How aggregation works
Municipal electricity aggregation is a form of group electricity purchasing. An electricity aggregation program like Hanover Energy Choice replaces your electricity supplier, and it changes the price that National Grid uses to calculate the Supply Services charge on 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 as your electric utility.
Here’s how it works:
Without Hanover Energy Choice
(Unless you already have a private contract with an electricity supplier)
Typically, National Grid provides two services to you as an electricity customer, and your electric bill includes charges for both of these services:
Electricity delivery |
National Grid’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 on the Delivery Services portion of your electric bill. |
Electricity supply |
National Grid also provides a second service, which is to be your electricity supplier. They purchase electricity on your behalf and charge you on the Supply Services portion of your electric bill for the amount you use. |
When you first open your electricity account, National Grid both delivers and also supplies, or buys, your electricity.
- The Delivery Services portion of your bill is calculated based on regulated Delivery prices.
- The Supply Services portion of your bill is calculated using National Grid’s Basic Service price. National Grid’s Basic Service price changes every 6 months for residential and small business customers and every 3 months for large business customers.
The diagram below illustrates this scenario, where National Grid is both delivering and also supplying your electricity and National Grid’s Basic Service price is used to calculate your Supply Services charge.
With Hanover Energy Choice
If you participate in a municipal electricity aggregation program like Hanover Energy Choice, National Grid continues to deliver your electricity, but you no longer have National Grid’s Basic Service for the Supply Services portion of your electric bill. Instead, the Town of Hanover uses the group purchasing power of the community to choose an electricity supplier and to determine the price of the community’s electricity supply and whether any additional renewable electricity is included.
If you participate in Hanover Energy Choice, National Grid uses a Hanover Energy Choice price to calculate the Supply Services charge on your electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price. Hanover Energy Choice will offer three pricing options: Hanover Standard, Hanover 100% Green, and Hanover Basic.
Otherwise, the relationship between National Grid and electricity customers in Hanover does not change, and your electricity flows without interruption: