Foxborough Power Forward is a municipal electricity aggregation, which is a form of group electricity purchasing.

Typically, your electric utility, National Grid, provides two types of services:

1. They deliver your electricity. Delivery services appear on your bill as one set of charges.
2. They also supply your electricity, which means they buy electricity for you and pass the cost along to you. The cost of the electricity they buy for you appears on your bill as the Supply Services charge.

But in Massachusetts, there are actually three ways to purchase your electricity:

• Your utility can do it for you, as just described. This is called Basic Service.
• You can sign a private contract with an electricity supplier yourself. You may have received offers in the mail or over the phone.
• Your municipal government can sign a contract with an electricity supplier that you can benefit from. This third option is municipal electricity aggregation, and this is what Foxborough Power Forward is.

Learn more about how aggregation works.

With Foxborough Power Forward, the Town uses the group buying power of the community to provide you with new electricity choices that will give you greater control over the environmental characteristics and price of your electricity supply.

• Price stability – The program provides a long-term fixed price for the Supply Services portion of your National Grid bill. This makes Foxborough Power Forward different from National Grid’s Basic Service, where the price changes every six months or less, and from many commercial offers in the marketplace.
• Consumer protections – Foxborough Power Forward provides a trustworthy, Town-vetted alternative to other electricity supply offers in the marketplace. The program includes consumer protections, such as no hidden fees and the ability to opt out of the program at any time with no penalty.
• Potential savings – Foxborough Power Forward offers the potential for savings compared with National Grid’s Basic Service price. However, because National Grid’s prices change and their future prices are not known, savings cannot be guaranteed.

Foxborough has signed a contract with Direct Energy that fixes the program prices until November 2024 meter reads.

After November 2024, Foxborough has a choice: The Town can sign a new electricity supply contract and continue the program, or end the program.

• If Foxborough signs a new electricity supply contract, all current program participants will be automatically enrolled into the new contract at the new contract price. Participants will receive a notification by mail about the new price, and the Town will also send out an announcement about the new price.
• If Foxborough does not sign a new electricity supply contract and ends the program, all participants will be seamlessly returned to National Grid’s Basic Service. Program participants will be notified by mail, and the Town will announce the change.

No. National Grid will remain your electric utility, and your primary relationship for electricity will remain with National Grid.

Foxborough Power Forward will change the price that National Grid uses to calculate the Supply Services charge on your bill.

View an example National Grid bill.

You will see two changes beginning with your second National Grid electric bill after program enrollment:

• Foxborough’s electricity supplier, Direct Energy, will be listed on your bill as your electricity supplier.
• National Grid will use the Foxborough Power Forward price to calculate the Supply Services portion of your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

Nothing else changes. 

Your primary relationship for electricity remains with National Grid when you participate in Foxborough Power Forward:

• You will continue to receive one bill from National Grid. This is the only electricity bill you will receive as a participant in Foxborough Power Forward.
• You will continue to call National Grid if your power goes out. National Grid will continue to deliver 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 Foxborough Power Forward will not change how they are calculated.
• If you are eligible for a low-income discount, you will continue to receive that discount.

Call National Grid if your power goes out, as always. National Grid will continue to deliver your electricity and maintain the poles and wires.

No. National Grid will continue to bill you for your electricity, and this is the only electricity bill you will receive as a participant in Foxborough Power Forward. Foxborough Power Forward will be integrated into your National Grid electricity bill.

View an example National Grid bill to see exactly where the program will appear on your bill.

No. National Grid’s quality of service to you will be unaffected by your participation in Foxborough Power Forward. The reason is because National Grid does not profit from the Supply Services portion of your electric bill. They pass the Supply Services charge along to you with no markup. National Grid makes their profit from the Delivery Services portion of your bill. As a result, they have no preference whether they choose your supplier or Foxborough does.

Yes. You will continue to receive solar credits and/or solar incentive payments, and participating in Foxborough Power Forward will not change how they are calculated.

