The City of Rye has signed on to a program called Westchester Power Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) that takes effect in March 2019. As of December 2018, 25 Westchester municipalities have signed up for this program, representing over 100,000 Westchester electric customers and over 40% of the County’s population.
Westchester Power’s CCA program was approved by the NY State Public Service Commission in 2015 and is administered by Sustainable Westchester, a non-profit consortium of municipalities that addresses critical sustainability concerns within Westchester County. The City of Rye, along with virtually every municipality in Westchester, is a member of Sustainable Westchester.
What Is Westchester Power/CCA?
Westchester Power’s CCA allows member municipalities to pool their communities’ electricity demand, which builds the clout necessary to negotiate fixed, low rates with private suppliers andallows us to choose cleaner energy.
In late 2018, Westchester Power solicited bids from energy providers to supply electricity to over 100,000 residents and small businesses within the County. Starting in March 2019, Rye residents and small businesses will be automatically enrolled in the program and will receive a two-year fixed price for electricity supply that is lower than the 12-month trailing average price offered by Con Edison.
Even after City residents and small businesses begin receiving their electricity supply through Westchester Power, Con Ed will continue to deliver that electricity, and you will continue to receive a single bill from Con Ed.
In addition, Rye has selected the “Green” 100% renewable energy option, which means that 100% of the electric power purchased is from clean, renewable sources: sun, wind or water. No coal. No gas. No oil. No nuclear.
What if I Don’t want to Participate?
If you don’t want to participate in the CCA program, you and any other Rye resident can opt out, or even downgrade from “Green” to “Brown” power, at any time, for any reason, and with no charge or penalty. Similarly, if you’d like to opt back in, you can do so, at any time, with no penalty.
Most importantly, because the Westchester Power’s CCA program is run by Sustainable Westchester, this is not similar to a profit-making ESCO that can attach penalty fees for exiting, and/or ratchet up the price of your electricity after some period of time. Those types of tactics have absolutely no place in this program and will not happen here.
Westchester Power representatives explain CCA at a recent Rye forum.
Questions?
To learn more about CCA, please contact Sustainable Westchester's CCA administrator, Westchester Power: 914-242-4725.