Millville officials say they will save money on electricity

MILLVILLE – The town last week announced that residents and businesses will start seeing a reduction on their energy bills as a result of a partnership with Colonial Power Group, Inc., which has entered into a one-year agreement to bring energy cost-savings to the town.

Town Administrator Jennifer Callahan said the town will save approximately $45,000 through May 2018 with the newly-created Millville Community Choice Power Supply program. As part of the program, the town will be using 100 percent green energy derived from National Wind renewable energy certificates.

“This is an opportunity for Millville to lessen the cost of elec- tricity for our residents and to increase our use of renewable energy,” Callahan said. “We are excited to provide Millville citizens with the opportunity to have an option that provides more stability and lower costs.”

Town officials and representatives of Colonial Power Group will hold two informational sessions to discuss the Millville Community Choice Power Supply program. The first will be held Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Senior Center and the second will be held on Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.

“The Millville Community Choice program provides price stability, local control, and competition while also lowering the burden of energy costs for Millville’s residents and business community,” added Mark Cappadona, president of Colonial Power Group. “We com- mend Town Administrator Callahan and the Millville’s Board of Selectmen for their forward-thinking approach to energy purchasing. By taking this action, not only are they helping to save residents and business owners money on their electricity costs, they are also helping the environment.”

Under the Millville Community Choice Power Supply program, residents will not notice any change in their electricity service. The only discernable difference will be that NextEra Energy Services of Houston, Texas, the selected electricity supplier for the Community Choice program, will be printed under the “Supply Services” of monthly bills. Residents and small business owners will continue to receive one bill from National Grid and to send payments to National Grid for processing. There will be no interruption in billing, power, or customer service.

Colonial Power Group is the leading aggregation consulting firm in Massachusetts. Municipal electricity aggregation allows cities and towns to pool the electrical consumption of all ratepayers in their jurisdictions and competitively procure lower cost electricity supply on behalf of the participants. The aggregation allows the municipality to obtain better pricing than individual residents and business owners could due to “economies of scale.”

Colonial Power works with state officials, utility executives, and energy industry leaders to facilitate the purchase of electricity at a rate lower than basic service rates. Since July 2013, Colonial Power has saved households and businesses across New England a total of nearly $11 million on their electric bills.

Colonial Power Group, which serves more than 60 municipalities in Massachusetts, was chosen to design, implement, and administer the program on behalf of Millville. NextEra Energy Services was selected through a competitive process. The cost savings for Millville residents and businesses will begin with the November 2017 meter reads (December 2017 billings).

No action is required by ratepayers to participate in this cost-saving program. The program will be operated on an opt-out basis, meaning that all Millville residential and business customers currently on National Grid’s basic service will be automatically enrolled into the program unless they choose to opt out.