ROCHESTER — The town of Rochester announced that it will launch its electricity aggregation program, Rochester Community Electricity, in March 2023.

The Program is designed to provide new, competitively priced electricity supply options and more renewable energy for residents and businesses in Rochester.

The Program was approved at the Rochester Town Meeting on May 20, 2019.

The Program will offer a standard product rate that meets the renewable energy standards required by state law and will be more than 36% lower than the current Eversource Residential Basic Service electricity rate of 25.649 cents per kilowatt-hour for the 21-month period, March 2023 through December 2024.

Future savings under the Rochester Community Electricity Program compared to Eversource Residential Basic Service are not guaranteed because utility basic service rates change every six months for residential and small business accounts, and every three months for large business accounts.

The program will also offer a 100% renewable energy rate that includes renewable energy certificates equal to 100% of a customer’s metered consumption. The electricity rates will be fixed over the 21-month term of the electric supply agreement from March 2023 through December 2024.

The rate offered by the Rochester Community Electricity Program is 16.310 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Rochester has initiated, and will continue a broad-based education and outreach effort to make residents and businesses aware of the program. The best place to find the most updated information is the aggregation website
electricity.townofrochestermass.com.

In mid-January 2023, eligible residents and businesses will receive a letter on behalf of the town from the winning electricity supplier for the program, Direct Energy.

The letter will provide detailed program information and instructions on how to choose the optional Rochester Community Electricity rate, or how to opt out of Rochester Community Electricity. No action is necessary to participate in Rochester Community Electricity’s default electricity rate, Rochester Standard.

All Rochester residential and business accounts on Eversource Basic Service that are eligible to participate in Rochester Community Electricity will be automatically enrolled in Rochester Standard as of their March 2023 meter read date.

Anyone that does not want to participate in Rochester Community Electricity may opt out of Rochester Community Electricity without penalty, either before the program begins, or at any time during the program. Electricity customers who are currently enrolled with a third-party supplier will not receive the opt-out letter and will not be automatically enrolled. These customers can voluntarily join the program, but may be subject to penalties or early termination fees from the third-party supplier if they switch to the electricity aggregation program during the term of their contract.

For more information about the program, visit electricity.townofrochestermass.com, call the program telephone number at 508-301-3868, or call the program supplier, Direct Energy, at (866) 968-8065.