You will need to submit your tax-exemption documentation to the Foxborough Power Forward electricity supplier to maintain tax-exempt status. Visit the Tax-Exempt Accounts page for more information.

No. Municipal electricity aggregation has been building momentum across Massachusetts. More than 150 other Massachusetts communities also have active aggregation programs like Foxborough Power Forward.

The Town of Foxborough sends a single letter to electricity accounts that are eligible for automatic enrollment. That letter arrives in an envelope bearing the Town seal, and the letter itself also bears the Town seal.

If you receive a letter that does not include the Town seal, it is not from the Town and does not represent Foxborough Power Forward. If you want to confirm whether you have received a legitimate Town communication, you can contact customer support with Foxborough’s program consultants.

Please note: Neither National Grid, the Town of Foxborough, nor Foxborough Power Forward will call you on the phone or visit your home.
If National Grid wishes to communicate with you about your bill, they will do so in writing, and you will see the National Grid logo on the communication.

Any person or company who asks for additional information (such as the account number on your electricity bill) when they market their program to you does not represent Foxborough Power Forward or National Grid.

If you receive a call or a visit from someone who wants to discuss your electricity, keep these two things in mind:

• You should treat your National Grid electricity account number like you treat your credit card information. Do not give it out unless you want to change your electricity supplier.
• You do have the right to select an electricity supplier of your choice. If you choose to explore this option, please check the terms of the agreement carefully. Things to check for include, but are not limited to: minimum bill amounts, contract length requirements, early termination fees, low introductory rates that change after the introductory period ends, and rates that vary.

The program offers two options, and your price will depend on which option you enroll in:

• Power Forward Standard is 16.74 ¢/kWh for all customers/rate classes. This option meets minimum state renewable energy requirements, just like National Grid’s Basic Service. New program participants are automatically enrolled in Power Forward Standard.
• Power Forward Green is 19.74 ¢/kWh for all customers/rate classes. This option provides 100% renewable electricity from the New England region, meaning electricity generated by clean, renewable sources like the sun and the wind and not by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. Choosing Power Forward Green helps to drive the development of new renewable energy projects on our New England power grid by increasing demand for the electricity that those projects generate.

This is normal and is expected from time to time.

It helps to remember that the Foxborough Power Forward price is a long-term price, while National Grid’s price changes every 6 months for residential and commercial customers and every 3 months for industrial customers, and future prices are not known.

In municipal electricity aggregation programs like Foxborough Power Forward, it is typical for the program price to be cheaper than National Grid’s price in winter and a bit more expensive in summer. The program goal is to beat the average of National Grid’s changing prices, not to beat each short-term National Grid price.

You are always free to opt out of the program and return to National Grid’s Basic Service. However, if you opt out and then re-enroll, you are not guaranteed the program price when you re-enroll. You may instead receive a market price, which may be higher.

Because future National Grid prices are not known, savings compared with National Grid’s prices cannot be guaranteed.

Foxborough Power Forward does offer the potential for savings compared with National Grid’s Basic Service, however, savings compared to National Grid’s Basic Service price cannot be guaranteed.

This is because Foxborough Power Forward prices are long-term prices that are fixed until November 2024, while National Grid’s Basic Service prices are short-term prices that change every 6 months for residential and commercial customers and every 3 months for industrial customers and future prices are not known.

Also, because National Grid’s prices are always changing, it is normal for Foxborough Power Forward to be less expensive than National Grid at some times and more expensive at others. The program goal is to provide savings when compared with the average of National Grid’s changing prices, not to provide savings compared to each of National Grid’s short-term prices.

Having a stable price for the Supply Services portion of your electricity bill can protect you from the seasonal price increases that occur when you have National Grid’s Basic Service price for the Supply Services portion of your bill. National Grid’s Basic Service price changes every 6 months for residential and commercial customers, and every 3 months for industrial customers, often rising in the winter.

Having a stable price for the Supply portion of your electricity bill can also provide a predictable alternative to the variable prices offered by some commercial electricity supply offers. Some commercial electricity supply offers will provide a stable price for a few months, but when the introductory period ends, the price can vary monthly and can rise significantly.

