CMA 2017 #165 · Agenda item attachment · Jun 12 2017

C I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E Community Development Department Page 1 of 2 IRAM FAROOQ Assistant City Manager for Community Development Sandra Clarke Deputy Director Chief of Administration To: Louis A. Depasquale, City Manager From: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Nancy E. Glowa, City Solicitor Date: June 6, 2017 Re: Council Order #0-1 dated 1/30/17 related to an update on the City’s Community Choice Electricity Aggregation Plan. In response to the above-referenced council order, we are pleased to report that following a competitive bidding process, we have signed an 18-month contract with Agera Energy, LLC (“Agera”) to procure the electricity supply for City residents and small business basic service electricity customers who choose to participate in the Cambridge Community Electricity Program (the “Program”). In addition to providing 25% more solar energy than the state minimum, the Program will provide electricity cost savings at the time of its launch. The Program price is fixed at 10.486 cents/kWh from July 2017 through January 2019, while Eversource’s Basic Service prices (the July 1-Dec 30, 2017 Basic Service rate is 10.759 cents/kWh) will change two more times during that period (every six months). We anticipate that on average the Program’s price will be lower than or equal to Eversource’s Basic Service prices over the contract term. We will keep residents informed of changes in Eversource’s Basic Service Prices throughout the term. Please see below as to the current status of the Cambridge Community Electricity Program, and prospective future events scheduled to occur with respect to the Program: 1. On April 27, 2017, the Department of Public Utilities (“DPU”) issued an order approving the City’s electricity aggregation petition under certain conditions (which required the City to make specific revisions to its proposed plan for the Program as well as the opt-out letter to be sent to Cambridge customers and the City’s aggregation plan). 2. On May 18, 2017, the City awarded the bid to Agera to be the competitive supplier for the Program. On that same date, the City and Agera executed an 18 month contract for Agera to supply electricity for the Program. 3. On May 30, 2017, the City submitted revised versions of the opt-out letter and Program plan to DPU pursuant to DPU’s April 27, 2017 order approving the City’s electricity aggregation petition. These revisions were subsequently approved by DPU. 4. The opt-out letter was sent out to customers on June 1, 2017. This letter indicated that customers who do not wish to participate in the City’s Program are entitled to opt out of it at any time for no charge.

Page 2 of 2 5. Between June 5, 2017 and June 26, 2017, Community Development Department staff and the City’s consultant, Peregrine Energy Group, will be conducting multiple public education events where they will provide information and answer questions about the Program to members of the community. The first such event took place on Monday, June 5th at the North Cambridge Senior Center. The public is invited to attend one of the following information sessions: Monday, June 12 Lesley University 1815 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140 Room 3-076 6 PM Tuesday, June 13 Citywide Senior Center 806 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139 12:30 PM Monday, June 26 City Hall Annex 344 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139 6 PM A discussion about the Program was broadcast live on Cambridge Community Television’s “Not for Nothin’” program on Monday, June 5th at 4:30 PM. The segment is viewable at: http://neighbormedia.org/news/not-nothin-megan- shaw-and-paul-gromer. 6. After July 5, 2017, Agera will provide Eversource with a list identifying customers enrolled in the Program, which will include all customers who have not opted out prior to July 5. 7. As previously noted, customers will be able to opt out of the Program at any time after this date for no charge. 8. Electricity will be delivered to customers enrolled in the Program for all meter reads after July 15, 2017. The first bill to participating customers to indicate the change to aggregation will be in August, 2017. Residents with questions or concerns should be directed to contact the Cambridge Community Electricity Program consultants at [phone removed] or [email removed]. Additional information is available on the Program website at www.masspowerchoice.com/cambridge.