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Energy Savings Coming to Irvington and Tarrytown
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February 4, 2016
by Alexander Roberts
Irvington and Tarrytown residents are one degree away from a bold program that promises to provide guaranteed savings for gas and electricity. New York is the last of seven states that have so far adopted Consumer Choice Aggregation, (CCA). It’s a program that has saved consumers energy supply costs between 10% and 14% on average, and as much as 25% in one state, Illinois. Some 2.5 million consumers were enrolled in CCAs as of this past year.
Sustainable Westchester’s Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program has been approved by both villages, and they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will result in bids from ESCOs, (Energy Supply Companies), based on the entire usage of power by all residential and small commercial ConEd customers, which will be placed in the new program by default.
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While residents may opt out, the gas and electricity supply rates are guaranteed to be lower than those of Con Ed. An option with CCA for “green” power, solar and wind, will also be available at a defined extra cost. Con Ed will continue to charge for delivery of electricity and gas as it does now, and bill for the ESCO supply, as well. ConEd customers will receive letters detailing aspects of the program prior to its start-up.
Twenty-one communities in Westchester were expected to have signed into CCA by the end of last month. Once the winning ESCOs are selected and the program goes into effect, residents currently with an ESCO will be eligible for the new program, assuming they sever their existing ESCO contract.
But should you switch to gain the guaranteed savings of the CCA? As a start, you may find out if you are getting a good deal from your present ESCO with a new tool Con Edison has on its website that will instantly tell you what you paid your ESCO in the last year compared to what you would have paid for the supply of electricity and gas had you remained with Con Ed.
It’s called the ESCO Bill Comparison tool and you may access it by logging into your account at www.coned.com. The tool is at the bottom of the list under “Manage my account”. Clicking on it will generate a simple spreadsheet you may download that tells you what you paid your ESCO for electricity or gas each month for the last year, the price you would have paid Con Edison, and the difference in cost.
You may be surprised to find out how much more you are paying, as I was. At a recent Solarize Tarrytown event, I asked the audience to try out the tool and tell me what they found. Mike Wigon was shocked to find out he paid $1,206, or 36% more under his contract with an ESCO for wind-generated electricity. Marcia Case, whose power was not “green” from an ESCO learned that she paid $567, or 21% more for her electricity than if she had stayed with Con Ed.
As a public service, The Hudson Independent is analyzing what our readers find out about what they have been paying. So, readers, if you wish to, please download the Con Ed spreadsheet and email it to this reporter at aroberts@robertsgeo.com with your comments. Did you find what you expected? Note that you should check your current ESCO agreement to determine if they may charge a penalty for ending your contract, assuming you switch to the CCA program.
Sustainable Westchester is a consortium of 41 county governments “that facilitates effective sustainability initiatives, engages community stakeholders, and shares tools, resources, and incentives to create more healthy, vibrant and attractive communities, now and in the future.”
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