The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program is a municipal electricity aggregation, a form of group electricity purchasing.

Typically, your electric utility, Eversource, provides two services to you:

1. They deliver your electricity (Massachusetts electric utilities are electricity delivery companies only). Delivery services appear on your Eversource bill as Delivery charges.
2. They also supply your electricity, which means they buy electricity for you and pass the cost along to you. The cost of the electricity they buy for you appears on your Eversource bill as Supply charges.

But in Massachusetts, there are actually three ways to purchase your electricity:

• Your utility, Eversource, can do it for you, as just described. This is called Basic Service, and this is how most people buy their electricity.
• You can sign a contract with an electricity supplier yourself. You may have received offers in the mail or over the phone.
• Your municipal government can sign a contract with an electricity supplier on your behalf. This third option is municipal electricity aggregation, and this is what the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program is.

If you participate in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, Eversource delivers your electricity, but Natick’s electricity supplier appears on your Eversource bill as your electricity supplier. Eversource will use the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program price to calculate the Supply charges on your Eversource electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program provides an alternative both to Eversource’s Basic Service pricing and to other electricity supply offers in the marketplace.

No. If you receive a personal call or visit about your electricity, that person does not represent the Town of Natick, Eversource, or the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program. Neither Eversource nor the Town is knocking on doors or making individual phone calls. Any communication from Eversource or the Town is done by mail, and any communication from the Town will bear the Town seal.

If you receive a call or a visit from someone who wants to discuss your electricity, here are three things to keep in mind:

• The person you are speaking with is not associated with Eversource, the Town of Natick, or the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program.
• You should treat your Eversource account number like you treat your credit card information. Do not give it out unless you want to purchase your electricity from someone else.
• You do have the right to select an electricity supplier of your choice. If you choose to sign a private contract with an electricity supplier, please check the terms of the contract carefully. Things to check for include, but are not limited to: minimum bill amounts, contract length requirements, early termination fees, low introductory rates that change after the introductory period ends, and rates that vary.

If you feel a salesperson has fraudulently identified themself as working for Eversource or the Town of Natick, please report it to the Department of Public Utilities Consumer Division at 617-737-2836 or DPUConsumer.Complaints@mass.gov.

The minimum amount increases every year.

For 2024, Massachusetts state law requires that all electricity suppliers must include a minimum of 24% from new renewable energy projects in the New England region.

In addition, state law requires the purchase of a minimum amount of renewable energy from older renewable energy projects in New England, as well as from some other energy sources that are considered renewable but are not particularly clean.

The total amount of renewable energy required by law in 2024 is 62%.

For more information, visit the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources page on compliance information for the Renewable Portfolio Standard.

The 100% Green option purchases renewable electricity to match 100% of your electricity use, all from newer renewable energy projects in New England.

Choosing this option means making the most significant contribution possible to sustainability and the New England economy through the program.

Every time you pay your electric bill, you will make a strong investment in:

• Reducing Natick’s greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the amount of renewable energy used to generate electricity. Electricity generated from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, does not create the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and does not pollute the air.
• Encouraging the development of additional renewable energy projects in the New England region by creating additional demand for the electricity generated by those projects.
• Supporting local businesses and local jobs by buying electricity from New England-based projects.

Check your most recent Eversource electric bill. If you are enrolled in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, your electricity supplier will be listed as “First Point Natick Electricity Agg.”

To check which program option you are enrolled in, look at the price that is used to calculate the Supply charge portion of your bill.

If you are enrolled in the 100% Green option, the price will be $0.17474/kWh (17.474 ¢/kWh).

If you are enrolled in the Standard Green option (the default program option), the price will be $0.15561/kWh (15.561 ¢/kWh).

If you are enrolled in the Natick Basic/Brown option, the price will be $0.14680/kWh (14.680 ¢/kWh).

Natick’s contract with First Point Power will be in effect until December 2025 meter reads. Natick can then establish a contract with a new electricity supplier or end the program and return participants to Basic Service. If Natick does establish a contract with a new electricity supplier, the Town will announce the new prices, and program participants will remain enrolled under the new contract.

Call Eversource if your power goes out. Eversource will deliver your electricity and maintain the poles and wires.

Natick’s electricity supplier is required to have tax-exemption documentation on file for every electricity account that participates in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program and has tax-exempt status. Without that documentation on file, the supplier may be required to charge tax on the account. They cannot obtain that documentation from Eversource. They must obtain it from each customer directly.

If your account has tax-exempt status, please submit your tax-exemption documentation to the electricity supplier. Visit the Tax-exempt accounts page for information on where to send your documentation.

Electricity service has two parts: Supply and Delivery. Supply refers to the electricity itself. Delivery is the process of bringing that electricity to you over the wires.

With Eversource’s Basic Service, Eversource buys electricity for you and delivers the electricity to you. With the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, Eversource will continue to deliver your electricity, but Natick chooses its own electricity supplier.

A competitive electricity supplier is not your electric utility. Electricity suppliers do not deliver your electricity. They buy it for you, and your electric utility delivers it.

A competitive electricity supplier is a company licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to purchase electricity and related services from the wholesale electricity markets for resale to retail electricity customers.

If you sign a private contract with an electricity supplier or you participate in a municipal aggregation program like the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, Eversource will use your electricity supplier’s price to calculate the Supply charges on your electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

First Point Power is the electricity supplier through December 2025.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program appears on your Eversource electric bill in two places:

1. On the Supply portion of your Eversource electric bill, you will see Natick’s electricity supplier listed as your electricity supplier instead of Eversource.
2. The price that is used to calculate the Supply portion of your Eversource bill will be the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program price instead of Eversource’s Basic Service price.

