Woburn council authorizes staff to pursue community choice electricity aggregation

Woburn City Council voted to authorize city staff to pursue a community choice electricity aggregation program, aiming to pool municipal and resident electricity demand to seek more stable supply prices.

The council's sustainability consultant outlined the program and told the committee that aggregation is an "opt-out" group-purchasing model that leaves Eversource as the distribution utility but allows the municipality to select the supply vendor and term. The presenter said communities often secure multiyear contracts that smooth price volatility and reduce door-to-door marketing targeting seniors. "It's basically like a group purchase... people are saving on average about $250 a year per household because of this predictability," the consultant said.

Councilors pressed for details about resident notification, DPU oversight and whether utilities could shift charges to delivery lines. The presenter acknowledged aggregation affects only the supply portion of residents' bills and said the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) regulates delivery charges. He recommended a broker to solicit supplier bids, and said a typical start-to-finish process can take about 18 months, depending on DPU timelines.

Several councilors voiced support. One said the plan "gives the community a choice" and planned to support the order, while others emphasized the need for clear, plain-English mailings and senior-center outreach so older residents understand the opt-out process. Staff and the presenter described common outreach steps: mandatory DPU mailings, supplemental plain-language notices, senior-center presentations and in-person assistance for residents concerned about scams.

The council's action authorizes staff to continue the process, engage a broker and work with the DPU and the city's consultant; it does not itself change residents' supplier or finalize any contract. Next steps outlined in the meeting: staff will pursue broker options, draft communication plans for residents (including targeted senior outreach), and return with recommended contract terms and a proposed implementation timeline for council review.