PLAINFIELD — Enfield and Plainfield will vote on community power aggregation plans at Town Meeting this year, aiming to give residents and small businesses the chance to buy power from renewable sources at a competitive price.
The two towns have already joined the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, a public nonprofit designed to aggregate the buying power of multiple municipalities and protect each town from legal and financial liability. Under a community power model, a municipal government buys power on behalf of residents and businesses from alternative sources while utility companies continue to deliver electricity on their power lines.
Utility payments, not taxes, would cover the operating costs.
“New Hampshire has not traditionally taken a leadership role in any energy-related issues,” said Kim Quirk, who serves on Enfield’s Energy Committee. The state’s requirement that utilities source a minimum of 22.6% of their power from renewable sources is a fraction of the requirements in other New England states. “But in this program — electric aggregation and community power — New Hampshire is actually a leader.”
Enfield will hold its last public hearing on its community power plan Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Enfield Community Center.
“I think the most exciting piece is that it gives Enfield the opportunity to have a say, to take some control over where our power is purchased from and at what cost,” Quirk said.
And for those who choose to pay a little more, there will be an option for a greener power mix. Meanwhile, the basic service plan would meet New Hampshire’s renewable energy standard at a lower cost than default utilities.
Local control will also give Enfield tools to advance goals such as weatherization and increased electric vehicles use, Quirk said. For example, Enfield could offer special rates for power used for particular uses or at times of day with lower electricity demands, such as a lower rate for charging an electric vehicle at night.
But the vote is not the last step toward implementing community power, she said. Community power can launch only after the Public Utilities Commission finalizes regulations for power aggregation. The Selectboard would also vote on a “power purchase agreement” that lays out the final prices and power options. If the Selectboard passed the agreement, then customers with the default utility would transfer to Enfield Community Power on an opt-out basis.
Meanwhile, Plainfield held a public hearing on its community power plan on Thursday evening and plans to hold at least one more in February. Evan Oxenham, the committee chair, presented on the basics of how community power works and outlined benefits including local control, lower costs and the option to invest more in local renewable energy.
The substantial purchasing power of the growing number of municipalities in the Community Power Coalition would allow it to negotiate lower rates, he explained. While utilities usually bid on power prices at set times, the coalition would actively monitor power prices and build a varied portfolio that takes advantage of the lowest prices. While supporters argue this will offer customers lower prices than utilities, the coalition may have more difficulty competing with the New Hampshire Electric Co-op, which uses the same process of securing power.
Local control is of the utmost importance, said Jennifer Lenz, a member of the Plainfield Energy Committee. Oxenham, she pointed out, serves on the board of the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire.
“We can talk to you at the post office; you can come to an Energy Committee meeting,” she said. “Also, investors might have a different focus on what they care about, and Evan — he really cares about renewable power.”
A small community, Plainfield would struggle to meet its renewable power goals without the help of some larger coalition, she added. Plainfield voters committed to achieving 100% reliance on renewable energy by 2030 at Town Meeting in 2018.
Clifton Below, who serves on the Lebanon City Council and chairs the Lebanon Energy Advisory Community, is optimistic about recent strides toward favorable regulations of community power at the Public Utilities Commission. Lebanon passed its own energy aggregation plan in September.
Below updated the City Council on the progress of community power on Jan. 19. The Department of Energy proposed administrative rules to the PUC late last year. Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Community Power Coalition joined with Clean Energy NH, the Conservation Law Foundation and other vendors to propose an alternative and expanded set of rules that would smooth the way for community power.
The PUC, which has two new commissioners and a new chair, rejected the DOE’s proposal, instead accepting rules drafted by the coalition as their initial proposal, as Below told the City Council.
Below called the PUC’s decision a “good step forward, considering the DOE people were their former staff.”
Had the PUC adopted the DOE’s rules, Lebanon would have had to notify everyone in the city if it launched a small pilot program. Under the coalition’s rules, it could operate an opt-in program as a trial run.
With member communities including at least 16 municipalities and Cheshire County, the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire would launch at scale with Liberty Utilities. And more towns may soon sign on.
The Cornish Energy Committee hopes that the Selectboard will sign the Joint Powers Agreement for Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire by May or June, according to minutes from its January 2022 meeting.
And Canaan is looking for volunteers to join a committee that would investigate whether community power is a good option for the town.
Claire Potter is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at cpotter@vnews.com or 603-727- 3242.