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:

What changes on your electric bill

If you participate, you will see two changes on your National Grid electric bill:

  1. The electricity supplier for Hanover Energy Choice will be your electricity supplier.
  2. National Grid will use a Hanover Energy Choice price to calculate the Supply Services charge on your bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

See an example National Grid electric bill.

Otherwise, your primary relationship for electricity will remain with National Grid. This means:

  • You will continue to receive your electric bill from National Grid. This is the only electric bill you will receive as a participant in Hanover Energy Choice.
  • 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 you participate in a community solar program, you will continue to receive solar credits and/or solar incentive payments, and participating in Hanover Energy 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 Hanover electricity customers that have National Grid’s Basic Service, meaning electricity customers that have not signed a private contract with an electricity supplier, will be eligible for automatic enrollment in Hanover Energy Choice when the program launches. 

This means most electricity customers in Hanover will be enrolled in Hanover Energy Choice. If your account is eligible for automatic enrollment, you will receive a notification in the mail from the Town of Hanover with program details, including prices, before you are enrolled.

The automatic enrollment model is in accordance with state law, but you do not have to participate if you do not want to. You will be able to opt out before the program launches, or you can try the program and then opt out later with no fee or penalty. If you choose to opt out, National Grid will continue to be your electricity supplier and will continue to use their own Basic Service price to calculate the Supply Services portion of your electric bill.