Frequently asked questions

Needham Power Choice is a municipal electricity aggregation, which is a type of group electricity buying program.

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

1. They deliver your electricity. Delivery services appear on your 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 bill as your Supply charge.

But in Massachusetts, consumers actually have three options for electricity supply:

• Your utility can serve as your electricity supplier, as just described. This is called Basic Service, and this is what we all have when we first open our electricity accounts if we don’t make any other choice. Eversource’s Basic Service price changes seasonally.
• You can sign a private contract with an electricity supplier that locks in an electricity supply price. The duration of that price will depend on the contract you sign.
• Your municipal government can sign a contract with an electricity supplier that you benefit from. This third option is municipal electricity aggregation, and this is what Needham Power Choice is. Needham Power Choice locks in long-term, stable prices.

Download 2-page program overview. (PDF)

Learn more about how aggregation works.

Needham Power Choice provides stable electricity supply prices, consumer protections, and the option to purchase more of your electricity from renewable sources. Learn more about program benefits.

Municipal aggregation was approved at the October 22, 2022, Town Meeting. After a period of state regulatory review and approval, Needham Power Choice will launch with March 2025 meter reads.

The Town of Needham has signed a contract with Constellation to supply electricity to Needham Power Choice participants until March 2027. The Town intends to sign a new electricity supply contract when the current contract ends. The electricity supplier and renewable energy content may change, and the price may be higher or lower than the current price. You will continue in the same program option at the new price unless you inform the program otherwise. However, if the Town decides the program is not beneficial to the community, it is free to cancel the program at the end of the current supply contract and return all participants to Eversource’s Basic Service. The Town will provide advance notice of any such changes, and you will be free to opt out or change your option before the changes take effect.

Municipal electricity aggregation was enabled by the Massachusetts Restructuring Act of 1997 (Chapter 164, Section 134), which allows local municipal governments to aggregate the electricity supply loads of the electricity consumers within their geographic boundaries in order to negotiate more favorable terms with an electricity supplier.

State law requires aggregations to use an automatic enrollment model. Needham did not have a choice as to whether the program would be opt in or opt out.

However, participation is never required. You have the option to opt out before being automatically enrolled, or you may try the program and leave later. There is never any fee or penalty to opt out, and you may do so at any time. Opt out.

If you have received a notice of automatic enrollment from the Town, you do not need to take any action. Your account will be automatically enrolled after the opt-out deadline listed in the notice. View the notice of automatic enrollment.

If you have not received a notice of automatic enrollment, you may request enrollment.

Visit the Participating page for more information.

To choose Needham Basic or Needham 100% Green, complete the online form or call customer support at 1-844-379-2171. Be sure to have an Eversource bill with you when you fill out the form or call, as you’ll need information from your bill to make the request.

Participation is open to all metered electricity accounts in Needham.

For more details, please see the Participating page.

Yes, however, if you opt out and then wish to re-enroll in the program, you are not guaranteed the program price when you re-enroll. The electricity supplier is entitled to charge you a market price for the remainder of the current electricity supply contract, which may be higher. 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.

You will see two changes on your Eversource electric bill as a result of participating in Needham Power Choice:

1. Eversource will use a Needham Power Choice price to calculate the Generation Service Charge on your bill.
2. Your bill will show Constellation-Needham Power Choice as your electricity supplier.

Additionally, the amount of electricity you receive from renewable sources will increase if you participate in Needham Standard or Needham 100% Green.

If you have Eversource’s Budget Billing, it will continue to apply to the Delivery portion of your bill, but it will no longer apply to the Supply portion.

Otherwise, everything else will remain the same. You will continue to receive your electric bill from Eversource, you will continue to pay Eversource, and you will continue to call Eversource if the power goes out.

If you are eligible for any discounts from Eversource, such as a low-income discount or fuel assistance, those discounts will be unaffected by your participation in Needham Power Choice.

Needham Power Choice will be integrated into your existing Eversource electric bill. You will not receive any additional bills because of participating in Needham Power Choice.

Eversource continues to send your bill, and you continue to pay them using whatever method you have set up with them.

To see what your electric bill will look like, view an example bill.

The program will appear on your Eversource electric bill, and your Generation Service Charge will reflect the program option you are enrolled in. View an example Eversource bill to see where the program and price appear on your bill.

No. There will be no change in the consistency or reliability of the electricity coming into your home or business as a result of participating in Needham Power Choice.

Eversource remains responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of electricity in Needham. Further, they have no preference whether they are your electricity supplier or you choose another supplier. Eversource does not profit from the supply portion of your bill. They make their profit from the delivery portion.

If you participate in a program option that includes additional electricity from renewable sources, it means more of the electricity that is put onto the grid on your behalf will come from renewable sources, but this does not change the overall reliability of the electricity on the grid.

Yes. If you are participating in community solar, or if you are receiving net metering credits or incentive payments for electricity produced by solar panels on your property, you will continue to receive your credits or incentive payments as a participant in Needham Power Choice.

Further, there will be no change in how they are calculated. Their calculation is not connected to your electricity supply price.

However, you could see a benefit. If your electricity supply charge is lower because the Needham Power Choice price is lower than Eversource’s Basic Service price, the credits or incentive payments could go further in offsetting that charge.

Please note, however, that because Eversource’s Basic Service prices change and their future prices are not known, savings compared with Eversource can never be guaranteed.

Program prices are available on the Prices page.

To see how much your monthly supply charge will be, use the calculator.

Maybe! According to a report by UMass Amherst, the majority of communities with aggregation programs do see some savings compared with Eversource’s Basic Service prices. At program launch, the prices for Needham Basic and Needham Standard are lower than Eversource’s residential and small business Basic Service prices.

However, Needham Power Choice offers long-term fixed prices, while Eversource’s prices change every 6 months or less. As a result, savings compared with Eversource can never be guaranteed.

If you are not happy with the program, you are always free to leave the program at any time with no fee or penalty.

If you are eligible for any discounts, including a low-income discount or fuel assistance, you will continue to receive that discount with no change.

If you have Eversource’s Budget Billing, it will continue to apply to the Delivery potion of your bill, but it will no longer apply to the Supply portion of your bill. If it is important to have Budget Billing applied to your whole bill, you should opt out of Needham Power Choice.

No. The delivery portion of your electric bill is not impacted by whether or not you participate in Needham Power Choice. These charges are regulated.