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 Eversource uses to calculate the supply services charges on your electricity bill. In addition, aggregation can increase the amount of renewable energy in your electricity supply. But electricity aggregation does not replace Eversource as your electric utility.

Here’s how it works:

Without Lincoln Green Energy Choice

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

Typically, Eversource provides two services to you as an electricity customer, and your electricity bill includes charges for both of these services:

Electricity Delivery

Eversource’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 portion of your Eversource electricity bill.

Electricity Supply

For most people, Eversource also provides a second service, which is as an electricity supplier. They purchase electricity on your behalf and charge you on the Supply portion of your Eversource electricity bill for the amount you use. When Eversource is your electricity supplier, you have Eversource’s Basic Service. When you first open your electricity account, you are placed on Eversource’s Basic Service.

Eversource's Basic Service diagram showing supply and delivery being provided by the utility.

Eversource’s fixed Basic Service prices change seasonally, every 6 months for residential and small business customers and every 3 months for large business customers, and future prices are not known.

With Lincoln Green Energy Choice

In an electricity aggregation like Lincoln Green Energy Choice, Eversource continues to deliver your electricity and you continue to call them when the power goes out, but you no longer have Eversource’s Basic Service for the Supply portion of your electricity bill. Instead, the Town of Lincoln uses the bulk purchasing power of the community to negotiate a contract with an electricity supplier on behalf of 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 Lincoln Green Energy Choice, Eversource uses a Lincoln Green Energy Choice price to calculate the Supply portion of your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

Aggregation diagram showing supply and delivery being provided by different entities.

Lincoln Green Energy Choice prices are fixed, long-term prices that do not change seasonally.

What changes with the program

If you participate, you will see two changes on your Eversource electricity bill beginning the month after you enroll:

Lincoln’s electricity supplier, First Point Power, will be listed on your bill as your electricity supplier

Eversource will use a Lincoln Green Energy Choice price to calculate the Supply portion of your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

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

You will continue to receive one bill from Eversource. This is the only electricity bill you will receive as a participant in Lincoln Green Energy Choice.

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

If you receive net metering credits from solar panels or participation in community solar on your Eversource bill, those will continue to be calculated using Eversource’s Basic Service price, not using a Lincoln Green Energy Choice price.

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

Participating in the program

New electricity customers in Lincoln will be eligible for automatic enrollment in in Lincoln Green Energy Choice within a few months of being opened. The automatic enrollment model is state law.

If your account is eligible for automatic enrollment, you will receive a notification in mail from the Town of Lincoln before being automatically enrolled with information about the program. However, participation is not required. 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, Eversource will continue to be your electricity supplier, and they will use their own Basic Service price to calculate the supply portion of your electricity bill.