Foxborough Power Forward offers a long-term fixed price, and when it changes, the Town announces the new price publicly before it takes effect.

However, because National Grid’s prices change and future prices are not known, Foxborough Power Forward cannot guarantee to provide savings.

Yes. You will continue to receive a low-income discount if you participate in Foxborough Power Forward with no change.

No, this will not change. There will be no change to budget billing if you participate in Foxborough Power Forward.

In Massachusetts, an electric utility like National Grid is fundamentally an electricity delivery company. National Grid does not generate electricity for you. They are responsible for delivering electricity to you, for maintaining the poles and wires, and for addressing power outages. They charge you for these services on the Delivery portion of your electricity bill.

An electricity supplier is a company that buys electricity for you. You have three electricity supply choices in Massachusetts:

• Your utility, National Grid, can also be your electricity supplier, in addition to delivering your electricity. When you first open your electricity account, this is the case. When National Grid is your electricity supplier, you have National Grid’s Basic Service. National Grid uses their Basic Service price to calculate the Supply Services portion of your electricity bill.
• You can sign a private contract with an electricity supplier. If you do, the name of that company will appear on your National Grid bill as your electricity supplier, and National Grid will use the price you secured from that company to calculate the Supply Services potion of your electricity bill.
• You can participate in a municipal program like Foxborough Power Forward. In that case, National Grid uses a Foxborough Power Forward price to calculate the Supply Services portion of your bill. Through Foxborough Power Forward, the Town of Foxborough uses the bulk purchasing power of the community to negotiate a contract with an electricity supplier and to determine the price for the community’s electricity supply.

Before enrolling, we strongly recommend that you first check the terms of your existing electricity supply contract. Many include minimum enrollment periods and early termination fees.

When you are ready to enroll, you may enroll online or by contacting customer support with Foxborough’s program consultants. Please have your National Grid bill available when you call.

After you enroll, we recommend you cancel with your current supplier as well.

The program’s electricity supplier through November 2024 is Direct Energy.

Renewable electricity is called “renewable” because it is generated by sources that we won’t run out of, like the sun and the wind, as opposed to sources that can be used only once, such as fossil fuels. Under Massachusetts state law, a variety of resources qualify as renewable. The main sources of renewable electricity are solar, wind, and small hydroelectric projects. Renewable electricity is sometimes referred to as “green electricity” or “clean electricity” because it does not create air pollution or generate the gases that cause climate change.

The minimum amount increases every year. For 2023, Massachusetts state law requires that:

• 22% renewable electricity must be purchased from newer renewable energy projects in the Northeast (MA Class I RECs).
• 37.2% must be purchased from other types of renewable energy.

For more information, visit the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources page on compliance information for the Renewable Portfolio Standard.

All metered electricity customers within the geographic boundaries of Foxborough are eligible to participate.

New National Grid electricity account holders will receive a letter about the program within a few months of opening their account and will be automatically enrolled if they do not choose to opt out.

Important note: For any customer who previously opted out of or left the program and wishes to re-enroll, the program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract. 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.

No. You may choose not to participate. This is called opting out. There is no penalty for opting out. You may do so at any time. If you opt out, National Grid will use their own Basic Service price to calculate the Supply Services portion of your bill.

You my opt out online or by contacting customer support.

State law requires all municipal electricity programs like Foxborough Power Forward to use an automatic enrollment model.

However, participation is not required, and you may prevent yourself from being enrolled by opting out.

Yes, however, for any customer who previously opted out of or left the program and wishes to re-enroll, the program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract. 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 are welcome to submit your large commercial account for enrollment online or over the phone, however you may be offered market pricing instead of program pricing when initially enrolling in the program. If your account is eligible for market pricing, you will be informed of the market price prior to being enrolled, and have the opportunity to accept it or reject it. If you enroll in the program at a market price, you will receive the program price under all future contracts if you remain in the program without interruption.