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Elstein pitches Hampshire COG energy plan to Board of Selectmen

Date: 11/26/2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

WILBRAHAM — Could Wilbraham be the next municipality to join a new utility movement?

Kenneth Elstein, a member of the Belchertown Board of Selectmen and the Hampshire Council of Governments (COG), made a pitch to the Wilbraham selectmen at their Nov. 19 meeting to put an article on the warrant for an upcoming Town Meeting to allow the town to take advantage of "municipal aggregation of electricity."

Elstein explained to the board that when utilities became deregulated in the 1990s, companies such as National Grid, which services Wilbraham, and Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECo), opted to suspend its electricity generation operations and now are simply a purveyor of electricity produced by other companies and that customers have the right to choose from where the electricity comes.

Should Wilbraham agree to enter into a contract with the COG to participate in the municipal aggregation program, the council would work to obtain lower electricity rates for residential and commercial customers through a competitive bid process.

"This is an opportunity for customers in these municipalities to increase their buying power," Elstein said.

A portion of residents' electric bills would still go to National Grid because the energy would be delivered through its equipment.

Currently 28 cities and towns, including Northampton, Hadley, Belchertown, Easthampton and Granby have signed contracts with the council with the possibility of as many as six more set to join, Elstein said.

According to the Hampshire Council of Governments' website, the program "encompasses over 100,000 people and has the potential to save those customers up to $6 million annually."

Elstein admitted that he did not have any solid figures in terms of savings, as the COG has not conducted any bidding to this point. He said the savings potential also varies from program to program.

"In some areas the savings have been small, with variations from 1 to 5 percent," he said. "The average could be 12 to 15 percent with a more aggressive program. More conservative programs would be in the single digits, but either way, the impact for businesses and residents would improve their bottom line and keep the money in the [Pioneer] Valley."

Elstein said that the fact that WMECo and National Grid both service areas of Western Massachusetts does complicate the process.

"We're straddling both [WMECo] and National Grid, so we will have two different bidding processes," he said.

Residents who do not wish to take advantage of municipal aggregation would be given the opportunity to opt out through a mailing.

Selectman James Thompson said that he would need more time to learn more about the program, a sentiment the other selectmen echoed.

Elstein offered to come back in the future or conduct informational sessions to answer residents' questions.