How aggregation works

Needham Power Choice is a municipal electricity aggregation, which is a kind of group electricity buying program for a city or town.

  • Needham buys electricity from an electricity supplier that it chooses.
  • You receive a new price for the electricity supply charge on your Eversource bill.
  • Eversource remains Needham’s electric utility and continues to deliver your electricity, address power outages, and handle all billing as it does now.

Aggregation is possible because in Massachusetts we can choose our electricity supplier, which is the company that puts electricity on the grid for us.

But we have no choice in our electric delivery utility. If you live in Needham, Eversource is your electric delivery utility no matter what.

Municipal electricity aggregation was enabled by the Massachusetts Restructuring Act of 1997 (Chapter 164, Section 134) and is regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

Before aggregation

Before an aggregation launches, most customers have Eversource’s Basic Service. This means Eversource is supplying (buying) your electricity in addition to delivering it, and Eversource uses their Basic Service price to calculate the electricity supply charge on your bill. You are placed on Eversource’s Basic Service when you first open your account, and you can always go back to it.

Eversource’s Basic Service prices change every 6 months or less.

With an aggregation in place

With an aggregation, the electricity supplier chosen by Needham, which is Constellation NewEnergy, supplies your electricity. But Eversource continues to deliver your electricity without interruption. Eversource uses the price provided by the supplier to calculate the electricity supply charge on your bill instead of their Basic Service price. Needham Power Choice prices are fixed from March 2025 through March 2027.

Your primary relationship for electricity remains with Eversource:

  • You continue to call Eversource if you lose power.
  • Eversource continues to send your bill, and this is the only electric bill you will receive as a participant in Needham Power Choice.
  • You continue to send bill payments to Eversource.

If you are eligible for a low-income discount or fuel assistance, you continue to receive that benefit.

If you have Eversource’s Budget Billing, it will continue to apply to the Delivery portion of your bill, but it will no longer apply to the Supply portion of your bill.

If you are participating in community solar, or 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 Needham Power Choice. Further, there will be no change in how they are calculated. Their calculation is not connected to your electricity supply price.

 

Will you save money?

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, Needham Power Choice 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.

Learn more about aggregation

Example Eversource bill
Participating
Implementation process