Cambridge Community Electricity 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:
The goal of the program is to provide more new renewable energy to Cambridge residents and businesses at a price that is lower than or equal to the Eversource Basic Service supply price.
Cambridge Community Electricity provides direct support for new renewable energy projects, stable prices with the potential to save compared with Eversource, and consumer protections like the ability to leave at any time with no fee or penalty. Since program launch, Cambridge Community Electricity participants have saved more than $95 million compared with Eversource’s prices, though future savings cannot be guaranteed. Learn more about program benefits.
All participants supported the creation of a solar project at Graham and Parks Elementary School in Cambridge.
Participants in Standard Green and 100% Green also helped enable the development of a new solar project in Illinois and a new wind project in North Dakota. Because these projects are located in electric grids where generating electricity creates more carbon emissions than in New England, these clean projects avoid more emissions than similar projects in New England.
Municipal aggregation was approved by City Council on June 6, 2016. After a period of state regulatory review and approval, Cambridge Community Electricity launched with July 2017 meter reads.
The City of Cambridge has signed a contract with Direct Energy to supply electricity to Cambridge Community Electricity participants until January 2029. The City intends to sign a new electricity supply contract when the Direct Energy 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 Direct Energy 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. Cambridge 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 a fee or penalty to opt out, and you may do so at any time. Opt out.
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 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 100% Green or Economy, complete the online form or call customer support at 844-379-9934. 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 Cambridge.
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 Cambridge Community Electricity:
Additionally, if you participate in the Standard Green or 100% Green options, the amount of electricity you receive from renewable sources will increase.
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 or fuel assistance, those discounts will be unaffected by your participation in Cambridge Community Electricity.
If you have Eversource’s Budget Billing, it will continue to apply to your whole bill.
Cambridge Community Electricity will be integrated into your existing Eversource electric bill. You will not receive any additional bills because of participating in Cambridge Community Electricity.
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 Cambridge Community Electricity.
Eversource remains responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of electricity in Cambridge. 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 the Standard Green or 100% Green option, it means you buy more renewable energy certificates than are required by state law, but this does not change the overall reliability of the electricity on the grid or flowing to your home or business.
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 Cambridge Community Electricity.
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 Cambridge Community Electricity 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.
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, 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.
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 whole bill.
No. The delivery portion of your electric bill is not impacted by whether or not you participate in Cambridge Community Electricity. These charges are regulated.
