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 charge piece of 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 Watertown Electricity Choice
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 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 part 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. |
The diagram below shows Eversource both delivering and supplying electricity.
With Watertown Electricity Choice
In an electricity aggregation like Watertown Electricity 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 City of Watertown uses the bulk purchasing power of the community to negotiate a contract with an electricity supplier that residents and businesses can benefit from. That contract then determines the price and renewable energy content of the community’s electricity supply. If you participate in Watertown Electricity Choice, Eversource uses a Watertown Electricity Choice price to calculate the supply portion of your electricity bill instead of their own Basic Service price.
The Watertown Electricity Choice price is a fixed long-term price that does not change seasonally.