Portsmouth moves forward with energy aggregation plan

PORTSMOUTH — Despite objections from several residents, the Town Council voted 5-2 Tuesday night to get the ball rolling on a community electricity aggregation plan in hopes of reducing citizens’ energy costs while also boosting the amount of renewable energy they use.

The plan would be managed by the town and Good Energy, L.P. the town’s selected aggregation consultant, and would bypass National Grid's electricity supply.

“This program is a way for the town to bundle all their demand of residents and small businesses … and use that to go out and bid for electricity supply which would hopefully have cost savings (and) also have more renewable energy that is required by the state,” Patrick Roche, New England director of innovation at Good Energy, told the council during Tuesday’s virtual public hearing.

The plan — you can view it in full here — would apply to any resident or business currently receiving their electricity from National Grid, he said. “It does not impact the delivery side of the electricity bill. National Grid will still be the biller.”

Residents and business may choose not to participate in the program, but they must do so by opting out after the fact. If the plan is approved, at some point a notification letter will be sent to everyone with a standard offer service with National Grid. Consumers will have 33 days from the date of the mailing to return a reply card if they wish to opt out of the program before it’s launched. Eligible accounts that do not opt out are automatically enrolled when the program is activated.

“But it’s important to know that once it does start, people can get out of it any time time without penalties — no fees associated,” said Mr. Roche, adding the town can also “stop the process” at any time. 

The program’s day-to-day management would be between the town administrator and Good Energy. “This does not add to town staff time or incur any new costs,” he said.

The electricity supplier that’s eventually chosen for a multi-year contract would pay Good Energy a set fee of $1 per megawatt hour, he added.

Good Energy currently has energy aggregation deals with Providence, South Kingstown, Central Falls and Barrington, Mr. Roche said. When Council Vice President Linda Ujifusa asked about concerns other municipalities have raised regarding the program, Mr. Roche said some officials were worried about residents being able to opt out fast enough, but the program’s track record has been good.

It’s also possible those enrolled in the program won’t always realize cost savings, he added. After joining the program, for example, National Grid could drop its rates. However, that’s usually for only a six-month-period at most, he said. 

“Our track record is we’ve delivered savings for every client over the (life of the contract),” Mr. Roche said.

Concerns raised

Local resident Larry Fitzmorris said he had problems with town government getting involved in the energy business. This is the third energy program in which the Town of Portsmouth has been involved, he said, the first being the East Bay Energy Consortium.

“It was a terrible idea, but it did get approval by the Town of Portsmouth and a few other communities around here,” he said.

The second was the wind turbine at the high school, which he said the town is still paying off.

“The town has a pretty poor record in this area,” said Mr. Fitzmorris. “We don’t seem to have an independent expert telling us anything about whether any of this is a good idea. That was certainly missing with the wind turbine and the East Bay Energy Consortium.”

He said it was “reprehensible” to switch on an energy supply for residents without their permission. “I think it’s a pretty bad way to go. You’re trying to use town government to try to force a decision on people,” Mr. Fitzmorris said.

Another resident, Tom Grieb, questioned why Good Energy was selected as the consultant without going through a normal competitive bidding process. 

Richard Talipsky, Portsmouth’s director of business development, said the town looked at Providence’s solicitation process, which involved a no-cost contract for consulting, and the town solicitor said it was appropriate to proceed.

“This is not a no-cost contract,” Mr. Grieb replied, referring to the $1-per-megawatt hour fee. “We don’t know what company A, B or C might have charged us.”

Mr. Talipsky said the town has no obligation to stick with Good Energy. “We just have a good relationship with them,” he said.

Steven Butler said he was also opposed to the plan, saying it should be up to citizens to decide where they get their energy from. 

“I think it’s half-baked, I think it’s a dog-and-pony show,” he said, noting that residents can already go to another power supplier, without the town’s involvement. 

“As a taxpayer, I can’t see why the town would be involved with my power demands. If there’s a premature way to opt out, I’d like to do it right now.”

What plan?

Also debated Tuesday was the type of plan the town would pursue. Good Energy recommended a “standard” or default plan, which has some cost savings while allowing for slightly more renewable energy than what’s required by the state.

Council member Keith Hamilton, however, said the town should go with the “basic” plan, which would mean lower electricity bills for its residents.

The wind turbine already makes the town one of the leaders in green energy, he said. “I don’t think we have to prove anything on green energy,” Mr. Hamilton said. His motion to sign up for the basic plan failed to get a second, however, so it failed.

Council member Daniela Abbott moved to approve the standard plan and send it to the PUC. Cost-savings shouldn’t be the only consideration, she said; the town should be balancing that with increasing its renewable energy participation “to try to better the future for our children.”

The council voted 5-2 on the motion, with Mr. Hamilton and Council President Kevin Aguiar opposed.

What’s next?

Now that the council has endorsed the plan, it will be submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission within a couple of weeks, Mr. Roche said. Good Energy and the town would hope to get an approval sometime in November, with bids for electricity suppliers going out in December or January 2021, and the program potentially starting in February, he said.

That gives the council eight to 10 weeks before a final decision needs to be made, said Mr. Aguiar. That will give the town some time to get further clarification on some of the questions raised Tuesday, he said.

“We’re not committed to anything,” he said.

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