RMLD Extends Deal With FirstLight For Hydroelectric Power

BURLINGTON, MA — Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) announced on Wednesday the extension of an agreement to purchase hydroelectric energy from Burlington-based FirstLight Power.

RMLD, which supplies power to Reading, Wilmington, North Reading, and Lynnfield Center, will purchase all of the output of hydroelectric power and renewable energy credits from FirstLight's Falls Village Generating Station in Falls Village, Connecticut, the companies announced.

The deal, which will run from 2025 through 2040, will make RMLD the exclusive buyer of energy generated by the Falls Village facility, which produces an average of 41,000 Megawatt hours per year of hydroelectric power.

According to RMLD, the agreement will advance the company strategy of exceeding Massachusetts' noncarbon compliance requirements. In 2021, former Gov. Charlie Baker passed into law that municipal utilities must obtain 50 percent of their supply from carbon-free sources by 2030.

In addition to providing clean energy, RMLD said the deal will help to significantly lower energy prices for its commercial and residential customers.

Proponents of this and other similar deals point out that hydroelectric energy helps protect utilities and their customers from the volatile energy prices associated with fossil fuel generation from oil and natural gas.

"RMLD provides reliable and cost-effective electricity to our customers while decarbonizing our power supply, and this innovative deal strengthens our performance in each of those key areas because hydroelectric power is a clean, affordable, and reliable energy source," said RMLD General Manager Gregory Phipps.

Phipps continued: "This deal with FirstLight Power maintains our portfolio at approximately 25 percent hydroelectric power and reinforces RMLD's prudent risk management practice of maintaining a balanced power supply portfolio across geography and generation type."

FirstLight Power, which is based in Burlington and has offices in Northfield and New Milford, Connecticut, has a track record of working with municipal utilities on clean power purchase agreements.

In 2020, FirstLight entered into a purchase agreement with Energy New England (ENE), which represents 21 municipal utilities, including RMLD. According to FirstLight, the deal was the largest renewable energy purchase by municipal utilities in New England.

This past October, FirstLight extended its agreement with ENE, and RMLD was one of 13 public utilities that were part of that contract. The company also continues to extend individual agreements with several utilities, like RMLD.

"We are thrilled to extend our collaboration with the Reading Municipal Light Department, which will help deliver clean, reliable, and cost-competitive electricity to RMLD ratepayers," said Peter Rider, senior vice president of commercial operations of FirstLight Power.

Rider continued: "The energy transition requires ambitious first-movers to put action on display, and that is exactly what RMLD is doing with this agreement — securing clean electricity for residents while simultaneously lessening the reliance on cost-variable fossil fuels, which at this very moment are presenting significant cost challenges for people across the Commonwealth. We are proud to work with true leaders like RMLD who are committed to advancing decarbonization while providing unwavering best-in-class service to customers."