Rhinebeck starts outreach on electricity plan
RHINEBECK, N.Y. >> The Hudson Valley Community Power group is in the ‘exploration phase’ to find a community choice aggregation electricity provider that would protect customers from bad actors, town officials were told on Monday.
Organization representative Jeffrey Domanski on Monday told Town Board officials that a new agreement with a new electricity provider — which would replace the previous broken deal with Columbia Utilities — should be ready for discussion before the summer.
“We’re in the exploration phase,” he said. “Things are looking promising for this community energy program that’ll offer a rate on electricity supply…in a way that also protects all community members from the many bad actors that are out there in the energy supply marketplace.”
Hudson Valley Community Power consisted of 10 municipalities a year ago when Columbia Utilities began the process of breaking a contract that was intended to provide a stable price for electricity through June 30, 2024. The company in March announced its intentions to end the joint energy deal and four months later was forced by the state oversight agency New York Independent System Operator to cease operations based on failure to meet creditworthiness requirements.
As a result, about 23,000 Columbia Utilities customers who were part of the community choice aggregation program were sent back to Central Hudson.
Columbia Utilities also had problems with the state Attorney General’s office separate from the contract with Hudson Valley Community Power. In March 2022 the company was fined $500,000 for conducting prohibited door-to-door marketing that fooled customers into signing an agreement that required higher payments than promised. That came about eight years after Columbia has been fined $200,000 for the same deceptive practices.
Rhinebeck town officials in February 2022
were considering joining the other municipalities but expressed relief later in the year that they were not involved in the confusion that followed Columbia’s decision.
Officials have now given Hudson Valley Community Power approval to conduct public outreach sessions about how the contract would work if Rhinebeck joins, with an information meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Feb. 21 in Starr Library at 68 West Market St.
Domanski said the problems with Columbia Utilities have helped to forge new requirements for community aggregate programs, which have municipalities replace Central Hudson as the default electricity provider with suppliers that meet various requirements such as using renewable energy sources.
“All administrators had wanted to do a really aggressive contract but there’s a dance in contracts,” he said. “But now… the lessons have been learned…and it’s much improved with additional community protections put into it. If you’re a supplier that’s selected you’re not even allowed to consider selling.”
Domanski said most of the original municipalities in Hudson Valley Community Power, which had 23,000 customers, are expected to join, except for the city of Beacon. Expected to return are Marbletown, New Paltz, Saugerties, Gardiner, Red Hook and Rhinebeck along with the city of Poughkeepsie, Clinton, Philipstown, Cold Spring and Nelsonville.