Stratham joins Community Power: What does this mean? How will it lower electricity costs?

STRATHAM — Stratham is the latest community to join the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire to lower electricity bills for residents and businesses.

“It’s never too soon to start saving money,” said Stratham Selectman Joe Anderson, who served as the board liaison to the committee studying the issue.

The Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire gives municipalities in the Granite State the ability to purchase wholesale electric power to provide to residents at lower costs. The coalition comprises more than 30 communities, including Exeter, Dover and Portsmouth.

Stratham joined following a unanimous decision by 144 voters at the Oct. 26 special Town Meeting.

Anderson said conversations about joining the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH) within the town’s “energy circles” began about a year and a half ago. The town spoke to a few different third-party power suppliers before deciding on CPCNH.

Winter heating outlook: Natural gas users get a break, oil users face higher costs

What is Community Power and how does it work?

CPCNH is the state’s largest community power collective and is also a nonprofit.

“We procure electricity in the power markets, and we create efficiencies and cost savings to lower the energy supply rate for customers in town," said Henry Herndon of CPCNH.

While Eversource and Unitil are investor-owned, regulated utilities, CPCNH is controlled by its member cities and towns, Herndon added, which means that it operates under a different set of rules.

“Utility companies buy power and set rates twice a year. We (CPCNH) also set rates on that schedule so we can ensure we’re keeping the rates low and competitive with the utility,” said Herndon. “But we don’t have to buy power twice a year. We can buy power at a flexible, rolling schedule.”

This past July, CPCNH unanimously approved discounted energy prices from August through January 2024 to its approximately 75,000 customers over 12 cities and towns. The approved base price of 10.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) beat out the three main energy suppliers in the state — Unitil, Liberty, and Eversource. CPCNH estimated customers would collectively save $5.5 million over the six months, New Hampshire Public Radio reported.

Anderson said the average Stratham electricity usage in the past four months was 788 kWh. If Community Power had been in place, each household in town would have saved $315 compared with the Unitil default rate over four months.

Promotion: Portsmouth native takes command of NH State Police Troop A

Does Community Power replace my current utility company?

Your utility company (Eversource, Liberty, Unitil, or NH Electric Co-op) continues to provide electric delivery, consolidated billing, and power line maintenance services. Community Power only replaces the electric generation and supply services with your choice of energy product at competitive rates.

Anderson noted that Stratham Community Power will only launch “if it is able to initially offer residential default rates that are lower than those offered by Unitil.”

Herndon said joining Community Power allows for local control.

“These communities have control over where they buy their power from or over time and develop their own energy generators,” he said.

Currently, Community Power includes 27% of cities and towns in the state. Herndon said there has been interest from other towns to start programs next year, he said.

“It takes time to go through a town meeting and get certain approval,” he explained. “But I expect that the amount of participation will steadily increase over the coming years.”

Lewis Cole is back: NYT bestselling author Brendan DuBois' popular mystery series returns

When will the Stratham Community Power program start?

According to Anderson, the Stratham Community Power program is set to launch sometime in March next year.

“We’re required to submit certification of approval to the public utilities, we have to wait 90 days for their approval, and then we set our rates, then we go and do a public campaign,” he said.

Herndon said customers will receive a notification of the launch sometime in January or February, where they can learn more about the program and choose to participate or opt out.

“Under the law, 30 days after that, customers who take no action who are on Unitil energy supply will be enrolled into Stratham Community Power at a lower supply rate,” he explained. “They’ll have more choices. They could choose a clean energy option, for example.”

What choices does Community Power offer?

Unlike Unitil, CPCNH offers four different power options, varying in renewable energy content, similar to Eversource.

Based on Anderson's presentation, customers have the option to choose the Granite Basic (23.4% renewable content, which is also the default power option); Granite Plus (33% renewable content); Clean 50 (50% renewable content); and Clean 100 (100% renewable content) ranging from $86 to $120 per month.

At $105 per month, Unitil only offers one option with 23.4% renewable content.

These price estimates were based on the average usage of 788kWh per month and will be in place for six months.

Can I opt out of Community Power?

Customers have total control over whether to participate. With Granite Basic being the default power option, customers can "opt up" to Granite Plus, Clean 50 and Clean 100 and also "opt down."

Any customer may opt out, up or down, in the Community Power program without fee or cost. Just call 1-866-603-POWR (during normal business hours), visit CommunityPowerNH.gov, or email us at info@CommunityPowerNH.gov.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Stratham votes to join Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire