Milford Electricity Aggregation Plan Up For Public Review

MILFORD, MA — With the winter heating season approaching fast, Milford residents should take notice of a new town plan to help lower electricity bills.

Over the past year, Milford has been creating a municipal aggregation plan, and the document is up for public comment through Oct. 2. It may sound mundane, but cities and towns across the state that have adopted municipal aggregation plans have been able to provide much lower electricity supply rates for residents compared to giants like National Grid and Eversource.

Once Milford's plan is approved by state officials, the town will be able to offer residents the option of switching electricity suppliers. After an Oct. 2 public hearing, the town will submit its plan to the state and the Select Board will vote to approve it, which means lower electric rates might arrive before the end of the year.

Milford's plan includes three tiers for electricity supply, with each one meeting or exceeding state standards for renewable energy sources. National Grid would remain the electricity distributor in Milford — the portion of your electric bill that covers the cost of getting electricity from the power plant across transmission lines and into homes.

Last winter, National Grid raised its supply rate to about 33 cents per kilowatt-hour citing uncertainty in the global energy market. But communities with aggregation programs were able to offer much lower rates. For example, Marlborough had previously negotiated a four-year supply rate with its aggregation partner, so residents in that city only paid about 9.3 cents per kilowatt-hour — more than 1/3 less than National Grid's rate.

Dozens of nearby towns offer aggregation rates, including Bellingham, Mendon, Upton and Medway. You can read the Milford municipal aggregation plan here.