PEPPERELL — As costs have soared in every sector, municipalities across Massachusetts have increasingly turned to electric aggregation as a means to provide residents with some sort of financial relief.
Now, Pepperell would appear poised to do the same.
In the relatively near future, local leaders hope to save residents money each month through Pepperell Community Electricity, a program meant to leverage the town’s purchasing power to negotiate competitive energy rates compared to the basic service rate available through National Grid.
Town leaders and the Climate Change Committee are set to host a virtual information session and provide a plan overview at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11, while public comment on the program is invited and encouraged through Saturday, April 29, after which the plan will be submitted to the state for final approval.
Town Administrator Andrew MacLean, who said the program was recommended in the town’s Master Plan and was voted through favorably last May, stressed PCE’s ability to provide further stability for ratepayers as continued inflation has left many residents under significant financial pressure.
“[PCE] should prove beneficial to each and every resident,” MacLean said. “The individual can’t necessarily negotiate a super competitive rate but, as a collective, the town can sort of play in that sphere and help drive energy costs down.”
“We want to do everything we can to make life a bit easier for the people of Pepperell — [PCE] is certainly a step in that direction,” he said.
PCE would not replace National Grid as the town’s electric utility — rather, it would provide residents with options as far as where their power is sourced from. National Grid would continue to deliver that power, but a separate and competitive supply rate, negotiated by the town with an outside energy company, would be reflected in residents’ energy bills.
A “three-tiered” program, MacLean said environmentally conscious residents would also be afforded the opportunity to utilize “greener” energy — energy sourced from wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, etc. — albeit at a greater cost and that PCE is “directly aligned” with community values in regard to climate change and to reduce carbon emissions.
“(Pepperell), broadly, is in favor of these type of things,” MacLean said. “We’re a green community, we have a Climate Change Committee, we’re part of our regional climate change group — it’s one of our core community values and PCE plays right into that.”
“Everybody wants to save money, right? And I certainly don’t know anybody that brags about how much they pollute. Presumably, you’re going to have greener electricity at a lower price — it’s a lot to be happy about,” he said.
In advance of April 11, MacLean touched on the importance of communication between town leaders and residents in order to ensure that everyone was “on the same page” and said there was “no such thing as too much communication.” He also urged those that may be unable to attend to reach out to those leaders with any questions.
“We can never communicate enough,” MacLean said. “Every second of every day, someone is going to say ‘I didn’t hear about this,’ — all we can do is give out good, clear, consistent and frequent communication and be patient with people.”
“We hope that citizens come out with questions for us — show up and we’ll provide the information they need. And, if you can’t make it, don’t hesitate to reach out, we’re here to help,” he said.
As for when residents might start to see savings, MacLean was unsure due to the state’s inconsistent approval process. “Last time I looked into it, several communities had complained about the length of time it had taken,” he said, with some plans taking a year or longer to be reviewed.
“That’s what we’ve been told and nobody seems to know why,” MacLean said. “We’re not reinventing the wheel here, we’re giving back their sort of boilerplate proposal and showing how we’re meeting people’s needs with the program.”
“So, for now, I think our approach is going to be this is a year away and, then, we’ll try to be one of those squeaky wheels to see if we can get this moved along faster,” he said.
MacLean urged those interested in PCE to visit PepperellCommunityElectricity.com or contact the town’s program consultants at 844-202-6299. For more information, residents can also visit the town’s website, town.pepperell.ma.us/838/Pepperell-Community-Electricity.
