SOUTH YARMOUTH – Cape Codders who are customers of the Cape Light Compact can look forward to savings on their electric bills for the next few months.
The Compact is decreasing its electricity prices for its standard green aggregation power supply program and the CLC Local Green program for the next six-month term. The term begins on customers’ June 2019 meter read dates and ends on December 2019 meter read dates.
With new pricing for the upcoming term, CLC’s power supply program will provide savings to customers against the utility’s basic service pricing and support renewable energy resources.
“It’s really a result of pricing across the board going down. Traditionally, when you get into summer the strain on the grid, in particular the use of natural gas, decreases, which allows rates across the board to drop. So, we’re excited to see the rates drop over the next few months,” said CLC Marketing & Communications Coordinator Daniel Schell.
“It’s open to anyone and everyone who has an electric account on Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard.”
The Compact’s new standard residential pricing will be 10.699 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), a three-cent price decrease from current rates. Customers will see this price reflected on the bills that they receive in July. The average residential customers using 580 kWh per month will see a savings of about $16 per month compared with current rates. In total, CLC power supply customers are expected to save approximately $670,000 compared to the utility’s basic service rate over the upcoming term.
New commercial rates for June 2019 through December 2019 meter read dates will be 10.399 cents per kWh, and the industrial rate for the period of June 2019 through September 2019 meter reads will be 9.556 cents per kWh, both of which are lower than the local utility’s filed basic service rates over the comparable term.
The summer weather brings an increased use of air conditioning units and dehumidifiers, the time of the year when electricity usage is highest for many Cape customers.
Since December 2016, the Compact’s green aggregation power supply program has supported renewable resources by matching all customers’ electricity usage with renewable energy certificates (RECs), by purchasing RECs from New England-based projects above Massachusetts state requirements, and by helping to finance new renewable energy projects directly through the EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust, including a solar farm in Vermont.
“Our basic program is 100-percent renewable, which means we’re matching customers’ use with 100-percent renewable energy certificates,” Schell added.
“But, we also allow our customers to opt into two other programs that we have. That’s our 50-percent and 100-percent CLC Local Green program. Those renewable energy certificates all come from the New England area, so you’re investing in local renewable energy.”
In February, the Compact launched a new, opt-in power supply program called CLC Local Green. CLC Local Green offers customers the option of paying a little more per kWh to have either 50-percent or 100-percent of their electricity usage matched with Massachusetts Class 1 RECs from New-England based renewable energy projects, including several on Cape Cod.
Customers who sign up for CLC Local Green still receive all of the benefits and protections of the Compact’s standard power supply program, while helping to expand renewable energy development in New England.
“With the summer almost here, we’re pleased to be able to provide a cost savings to our customers at a time when many of them are seeing increased usage due to cooling and dehumidifying needs,” said CLC Administrator Maggie Downey.
“Along with the cost savings, we’re still able to offer our customers a power supply option that doesn’t come with a contract or any surprise fees and supports additional renewable energy development.”
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
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