivery and supply works with Bellingham Power Choice. Detailed description above after the header With Bellingham Power Choice.

The Bellingham Power Choice price is a fixed long-term price that does not change seasonally.

What changes with the program

If you participate, you will see two changes on your electric bill beginning the month after you are enrolled:

Bellingham’s electricity supplier, NextEra Energy, will be listed on your bill as your electricity supplier as NEXTERA ENGYSV-BELLINGHAM POWER CH.

Your electric utility will use the Bellingham Power Choice price to calculate the Supply Charges portion of your electric bill instead of their Basic Service price.

Otherwise, your primary relationship for electricity will remain with your electric utility. This means:

You will continue to receive one bill from National Grid or Eversource. This is the only electric bill you will receive as a participant in Bellingham Power Choice.

You will continue to call National Grid or Eversource if your power goes out. Your electric utility will continue to deliver your electricity, restore electricity service after a power outage, and maintain the poles and wires.

If you have solar panels on your property or participate in a community solar program, you will continue to receive solar credits and/or solar incentive payments, and participating in Bellingham Power Choice will not change how they are calculated.

If you are eligible for a low-income discount, you will continue to receive that discount.

Participating in the program

All new electricity customers in Bellingham will be automatically enrolled in Bellingham Power Choice within a few months of opening their electricity account. Automatic enrollment is state law.

You will receive a notification in the mail from the Town of Bellingham with information about the program before being automatically enrolled. If you do not wish to participate, you may opt out before being automatically enrolled or any time after enrollment, with no penalty. If you choose to opt out, your electric utility (National Grid or Eversource) will continue to be your electricity supplier, and they will use their own Basic Service price to calculate the Supply Charges portion of your electric bill.