Swampscott Community Power Electric Rates To Rise In November

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott Community Power customers will see their rates rise in November as part of the three-year contract that the town negotiated and that the Select Board approved in July.

The rate increase comes after the expiration of the last deal and was influenced by higher wholesale and regulatory costs. Select Board member Doug Thompson said in July that while rates had receded over the past year, they were still higher than they were when the last contract was negotiated three years ago.

The rate for the "standard green power" program starting in November will be 14.837 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to the current National Grid rate of 16.055 cents, which was approximately a $92 annual savings for those who opt into the program as of early July.

The advantage of the fixed rate cost, officials said, is that it allows participants in the program to avoid potential seasonal price spikes in the winter, and during catastrophic weather and world events.

Customers currently enrolled in the program will automatically be enrolled in the "standard green power" program, which uses 100 percent "renewable" energy. There is also a basic program that uses the minimum level of renewable energy allowed by state law for 13.976 cents per kilowatt hour, and a New England Green option that uses only locally sourced renewable power for 16.769 cents per kilowatt hour.

The current cost for National Grid's basic service is 16.055 cents per kilowatt hour.

Residents are allowed to opt out of the program at any time in the contract if the National Grid rate goes below the contract rate, but those who stay in the program would be paying more than the market rate.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)