See an example Eversource bill.

Otherwise, you will receive your bill from Eversource, you will pay Eversource, and you will call Eversource if your power goes out.

If you are eligible for any discounts from Eversource, those will be unaffected by your participation in the program.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program offers three options. Your price will be determined by which option you are enrolled in.

Learn more about program options and prices.

Having a stable price for the Supply portion of your Eversource electric bill can protect you from the seasonal price increases that occur when you have Eversource’s Basic Service. When Eversource is your electricity supplier, the price used to calculate the Supply charges on your Eversource bill changes seasonally.

Having a stable price for the Supply portion of your Eversource electric bill can also provide a predictable alternative to the variable pricing offered by some electricity supply offers in the marketplace. Some electricity supply offers will provide a stable price for a few months, but then the price will vary monthly.

When the Town signs a new electricity supply contract and the prices change, the Town will announce the new prices publicly before they take effect.

No. Eversource’s Basic Service prices change seasonally, and future prices are not known. As a result, savings compared with Eversource’s prices cannot be guaranteed.

No. Your primary relationship for electricity will remain with Eversource, and Eversource will bill you for your electricity. This is the only electric bill you will receive as a participant in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program prices are fixed, long-term prices. In contrast, Eversource’s Basic Service prices change seasonally. As a result, it is typical that for some months in the year, the Eversource prices will fall below the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program prices.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program offers the potential for savings compared with the average of Eversource’s changing prices, but it cannot guarantee that it will beat Eversource’s Basic Service price.

Program participants are free to opt out at any time and return to Eversource’s Basic Service.

No. If you are eligible for a low-income discount or fuel assistance from Eversource, you will continue to receive that benefit as a participant in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program.

Yes. You will continue to receive solar credits and/or solar incentive payments, and participating in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program will not change how they are calculated.

All new electricity customers in Natick will be automatically enrolled in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, in the Standard Green option, on a periodic basis. You will receive a notice by mail from the Town prior to being automatically enrolled. The notice will include information about the program, options in the program, and prices, as well as information on how to opt out of the program if you do not wish to participate.

Learn more about enrollment.

Important note: For any customer who previously opted out of or left the program and wishes to re-enroll, the program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract. If the program’s electricity supplier decides to charge market pricing, you will be notified before enrollment and can decide then whether to continue with enrollment or not.

All metered electricity customers within the geographic boundaries of Natick are eligible to participate.

Important note: For any customer who previously opted out of or left the program and wishes to re-enroll, the program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract. If the program’s electricity supplier decides to charge market pricing, you will be notified before enrollment and can decide then whether to continue with enrollment or not.

Yes. If you would like to enroll, we recommend that you first check the terms of your existing electricity supply contract. Many include minimum enrollment periods and early termination fees.

If you decide you would like to enroll, you can enroll online or by contacting customer support.

Important note: For any customer who previously opted out of or left the program and wishes to re-enroll, the program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract. If the program’s electricity supplier decides to charge market pricing, you will be notified before enrollment and can decide then whether to continue with enrollment or not.

No. You may choose not to participate. This is called opting out. There is no penalty for opting out. You may do so at any time. If you opt out, you will be placed on Eversource’s Basic Service. You may opt out online or by contacting customer support.

You may make your choice using the online form or by contacting customer support.

Yes, however, for any customer who previously opted out of or left the program and wishes to re-enroll, the program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract. If the program’s electricity supplier decides to charge market pricing, you will be notified before enrollment and can decide then whether to continue with enrollment or not.

Large commercial accounts may be eligible for higher market pricing instead of program pricing when they request initial enrollment in the program. If you are interested in submitting an enrollment request for your large commercial account, please contact customer support.

Eversource is Natick’s electric utility. They are your electricity delivery company. That means Eversource is responsible for delivering electricity to you, for maintaining the poles and wires, and for addressing power outages. Eversource charges you for these services on the Delivery portion of your electric bill. Eversource does not generate electricity.

An electricity supplier is a company that buys electricity for you from electricity generators or from electricity brokers. An electricity supplier does not replace Eversource as your electric utility. They supply the electricity that Eversource delivers to you.

• For most electricity customers, their electric utility is also their electricity supplier. When they are your supplier (i.e., when you are on Eversource’s Basic Service), your electric bill will indicate that is the case with the words “basic service.”
• You may also choose your own electricity supplier. If you do, the name of that company will appear on your Eversource bill as your electricity supplier, and the price you negotiated with them will be used to calculate the Supply charges on your bill.
• With the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, the Town chooses an electricity supplier on your behalf. Natick’s electricity supplier is First Point Power. Eversource will use the price the Town secured with First Point Power to calculate the Supply charges on your bill.

No. Eversource’s quality of service will not be affected by your participation in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program. Eversource does not profit from the Supply charges on your electric bill. They make their profit from Delivery charges. As a result, they have no preference whether they are your electricity supplier or Natick chooses your electricity supplier.

Budget billing is available within the program only on the Delivery charges portion of your bill. It is not available on the Supply charges portion of your bill. If you wish to retain budget billing for both the Supply charges portion and Delivery charges portions of your bill, you should opt out of the program and be placed on Eversource’s Basic Service.