Select Board members have approved a request from a group of citizens in Hancock to continue drafting a community power aggregation plan – with the intent of lowering the cost of power for residents in the town and providing renewable sources of energy – that would be included in a warrant article at the 2023 Town Meeting.
The group made its proposal at the Oct. 24 meeting.
“I’m a grandmother of four and I’m very concerned about the world that my grandchildren are going to live in when they’re adults and I wanted to take some steps in the community to see what we can do for the environment and the impending crisis,” said Kathy Anderson, one of the five members of the Hancock Community Power Committee.
Anderson explained the the committee was formed after talking with Jim Callahan, who is also on the committee, along with Robbie Hertneky, Bill Horton and Tom Villeneuve.
The group started meeting about two months ago, Anderson said, adding that other towns have made some headway in their initiatives for renewable sources of energy, and the group decided to focus on creating a community power program for Hancock, which would allow the town to buy electricity in bulk for residents and businesses from electric suppliers at wholesale rates.
The committee informed the Select Board that utilities, such as Eversource, would still own and maintain all of the poles and wires and that billing features can allow for innovative funding for energy efficiency and grid modernization.
“Community power is based on local control, lower pricing, renewable energy options, and may provide for value-added service such as a reserve fund to invest in local renewable energy or energy efficiency for low-income homes,” according to a statement the committee presented to the Select Board.
New Hampshire Community Power’s bulk purchasing program for electricity was made possible because of RSA 53-E, a state law allowing local governments to buy and provide electricity for their residents, businesses and municipal offices on a competitive basis. New Hampshire is one of eight states in the country allowing for shared community power.
Anderson said that the Town of Lebanon has gained approval for the program and that other towns around the state, including Keene and Dublin, have been active in pursuing the program.
The next step for the committee, Anderson said, is to get information out to the community and receive public feedback before writing their plan.
“I see this as a very positive option,” Anderson said. “We won’t run this program unless we can be equal to or less expensive than Eversource costs.”
Eversource’s electricity rates increased by more than 100 percent on Aug. 1, 2022, from 10.7 cents per kilowatt-hour to 22.7 cents, an increase of $70 for the average household monthly electric bill.
“I have no problem having the town join the coalition and would support it as a warrant article,” said Select Board Chair Laurie Bryan, adding that hearings on warrant articles start in January and that the committee should keep that in mind. “We’re happy to appoint you.”
Anderson said if the plan is approved at Town Meeting, it would be another six months before going into effect. People would then have a 30- day period to choose whether to opt in or out of the program.