Meeting to focus on bulk purchase of electricity
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. » An online meeting about a “Community Choice Aggregation” program in which Saugerties and neighboring communities would bulk-buy electricity and pass expected savings to customers is planned for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 25.
The meeting — sponsored by the town of Saugerties, Joule Community Power (a division of Joule Assets) and Hudson Valley Energy — can be accessed at tinyurl.com/saugerties25march.
The Saugerties Village Board was pressed by residents during a recent meeting to begin a public information campaign about the program.
Marcus Arthur saying residents need to have clear information about the types of bulk-purchasing programs available to municipalities.
“There has been a twoyear program already,” he said. “There’s 10 communities involved in it ... [and] all 10 of those communities want to re-up . ... That’s an encouragement that this really works and there’s a track record here and people are really happy with it.”
In a Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA, program, a municipality joins with others to buy electricity in bulk at a discount and sell it to residents. In Mid-Hudson communities, the cost replaces the supply portion of a customer’s Central Hudson bill. The utility still charges CCA customers for delivery of the power.
State law allows municipalities to become their residents’ default electricity provider, allowing local-level officials to make decisions based on cost, environmental impacts and other factors. Residents have the ability to opt out of their municipality’s choice in favor of either staying with a traditional provider, such as Central Hudson.
“It seems to me to be a win-win situation,” Saugerties resident William Barr said during the Village Board meeting. “It’s good for the environment, it’s probably going to lower our electricity bills ... and would ally some of the confusion that’s out there.”
Village officials are considering working the Hudson Valley Energy to join a program operated by Joule Assets, which serves as an administrator of CCA programs for other communities.