New York towns wades into community choice aggregation, taps supplier

Dive Brief:

The first community choice aggregation (CCA) program in New York has selected ConEdison Solutions to supply energy to 90,000 residents and small businesses under a $150 million contract, Greentech Media reports.
Earlier this month, Sustainable Westchester inked agreements allowing 17 of the 20 Westchester County municipalities that comprise Westchester Smart Power to take a range of supply options, from 100% renewable energy to a lower-priced traditional mix.
Last year, New York selected Sustainable Westchester Inc., a local non-profit representing 40 communities in the county, to manage the state's first CCA pilot.

Dive Insight:

A New York town is joining a growing list of communities looking to procure and invest in cleaner energy from community choice aggregation. With California county Marin as the posterchild for the trend towards CCAs, other towns are catching on.

New York is using its Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) to transform the state's energy sector in many ways, mostly focused on utility business models and the integration of new technology. But Sustainable Westchester's supply agreement highlights other ways the strategy is altering how the state consumers think about energy.

"As the first Community Choice Aggregation in New York State, Westchester Smart Power holds the potential to transform how consumers purchase, use and choose the energy for their homes and businesses," Richard Kauffman, chairman of energy and finance for the state, said in a statement. "We congratulate the communities in Westchester County who have embraced Governor Cuomo's Reforming the Energy Vision strategy for a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system ensuring 50% of electricity consumed in New York comes from renewable power by 2030."

The Westchester Smart Power program "unifies environmental and consumer interests," the group said in a statement, pointing to peak load reductions that may save as much as 100 MW at peak hours, potentially saving consumers $10 million anually.

And earlier this month, the group announced it had selected ConEdison Solutions, the deregulated subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc., to supply 90,000 customers with power. Under the CCA, each of the 17 municipalities now has a choice in whether to opt for a 100% renewable energy supply, "greened through Green-e certificates," or a mix of traditional and renewable power that would cost less.

"The contract is a milestone in what Westchester Smart Power intends to be a deep contribution of distributed energy resources (DER) in the state," the group said. Regulators in New York consider the CCA program a pilot that will hopefully blossom under REV, Greentech Media reports.

“I also see community aggregation dovetailing well,” said Audrey Zibelman, New York Public Service Commission chairwoman. “Rather than individuals having to do things on their own, you leverage the opportunity for communities to work together.”

Service for Westchester Smart Power customers will begin on May 1.