Exeter Community Power Rates Released
Exeter, NH - March 15th, 2023: Exeter Community Power is poised to save electric rate payers up to 39% on their energy supply charges starting in May of 2023. The Community Power Coalition of NH (CPCNH), of which Exeter is a founding member, announced the new rates for their "Granite Basic" energy supply package at $0.158/kilowatt hour. All customers currently on Unitil Default Supply will be rolled over to Exeter Community Power starting in May, bringing down the portion of the energy bill related to the supply by 39.2%. Unitil customers will still receive a bill from Unitil and be charged for delivery costs, but the supply will change from Unitil's default package to the CPCNH Granite Basic package. Exeter Community Power will also be offering several other sources/products that allow residents to opt-up, paying slightly more for a higher percentage of energy from renewable sources.
Cliff Sinnott, a member on the Exeter Community Power Aggregation Committee, is excited to see the Community Power plan being implemented. "The fact that we are going to have a considerably lower cost for energy and that people are going to have the option to increase the amount of renewable energy that is in their energy supply, I think its going to be a wonderful option for people that would like to do something to reduce their impact in terms of greenhouse gases but have no ability to put solar panels on their roof."
Another goal of the new Community Power Coalition is to leverage reserve funds for the benefit of the member communities. Lisa Sweet, Rye’s representative on the CPCNH governance board, said community power is about more than short-term savings. “[It] allows us to build reserve funds controlled by our local communities – not out-of-state, for-profit corporations – and decide how those funds are spent and to counter future market volatility and invest back into our local communities,” she said. These funds could be used to stabilize rates to keep energy costs lower for ratepayers, encourage local production of renewable energies, or perhaps even fund renewable projects in the future.
CPCNH will be mailing a notification letter between March 24th and 28th with information about how to opt-out if they wish to stay with the current energy supply or if they want to opt-up to one of the products offering a higher percentage of energy created from renewable energy. Residents and business owners with questions are also encouraged to attend a public information meeting on April 5th at 7 PM in the Nowak Room of the Town Offices or join the meeting via zoom. For more information visit: https://www.communitypowernh.gov/exeter
