How aggregation works

Municipal electricity aggregation is a form of group electricity purchasing. An electricity aggregation program like Sherborn Power Choice replaces your electricity supplier, and it changes the price that Eversource uses to calculate the supply services charge 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 Sherborn Power 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 part of your electricity bill.

Electricity supply

 Eversource also provides a second service, which is to be your 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 Eversource is your electricity supplier, you have Eversource’s Basic Service. This is the default when you open your electricity account.

Eversource’s Basic Service prices change every 6 months for residential and small business customers and every 3 months for large business customers.

Diagram describing how delivery and supply works without Sherborn Power Choice. Detailed description above after the header Without Sherborn Power Choice.

 

With Sherborn Power Choice

In an electricity aggregation like Sherborn Power 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 part of your electricity bill. Instead, the Town of Sherborn uses the group purchasing power of the community to secure 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 Sherborn Power Choice, Eversource uses a Sherborn Power Choice price to calculate the supply portion of your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

Otherwise, the relationship between Eversource and electricity customers in Sherborn does not change, and your electricity flows without interruption:

Diagram describing how delivery and supply works with Sherborn Power Choice. Detailed description above after the header With Sherborn Power Choice.

What changes on your electricity bill

If you participate, you will see just two changes on your Eversource electricity bill:

  1. The electricity supplier for Sherborn Power Choice will be listed on your bill as your electricity supplier.
  2. Eversource will use a Sherborn Power Choice price to calculate the supply charges on your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

See an example Eversource electricity bill.

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

  • You will continue to receive one electricity bill from Eversource. This is the only electricity bill you will receive as a participant in Sherborn Power Choice.
  • You will continue to call Sherborn Power Choice 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 credits from solar panels or community solar on your Eversource electricity bill, you will continue to receive them. In addition, those credits will continue to be calculated the same way they are now, using Eversource’s Basic Service price, not using a Sherborn Power Choice price.
  • If you are eligible for a low-income discount, you will continue to receive that discount.

Participating in the program

All Sherborn electricity customers that have Eversource’s Basic Service, meaning electricity customers that have not signed their own contract with an electricity supplier, will be automatically enrolled in Sherborn Power Choice when the program launches. 

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

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 out and then opt out later with no fee or penalty. If you choose to opt out, Eversource will continue to be your electricity supplier and will continue to use their own Basic Service price to calculate the supply portion of your electricity bill.

If you have already signed a contract with an electricity supplier at the time Sherborn Power Choice launches, your account will not be automatically enrolled. However, you may choose to participate, and enrolling will be an easy process.

More information will be available after the program receives regulatory approval.