CONTACT: Christine Nevin, ConEdison Solutions
CONTACT: Brian Murphy, Colonial Power Group
CONTACT: Julia Winkler, The Marino Organization
CITY OF MARLBOROUGH ANNOUNCES COMPETITIVE POWER SUPPLIER
COMMUNITY CHOICE POWER SUPPLY' INITIATE BENEFITS RATEPAYERS BY PROVIDING ELECTRICITY SUPPLY OPTIONS
MARLBOROUGH BECOMES SECOND LOCALLITY IN THE STATE TO CHOOSE COMPETITIVE SUPPLIER
Marlborough, Massachusetts - May 2, 2007 - The City of Marlborough today announced the selection of ConEdison Solutions as its competitive power supplier for the residential and business electricity customers. The selection -- made on a competitive basis – is part of the City’s new “Community Choice Power Supply” initiative, a program for electric power supply that will help stabilize electricity costs for Marlborough consumers.
Marlborough now becomes only the second locale in Massachusetts to enact a community opt-out aggregation for residential and small business customers.
“For the first time, electric customers in the City of Marlborough will be able to protect their interests as consumers through purchase options,” said Marlborough Mayor Nancy Stevens. “With the authorization of the City Council, the Community Choice Power Supply initiative allows the City to provide local energy services in a way that stabilizes costs, promotes competition and ensures local control over energy supplies. This pilot program begins at a time with the summer cooling months and associated increases in electrical consumption fast approaching and, therefore, may prove advantageous in assisting the City’s consumers in realizing savings on their electric bills. We will monitor rates closely over the course of the summer and beginning of fall when new basic service rates will be set.”
The Community Choice Power Supply initiative provides city residents and small businesses with energy price stability, and also offers opportunities for potential cost savings. The program creates competition among energy suppliers to help ensure competitive rates and to endow the City with local control over energy supplies. Acting on behalf of the City’s 18,000 electricity ratepayers, the City of Marlborough selected ConEdison Solutions on a competitive basis because of the provider’s ability to stabilize rates, its capacity to maximize savings opportunities, and its strong record of performance as an energy supplier in the Northeast.
The program begins on the June meter reading for residential and small commercial ratepayers, and on the July meter reading for medium and large commercial and industrial users.
"We are proud to have been chosen to leverage the power of the marketplace on behalf of Marlborough residents,” said Jorge J. Lopez, President and CEO of ConEdison Solutions. “Our company brings many assets to the Community Choice Power Supply program, including a record of performance and service, significant experience in providing electricity throughout the Northeast, and the capacity to maximize value through our understanding of the energy marketplace."
In 1997, the Massachusetts legislature approved structural changes that promoted energy supply competition and provided local municipalities with the option of introducing supply-related competition and customer choice within their jurisdictions. Marlborough’s Community Choice Power Supply program was approved by the City Council in June 2006.
Under the State program, services provided to local ratepayers by National Grid are now divided into two parts. The first part, which remains regulated by the state, involves the physical delivery of power supplies over the wires to consumers. National Grid, which directly charges ratepayers for this service, will continue to maintain these wires and will continue to read meters. National Grid will remain responsible for maintaining the day-to-day reliability and quality of delivery provided to ratepayers.
The second part of electric service involves supplying the actual power running through these wires. This component is now a competitive service. Under the Community Choice Power Supply program, these supplies now come from ConEdison Solutions, which is categorized as a “competitive power supplier.” Charges for the supply component of electric service will be incorporated into normal bills that consumers receive from National Grid, which will indicate supply-related charges and other standard billing information.
All eligible consumers of National Grid “basic service” are automatically enrolled in the Community Choice Power Supply program. Ratepayers may “opt out” of the program by choosing another competitive power supplier or by choosing to default back to “basic service” supplies provided by National Grid. Those choosing to “opt out” must do so within 30 days from the date that ConEdison Solutions mails an “opt out” postcard and a Consumer Notification Form to ratepayers.
Consumers may also return to National Grid’s “basic service” alternative after the initial “opt out” notice period by contacting either ConEdison Solutions or National Grid and asking to cancel their accounts, with no penalty charge. If, however, a consumer participates in the program, chooses to opt out, and then wishes to return to the Community Choice program the ratepayer can do so only upon acceptance by the supplier.
"National Grid is very pleased that the City of Marlborough is taking this exciting step to bring the benefits of electricity supplier choice to its homes and businesses. We have worked closely with the City throughout this process and fully support municipal aggregation programs," said Robert H. McLaren, regional president for National Grid's electricity distribution company in Massachusetts.
