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 your utility, Eversource or National Grid, 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 your electric utility.

Here’s how it works:

Without Sharon Power Choice

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

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

Electricity delivery

 Your utility’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 part of your electricity bill.

Electricity supply

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

 

Without Sharon Power Choice, your electric utility, National Grid or Eversource, both delivers your electricity and also supplies it (buys it for you).

 

Eversource’s and National Grid’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 Sharon Power Choice

In an electricity aggregation like Sharon Power Choice, your utility, Eversource or National Grid, continues to deliver your electricity and you continue to call them when the power goes out, but you no longer have Basic Service for the supply portion of your electricity bill.  Instead, the Town of Sharon 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 Sharon Power Choice, your utility uses the Sharon Power Choice price to calculate the supply portion of your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

With Sharon Power Choice, an electricity supplier selected by Sharon buys electricity for you. Your electric utility continues to deliver your electricity.

The Sharon Power Choice price is a fixed long-term price that does not change seasonally.

What changes with the program

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

  1. Sharon’s electricity supplier, Constellation, will be listed on your bill as your electricity supplier
  2. Your utility (Eversource or National Grid) will use the Sharon Power Choice price to calculate the supply charge portion of your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

Learn how the program will appear on your Eversource or National Grid bill.

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

  • You will continue to receive one bill from your utility. This is the only electricity bill you will receive as a participant in Sharon Power Choice.
  • You will continue to call your utility if your power goes out. Your utility 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 from participating in a community solar project on your electricity bill, you will continue to receive them, and they will continue to be calculated using your utility’s Basic Service price.
  • If you are eligible for a low-income discount, you will continue to receive that discount.

Participating in the program

If you are a new electricity customer in Sharon and you do not sign your own contract with an electricity supplier, your account will be automatically enrolled within a few months of opening, unless you chose to opt out. The automatic enrollment model is the state law for municipal electricity aggregations.

You will receive a notification in mail from the Town of Sharon 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, your utility 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.

Learn how to enroll if you will not be automatically enrolled.