Town of Sharon to launch Sharon Power Choice electricity program

SHARON, MA - The Town of Sharon has signed an electricity supply contract with Constellation to launch the Sharon Power Choice program in March 2021. A type of group electricity buying program, Sharon Power Choice will give Sharon residents and businesses greater control over the renewable energy content of their electricity and over their electricity supply price. The program will offer three new electricity supply options, more clean electricity, 34 months of electricity price stability, and consumer protections. Sharon Power Choice is a transparent, Town alternative to Eversource’s and National Grid’s Basic Service and to other commercial electricity offers in the marketplace, but without high pressure or fees.

Sharon Power Choice is a type of program known as a municipal electricity aggregation. Massachusetts State law allows cities and towns to aggregate electricity customers within their borders and select an electricity supplier on behalf of those customers rather than having their local utility buy their electricity. Sharon Power Choice will not replace Eversource or National Grid, which will still provide delivery services. Instead, the program will change the price that Eversource and National Grid use to calculate the supply charge portion of consumers’ electricity bills.

Through Sharon Power Choice, electricity customers in Sharon have three new choices:

Sharon Power Choice Standard is the program default. New program participants will be automatically enrolled in Sharon Power Choice Standard at 11.586 ¢/kWh, unless they choose one of the other options. Sharon Power Choice Standard provides an additional 20% clean, renewable electricity from sources like the sun and the wind (MA Class I RECs), over and above the minimum amount required by state law (18% MA Class I RECs in 2021). This equates to a total of 38% clean renewable electricity. In comparison, Eversource and National Grid provide just the minimum amount of renewable electricity required.

Customers who wish to receive all of their electricity from clean, renewable sources (100% MA Class I RECs), and who are willing to pay a little more, can opt up to the Sharon Power Choice Green option for 14.275 ¢/kWh.

Customers who wish to receive only the minimum amount of renewable electricity required by state law (18% MA Class I RECs in 2021) can opt down to Sharon Power Choice Basic for 10.730 ¢/kWh.

Price stability for 34 months is a key benefit of Sharon Power Choice. The program prices are fixed from March 2021 through January 2024. The long duration of the prices makes Sharon Power Choice different from Eversource’s Basic Service and National Grid’s Basic Service. Both offer prices that change every 6 months for residential and small business/commercial customers and every 3 months for large business/industrial customers. Long-term price stability also makes Sharon Power Choice different from many commercial offers in the marketplace that offer low introductory prices that later rise or change.

Sharon Power Choice does offer the potential for modest savings compared with Eversource’s and National Grid’s Basic Service prices, and both the Sharon Power Choice Standard and Sharon Power Choice Basic prices are lower than Eversource’s and National Grid’s current winter Basic Service prices. However, because the utility prices change and future utility prices are not known, the program cannot guarantee to provide savings over the term of the contract with Constellation.

Sharon Power Choice participants will see just two changes on their electricity bills: 1) Their utility, Eversource or National Grid, will use the Sharon Power Choice price to calculate the supply charge portion of their bill instead of the current Basic Service price. And 2) Constellation will be listed as their electricity supplier. Otherwise, nearly everything else remains the same: Eversource and National Grid remain responsible for delivering electricity and addressing power outages in Sharon. Sharon Power Choice participants will continue to receive and pay just one electricity bill from their utility, and this will be the only electricity bill they receive as participants in Sharon Power Choice. Anyone eligible for a low-income discount will continue to receive that discount as a participant in Sharon Power Choice.

In compliance with Massachusetts state law for municipal electricity aggregations, enrollment in Sharon Power Choice will be automatic for Sharon electricity customers that have their utility’s Basic Service. This includes any electricity customer that has not signed an agreement with an electricity supplier. Most electricity customers in Sharon will be eligible for automatic enrollment. However, participation is not required. Customers may opt out before being enrolled, and customers are also free to try the program and opt out later with no fee or penalty.

Those who are eligible for automatic enrollment will receive a letter in the mail in January with program information and instructions for choosing one of the program options or opting out. This informational letter and envelope will have the Town seal on it. The return address under the Town logo will be C/O Constellation because enrollment options will be handled by Constellation. Enrollment will occur with March 2021 meter reads and will be seamless with no interruption in electricity service. Participants can expect to see the Sharon Power Choice price on their electricity bill beginning in April 2021.

Electricity customers who have already signed their own an agreement with an electricity supplier will not receive a letter and will not be automatically enrolled, but they are welcome to enroll at any time before the program launches or after launch.

Customers with solar panels on their property who currently receive net metering credits will continue to receive net metering credits as a participant in Sharon Power Choice, and those credits will continue to be calculated based on their utility’s Basic Service price, not on the Sharon Power Choice price. Customers participating in Community Solar programs will continue to receive Community Solar credits.

Tax-exempt accounts will need to submit tax exemption documentation to the Sharon Power choice electricity supplier, Constellation, to retain tax-exempt status.

A virtual public information session about Sharon Power Choice will be held on January 14th at 7 PM. The Sharon Council on Aging will hold an in-person information session on February 4th at 1:30 PM that will be broadcast on Sharon TV. Please contact the Sharon Council on Aging to determine how to attend in person. Details about both will be posted on the Sharon municipal website and on SharonPowerChoice.com.

More information about Sharon Power Choice, including information about how to enroll, how to change from one program option to another, and how to opt out, can be found on the program website, SharonPowerChoice.com, or by contacting customer support with the Town’s program consultants at 1-855-854-7498 or support@SharonPowerChoice.com.