Public Info Meeting Oct. 4 on Comm. Choice Aggregation

The Town of Penfield and its Program Administrator, Good Energy, L.P., invite residents to attend a public information meeting in the town hall auditorium on Monday, October 4 at 7:00 PM to learn more about Penfield’s Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program.

Representatives from Good Energy will present information on CCA—what it is, how it works, how it benefits electricity customers—and answer residents’ questions. Town staff will also be on hand to provide information.

Public participation will be available in person, online, and by call-in. Auditorium seating will be limited due to COVID-19 safety protocols. As a courtesy to all, please limit seating to one person per household. Residents may also ask questions online at www.penfield.org via the "Live Meeting Video" link, or by calling in at (585) 340-8771. This meeting will be broadcast LIVE on Penfield Television's Government Access Network. This includes Spectrum Cable Channel 1303, ROKU / Apple TV / Amazon Fire in the "PenfieldTV" app, as well as online via FacebookYouTube, Twitch, and www.penfieldTV.org

CCA is a municipal energy procurement model that allows local governments to procure “clean” power on behalf of their qualified residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from RG&E. CCAs are an attractive option for communities that want more local control over their electricity sources, more green power than is offered by the default utility, and/or lower electricity prices. By aggregating demand, communities gain leverage to negotiate better rates with competitive suppliers and choose greener power sources. By legislation, CCAs are opt-out community-wide programs that include all qualified households and businesses. Residents who do NOT wish to participate in the CCA program always have the ability to opt-out at no cost.

The Town’s Energy and Environment Advisory Committee began looking into CCA in 2016 when New York State authorized the energy procurement model to help meet state-wide clean energy goals. In 2020, the Penfield Town Board adopted a local law to authorize the establishment of a CCA program. That was ultimately followed by designating Good Energy L.P. as Program Administrator in June 2021. In August 2021, the Town of Penfield entered into a 24-month Aggregation Program Agreement with Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. to provide eligible Penfield residents an electricity product that is 50% green at the price of 5.733 cents/kWh. Residents who wish to opt up to a 100% green product at a slightly higher fixed rate of 6.443 cents/kWh will have that option.

As CCA Program Administrator, Good Energy is conducting public outreach that includes details about the CCA program; who is considered eligible, the ability to opt up or opt-out, and other related topics. Good Energy is providing resident communications through a dedicated website (www.penfieldcca.com), a telephone hotline (585) 310-0236, and by direct mail. The electricity supply program will begin in early December 2021 following community outreach and will run for two years.

Under the CCA model, RG&E remains the electricity distributor; it will still own and operate the transmission lines, respond to outages and emergencies, and bill as normal for delivery of those services.

To connect with CCA Program Administrator Good Energy with questions or to manage CCA status, go to www.penfieldcca.com.

Learn more about the history of Community Choice Aggregation in Penfield.

Supervisor Tony LaFountain:

“The town board is encouraging residents to better understand the CCA program and the short- and long-term benefits it offers households. The goal of CCA is to provide residents with stable pricing at a lower cost than could be purchased by one single household. Additionally, the board wanted to provide a source of power that includes at least a 50% green component with the ability to “opt up” to 100% green power. Equally important is the ability for residents who are not interested in the program to opt-out without penalty. Again, the intent of this informational meeting, educational materials on the website, home mailings, and one-on-one meetings in the coming months are to assist residents in making the best choice for their families.”