The city recently received approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for its electricity aggregation program, Chelsea Electricity Choice. The city anticipates launching the program later this year, according to City Manager Fidel Maltez. Chelsea Electricity Choice is a group electricity buying program from the City of Chelsea for residents and businesses. The program will provide electricity customers in Chelsea with a transparent, trustworthy alternative to private electricity offers. Through the program, Chelsea will sign long-term fixed-price contracts that will prioritize the purchase of electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar. By offering long-term prices, Chelsea Electricity Choice will keep electricity prices stable and can provide protection from high winter price increases, according to Maltez. In addition, Chelsea Electricity Choice has the potential to provide savings compared with Eversource’s Basic Service prices. However, because Eversource’s prices change seasonally and their future prices are unknown, Chelsea Electricity choice cannot guarantee to provide savings. Residents’ electricity accounts will be eligible for automatic enrollment in Chelsea Electricity Choice if they have not already signed a private contract with an electricity supplier (such as Eversource’s Basic Service). Those that have signed a private electricity supply contract, you will not be automatically enrolled, but you can choose to enroll with a phone call or online. Participation is never required, and residents may leave Chelsea Electricity Choice at any time with no fee or penalty. “It’s something that a lot of communities are taking advantage of,” said Maltez. “What we are able to do, is we are able to buy electricity for all of our residents in bulk. By us buying our own electricity we are able to lock in rates longer so we don’t have to go by the fluctuation of Eversource, and we are able to protect residents from third-party energy contracts, which can be predatory. They are not necessarily all predatory, but they can be.” Residents will still be getting one bill from Eversource if they take part in the program, and Eversource will still be responsible for handling all electrical issues in the city, Maltez said. Maltez said the next step is for the City to sign an electricity supply contract. Once that contract is signed, the city will conduct an outreach effort before the program launches, and will be able to share program prices, the launch date, and information about how to enroll or prevent enrollment. As part of that outreach, the city will conduct public information sessions and will notify by mail anyone who is eligible for automatic enrollment. “Since it was first approved, basically in my first week here, I am working really hard to make sure it gets rolled out efficiently and that residents see the benefits sooner rather than later,” said Maltez. “I know that residents in Chelsea in particular are very utility burdened. A lot of their income goes to utilities, so any kind of reduction in electricity cost is going to help all the residents.” More information about the program is available online at ChelseaElectricityChoice.com.