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 National Grid uses to calculate the Supply Services portion of your electric bill. In addition, aggregation can increase the amount of renewable energy in your electricity supply. But electricity aggregation does not replace National Grid as your electric utility.

Here’s how it works:

Without the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Aggregation Program

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

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

Electricity delivery

 National Grid’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 Services portion of your National Grid electric bill.

Electricity supply

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

The diagram below shows National Grid both delivering and supplying electricity.

National Grid’s fixed Basic Service prices change seasonally, every 6 months for residential and commercial customers and every 3 months for industrial customers, and future prices are not known.

With the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Aggregation Program

In an electricity aggregation like the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Aggregation Program, National Grid continues to deliver your electricity and you continue to call them when the power goes out, but you no longer have National Grid’s Basic Service for the Supply Services portion of your electric bill.  Instead, the City of Worcester 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 the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Aggregation Program, National Grid uses Worcester’s price to calculate the Supply Services portion of your electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

The Green Worcester ElectriCITY Aggregation Program 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 National Grid electric bill beginning the month after your account is enrolled in the program:

  • The City’s electricity supplier, Direct Energy, will be listed on your bill as your electricity supplier.
  • The program price will be used to calculate the Supply Services portion of your National Grid electric bill.

See an example National Grid bill.

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

  • You will continue to receive one bill from National Grid. This is the only electric bill you will receive as a participant in the program.
  • You will continue to call National Grid if your power goes out. National Grid will continue to deliver electricity, restore service after an outage, and maintain the poles and wires.
  • If you receive net metering credits from solar panels on your National Grid bill, those will continue to be calculated on the National Grid Basic Service rate, not on the program rate.
  • If you are eligible for a low-income discount, you will continue to receive that discount.

Participating in the program

All new electricity customers in Worcester will be eligible for automatic enrollment in the Green Worcester ElectriCITY Aggregation Program within a few months of opening their electricity account with National Grid. Automatic enrollment is state law.

You will receive a notification in the mail from the City of Worcester with information about the program before being automatically enrolled. 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, National Grid will continue to be your electricity supplier, and National Grid will use their own Basic Service price to calculate the Supply Services portion of your electric bill.

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