Tabor: Pay less for electricity. Learn more about Community Power and fill out survey

In the coming days, Portsmouth residents will be receiving a postcard asking for your input on a Community Power program for the city. Community Power, authorized by New Hampshire RSA 53-E, allows local governments to procure electric power on behalf of their residents, businesses and municipal accounts.

At a time electric costs are skyrocketing (22.57 cents per kwh last six months and 20.22 Feb. 1), Community Power can potentially offer residents cheaper rates compared to utility default rates by pooling everyone’s demand for power in bulk purchasing, as well as offer more renewable electricity options The program is voluntary – residents can opt out at anytime and stay with Eversource or their third-party supplier.

To create a plan for Portsmouth Community Power, the city’s Energy Advisory Committee seeks your input towards program goals. Are you interested in Community Power if it may lower rates? How many of you are interested in a 50% or 100% renewable supply, for example? Would you want to see Portsmouth generate its own “cheaper electrons” through solar or wind power that you could purchase? Let us know!

The survey results will help the Energy Advisory Committee answer those questions and better serve your needs. So watch for the postcard (mailed to residents and businesses in 03801) and complete the online survey by Feb. 8. To further participate, you can attend public hearings Feb. 2 and 9 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The city will provide more information and hear your feedback.

The city plans to develop Portsmouth Community Power through its membership in the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire. Portsmouth is one of 27 member towns, including Durham, Dover, Exeter and Rye on the Seacoast. Hailed by the state’s Consumer Advocate Don Kries as “the best energy news I’ve heard in New Hampshire in a long time,” CPCNH is already a larger electricity purchaser than all other utilities in the state except Eversource, representing the combined buying power of 125,000 customers.

CPCNH has a “high confidence” it will offer consumers lower rates for its towns launching service this spring, and can also offer cheaper renewable energy to speed up member towns’ energy transition and provide ways for towns to build their own renewable energy projects, which in turn will lower rates even more. That’s according CPCNH’s technical consultant hired to analyze its business plan and eventually advise the coalition on its energy supply portfolio.

Please take time to complete the short survey and give us your thoughts at https://tinyurl.com/yc9bm624 or look for the postcard in your mailbox!

John Tabor is chair of the Portsmouth Energy Advisory Committee. Other citizen members are Kate Cook, a city councilor, Ben D’Antonio, Kevin Charette, Allison Tanner, Tom Rooney and Peter Somssich.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Tabor: Pay less for electricity. Fill out Community Power survey.