Ian LenahanFoster's Daily Democrat
DOVER — Since launching a community power program, Dover has seen roughly 12,800 accounts enroll, saving residents and business owners $772,000-plus combined on electricity bills in the first five months.
Just 51 users have opted for plans utilizing higher renewable energy content while most have chosen plans that result in bigger cost savings, according to Jackson Kaspari, the city's resilience manager.
City Council members were briefed Wednesday by Kaspari on several energy projects in Dover, including the city’s efforts to expand renewable energy sources and gradually lower electricity bills through the community power program. Dover is one of almost five dozen members of the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire.
About 40,000 megawatt hours have been served since the start of the program among all users in Dover.
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Officials in Dover will work to promote the entire city community power program in hopes of attracting more customers.
“There is an effort right now between Seacoast New Hampshire communities to look at how we can increase outreach, specifically about the higher renewable content options and their credit price points, so we’ll be working on ways to engage the public just to let them know they have that available to them,” he said. “Hopefully more folks may consider that choice if it makes sense.”
Dover is one of the founding members of theCommunity Power Coalition of New Hampshire.
The coalition reported having 57 municipal members and two county members as of April 1. Locally, Barrington, Durham, Epping, Exeter, Hampton Falls, Newmarket, Portsmouth, Rye, Somersworth and Stratham have joined the coalition.
What are choices for community power customers on their monthly electric bills?
Four options for electricity customers are offered in the community power program. The default “Granite Basic” plan matches Eversource’s 23.4% renewable content offering, though the community power rate of 8.1 cents per kilowatt hour and estimated monthly pay of $53 is slightly less than Eversource’s rates. The 33% renewable energy “Granite Plus” plan costs 8.4 cents per kilowatt hour and is an estimated $55 per month, while the “Clean 50” Plan with 50% renewable content costs 9.4 cents per kilowatt hour at an estimated $61 per month. The 100% renewable energy “Clean 100” option comes in 12.4 cents per kilowatt hour and an estimated $81 per month.
Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire officials are looking to reduce the price of the “Clean 100” cost per kilowatt hour in Dover, Kaspari told the City Council.
“They've been able to increase their staff capacity as more communities are participating, which is good because they're providing a real high level of support, including legislative support on behalf of communities as well as technical support for programs and projects,” Kaspari said.
Dover community power participants are currently locked into a six-month plan that began on Feb. 1 and will end July 31.
Councilor Fergus Cullen reminded his colleagues the 51 city community power program account holders who’ve selected a higher renewable content plan make up approximately 0.4% of all enrolled Dover members.
“Let’s not kid ourselves that this is really making a difference. It’s fine that we offer the choice, but consumers are acting on that and they’re not choosing it,” he said.
The roughly 12,800 accounts currently enrolled in the Dover program represents a 1.4% decrease in registered users since the start of the city initiative.
Kaspari speculated the city saw a small dip in account holders because of apartment tenant changeover in Dover and occupants being automatically enrolled with Eversource. Kaspari said the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire is countering that trend by sending out mailers to potential new customers in communities like Dover.
Program touted as 'great success'
Across the statewide coalition, participating community power users in New Hampshire have seen a total of about $23 million in savings to date, according to Kaspari.
“It’s been a great success for Dover and for the state of New Hampshire overall,” he added.
“I think this is an incredibly beneficial program that has been rolled out in Dover,” said Councilor April Richer, who is a member of Dover’s energy commission.
Kaspari sits on the board of directors for the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire and is the primary city staffer overseeing the program in Dover.
City Manager Michael Joyal Jr. noted Kaspari’s position with the city is grant-funded and has led to hundreds of thousands of dollars saved for Dover residents and businesses within the community power program.
“That has almost more than tenfold paid for the cost of the position that Jackson occupies here in the city,” Joyal said. “So when the grant funds run out, there’s clearly an opportunity to show that there was a significant return on the investment that was made. That was one of the purposes of the grant was to show that there could be significant savings and benefit to the community by investing in projects and activities that promote sustainable practices, renewable energy use, etc.”
The Dover community power launch occurred at the end of last October.
