A priority for Green Energy Consumers Alliance is increasing New England’s clean energy supply while delivering lower costs to consumers. In both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the following facts prevail about our electricity supply options:
Why state policy should favor municipal aggregation
Posted by Larry Chretien on Monday, April 12, 2021 @ 03:21 PM
Tags: Massachusetts, Green municipal aggregation, Rhode Island
As wind and solar projects proliferate and people acknowledge the benefits of renewable energy, more consumers are voluntarily choosing 100 percent green power. Some have done that through our Green Powered program and others through their city or town municipal aggregations (also known as community choice programs). If you are in that growing minority, we applaud you. But please consider going above and beyond 100%. This blog explains why and how easy it is to do.
Tags: Renewable energy, Green municipal aggregation, Climate change
Municipal Aggregation in Massachusetts is Being Slowed Down by State Government: Consumers & The Environment Are Paying The Price
Posted by Larry Chretien on Friday, June 26, 2020 @ 03:30 PM
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, about 85% of the population is served by investor-owned electric utility distribution companies - Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil. By law, their customers have three options for how they would get their electricity supply. The first option is to stick with the utility’s Basic Service. The second is to select, by yourself for just yourself, a “competitive power supplier”. And the third is to receive the supply service from a community’s municipal aggregation program.
Although municipal aggregation has proven itself to be the superior option for consumers both economically and environmentally, Massachusetts government, especially the Department of Public Utilities, has failed to support the model to the extent necessary to achieve important policy goals.
Tags: Energy policy & advocacy, Massachusetts, Green municipal aggregation
Q&A with Rhode Island energy leaders: Highlights from our May 18th Spring Meeting
Posted by Priscilla De La Cruz on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 @ 03:35 PM
This is the first blog of a three-part series focused on renewable energy development and climate progress in Rhode Island.
Keep reading for highlights from our virtual Spring Meeting on May 18.
Tags: Renewable energy, Energy policy & advocacy, Green municipal aggregation, Rhode Island
Have you taken a look at our map of resources lately? There are so many projects in it that it’s been challenging for our graphic designer to fit some of them in. Over the last year, we’ve been busy adding more impactful Class I projects to our list thanks to the support of Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents, along with small businesses that have taken the initiative to green their electricity through our Green Powered program and Green Municipal Aggregation.
A Model to Eliminate Emissions from Cars by 2035
Posted by Larry Chretien and Mal Skowron on Wednesday, March 04, 2020 @ 03:36 PM
You’ve heard that switching from a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE) to an electric vehicle (EV) reduces climate-warming emissions. But the extent of their positive impact is still understated, especially in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Tags: Electric vehicles/Transportation, Green municipal aggregation
Green Municipal Aggregation is a Huge Success in Massachusetts
Posted by Larry Chretien on Thursday, February 20, 2020 @ 09:48 AM
We are pleased to release the second edition of our “Green Municipal Aggregation in Massachusetts” status report. A lot has happened in the field since our first edition in the spring of 2018 necessitating this update. If there is one key takeaway, it’s that GMA has proven to be a way to bring more renewable energy to communities affordably and equitably.
Tags: Renewable energy, Electricity and the grid, Green municipal aggregation
Communities are demanding more renewable energy—and they're getting it.
Posted by Larry Chretien on Wednesday, October 02, 2019 @ 04:15 PM
We take great pride in the fact that we, along with a company called Good Energy, took the model of municipal aggregation (a.k.a. community choice energy) and made it truly green. We did so with our pioneer partners, the City of Melrose and the town of Dedham. In 2016, those communities used the buying power of their residents to secure an affordable electricity rate that includes more local renewable energy than required by state law. Since then, over a dozen communities have joined the movement and added more renewable energy to residents' electricity supply - most recently Medford, Bedford, and Rockland. Green Energy Consumers is proud to be providing that additional incremental amount of renewable energy.
Tags: Electricity and the grid, Green municipal aggregation, Our programs
New report explains the challenges, opportunities and impacts of Green Municipal Aggregation
Posted by Yaima Braga on Monday, February 25, 2019 @ 04:46 PM
Community Choice Aggregation: Challenges, Opportunities, and Impacts on Renewable Energy Markets is the latest report released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Highlighted in the report are the benefits that aggregation delivers to communities: savings and price stability. But the report also sheds light on how Community Choice Aggregations are reshaping the dynamics of customer electricity supply and demand. Here we summarize NREL’s findings.
There are Three Ways to Buy Green Electricity – Two Are Good and One is Bad
Posted by Larry Chretien on Monday, October 29, 2018 @ 12:06 PM
This is an update from previous blogs on the subjects covered here.
Have you recently received salespeople at your door or offers in the mail from competitive electricity suppliers? They lay the pitch on thick with too-good-to be true rates and feel-good energy mixes. It may seem hard to poke holes in the pitch, but under the smiling surface, many of these suppliers use smoke and mirror marketing to get their foot in the door and your signature on a contract.
Tags: Renewable energy, Electricity and the grid, Green municipal aggregation