The cities of Dover and Portsmouth, along with the towns of Newmarket, Durham and Exeter, are challenging each other to see which community’s residents can do the most to fight climate change.
Specifically, the municipalities are launching a friendly competition to see which town can persuade the highest percentage of customers of their community power programs to “opt-up” to greener (generated by from more renewable sources) electricity choices.
All the cities and towns are members of the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH), which is now the default source of electricity supply for their residents and small businesses. Each town or city’s Community Power program offers green energy options not available in the past through Eversource or Unitil. Customers can pay a bit more to choose Granite Plus (33% renewables), Clean 50 (50% renewables) or Clean 100 (100% renewables). CPCNH uses the rate premiums to buy Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) creating more demand for RECs on the energy market that in turn encourages more investments in renewable energy production projects.
“Providing more choices for electricity supply for everyone was a goal of CPCNH from the start,” said Lisa Sweet, vice-chair of the CPCNH board. “All customers in these communities can opt up to two of the three choices and still pay less than the Eversource or Unitil rate.”
The contest will start Aug. 1, 2024 and extend through January 31, 2025 (the timing matches the next rate period for the community power programs). The community with the highest percentage of “opt-ups” will win recognition as the Seacoast town whose residents are doing the most to decarbonize daily electricity use.
“As Newmarket has a number of apartments, condominiums and some homes where it’s not practical to install solar panels, this is an excellent opportunity to help the town transition to clean energy and it’s still cheaper than Eversource,” noted Newmarket Town Councilor Joe Lamattina.
“Durham’s Climate Action Plan establishes a clear course of action for local efforts toward a reduction in GHG emissions of 2019 levels by 42.8% by 2030 and achieving zero emissions by 2050,” said Administrator Todd Selig. “Because the Built Environment and Transportation sectors represent around 93% of Durham’s overall emissions, the faster we can move electrical consumption to renewable sources, the more rapidly we can move the needle on lowering local emissions.”
"This challenge is an opportunity for our residents and business owners to take concrete action against climate change," said Jackson Kaspari, Dover's resilience manager. "By opting for greener energy products at competitive rates, we're not just reducing our carbon footprint; we're setting an example for communities across New Hampshire and beyond."
“Exeter has long been a leader in sustainability in the Seacoast area,” said Exeter Selectwoman Julie Gilman. “Our residents voted overwhelmingly to join CPCNH because it offers an uncomplicated way to decrease individual energy costs and includes the attractive choices to opt- up to higher levels of clean energy sourcing. With rates lower than the default energy suppliers, opting up to a higher clean energy mix offers a way to further improve our quality of life by reducing individual costs and our community’s carbon footprint.”
“In the past, it was complicated to buy greener electricity. Either you had to research half a dozen third-party vendors with complicated contract terms, or install solar panels,” said Portsmouth City Councilor John Tabor. “CPCNH’s green options allow you to have an immediate impact on your community’s carbon footprint with a few clicks. I personally feel a lot better using my dryer during rainy summer days with Clean 100 for my electricity.”
CPCNH is a non-profit agency “by communities, for communities” started in 2021. It now serves 66 communities representing more than 35 percent of the population of New Hampshire. Since launch in March 2023, CPCNH has offered the state low competitive residential and small commercial energy supply rates and collectively has created nearly $14 million in customer savings while offering more green options.
To opt-up, customers should refer to their respective Community Power webpages at CommunityPowerNH.gov . Customer service agents will need the Eversource or Unitil account number to register the opt-up selection.
https://www.communitypowernh.gov/newmarket https://www.communitypowernh.gov/dover https://www.communitypowernh.gov/portsmouth https://www.communitypowernh.gov/durham https:// www.communitypowernh.gov/exeter “May the greenest town win!” said Lamattina.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast Community Power communities launch contest for choosing 'greener' electricity
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