Lincoln Green Energy Choice is a municipal electricity aggregation, which is 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 electric 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 electric bill as Supply charges.

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

• Your utility can do it for you, as just described. This is called Basic Service, and this is how you buy your electricity when you first open your account.
• 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 Lincoln Green Energy Choice is.

If you participate in Lincoln Green Energy Choice, Eversource will continue to deliver your electricity, but First Point Power will appear on your electric bill as your electricity supplier. Eversource will use a Lincoln Green Energy Choice price to calculate the Supply charges on your electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

A municipal electricity aggregation, such as Lincoln Green Energy Choice, is a group purchasing program for electricity.

In an aggregation, the Town uses the bulk purchasing power of the entire community to select an electricity supplier and to negotiate both the amount of renewable energy in the electricity and the price.

If you participate in the program, your electric utility, Eversource, will continue to deliver your electricity, but:

• The company chosen by the Town, First Point Power, will appear on your existing electric bill as your electricity supplier.
• Eversource will use a Lincoln Green Energy Choice price to calculate the Supply charges on your electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

The primary goal of Lincoln Green Energy Choice is to increase the amount of renewable energy in Lincoln’s electricity supply.

Massachusetts state law already requires that a minimum amount of renewable energy be included in all the electricity sold in the state. The amount of renewable electricity in the Lincoln Green Energy Choice Standard option includes an additional 38% over and above that state-required minimum amount. That amount will increase to 44% in 2025.

In addition to the Standard option, the program provides other options with more renewable energy beyond the state-minimum requirement, including the ability to choose 100% renewable energy or just 2% over the state-required minimum amount.

No. If you receive a personal call or visit about your electricity, that person does NOT represent the Town of Lincoln or Eversource, even if they say they do. Neither the Town nor Eversource will knock on doors or make individual sales phone calls. Any communication will be done by mail and will bear the Town Seal or the Eversource logo.

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

• You should treat your electricity 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 explore this option, please check the terms of the agreement 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 Lincoln, please report it to the Department of Public Utilities Consumer Division 617-737-2836, or DPUConsumer.Complaints@mass.gov.

As long as Lincoln decides it is providing value.

The Town’s current contract with First Point Power ends in January 2024. The Town has signed a new contract with First Point Power that will run through January 2026. When that contract ends, Lincoln can either sign a new electricity supply contract and extend the program, or end the program. While the Town’s intention is to continue the program, if the Town decides to end the program, the Town will make an announcement, and all active participants will be seamlessly transitioned back to Eversource’s Basic Service offering.

Call your electric utility, Eversource, as always. Eversource will continue to deliver your electricity, maintain the poles and wires, and address power outages.

First Point Power is required to have tax-exemption documentation on file for every electricity account that participates in Lincoln Green Energy Choice and has tax-exempt status. Without that documentation on file, First Point Power 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 First Point Power. Visit the Tax-exempt accounts page for information on where to send your documentation.

No. Nearly half of the cities and towns in Massachusetts have electricity aggregation programs like Lincoln Green Energy Choice.

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 Basic Service, your electric utility (Eversource in Lincoln) is your electricity supplier and also delivers the electricity to you.

With Lincoln Green Energy Choice, your electric utility will continue to deliver your electricity, but Lincoln chooses its own 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 program like Lincoln Green Energy Choice, your electric utility (Eversource in Lincoln) will use your electricity supplier’s price to calculate the Supply charges on your electric bill instead of their own Basic Service price.

The program’s electricity supplier is First Point Power.

Your price will be determined by which program option you are enrolled in. Lincoln Green Energy Choice has three options.

Learn more about program options and prices.

No. While the program has the potential to offer lower prices than Eversource’s Basic Service prices, savings cannot be predicted or guaranteed.

This is because Eversource’s Basic Service prices change seasonally, and their future prices are not known.

No. Your electric utility (Eversource in Lincoln) will continue to bill you for your electricity. This is the only electric bill you will receive as a participant in Lincoln Green Energy Choice. The program is integrated into your existing electric bill. See an example Eversource bill.

This is normal. Eversource’s Basic Service prices change seasonally, while the Lincoln Green Energy Choice prices are fixed for longer periods. As a result, it is likely that for some months, Eversource’s Basic Service prices will fall below the Lincoln Green Energy Choice prices. Typically, this happens during the summer months, but it could happen anytime.

If you ever wish to leave the program, you are free to opt out of the program and return to Eversource’s Basic Service at any time with no penalty or fee.

Yes. You will continue to receive solar credits and/or solar incentive payments, and participating in Lincoln Green Energy Choice will not change how they are calculated.

Lincoln Green Energy Choice appears on your electric bill in two ways:

1. On the Supply portion of your electric bill, you will see First Point Power listed as your electricity supplier instead of Eversource’s Basic Service.
2. The price that Eversource uses to calculate your Supply charge will be a Lincoln Green Energy Choice price instead of their own Basic Service price.

See an example Eversource bill.

Having a stable price for the Supply portion of your 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 and you have their Basic Service, the price they use to calculate the Supply charges on your bill changes seasonally.

Having a stable price can also provide a predictable alternative to the variable prices offered by some commercial electricity supply offers. Some commercial electricity supply offers will provide a stable price for a few months, but then the price will vary monthly.

New electricity customer in Lincoln will be eligible for automatic enrollment within a few months of opening their electricity account, in accordance with state law. Before being automatically enrolled, you will receive a notice in the mail from the Town with information about the program, including how to opt out if you do not wish to participate.

If you wish to be enrolled sooner than the automatic enrollment process allows, you may request enrollment by submitting your Eversource account information through the online form.

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.

If you are enrolled in Lincoln Green Energy Choice, your electricity supplier will be listed as “First Point Power – Lincoln Green Energy Choice” on your bill.

To check which program option you are enrolled in, look at the price that is used to calculate the Supply charge on your bill. Compare it to the Lincoln Green Energy Choice prices.

(Remember that your bill presents prices in dollars per kWh, while most other informational resources present the prices in cents per kWh. You will likely need to move the decimal two places to the left or two places to the right to match the prices.)

All metered electricity customers within the geographic boundaries of Lincoln 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 have already signed a contract with an electricity supplier, you will not be eligible for automatic enrollment in the program, but you are invited to participate.

We recommend that you first check the terms of your existing electricity supply contract. Many include minimum enrollment periods and early termination fees.

Learn more about enrolling.

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.

You may choose not to participate, and you may leave the program after you join. 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 at any time online or by contacting customer support.

Important note: If you opt out and then wish to re-enroll at a later date, you may not receive the program price at the time you re-enroll. The program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price. A market price may be higher than the program price.

You may use the online form to change from one program option to another or contact customer support. You may change program options at any time.

Yes, however, if you opt out and then wish to re-enroll at a later date, you may not receive the program price at the time you re-enroll. The program’s electricity supplier is entitled to charge a market price instead of the program price. A market price may be higher than the program price.

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.

No. If you participate in Lincoln Green Energy choice, Eversource will remain your electric utility. They will continue to deliver your electricity, and your primary relationship for electricity will remain with them.

Lincoln Green Energy Choice changes the supplier on your Eversource bill, and it will change the price that Eversource uses to calculate the Supply portion of your electric bill. But your primary relationship for electricity will remain with Eversource, and your bill will continue to come from Eversource as it does now.

No. The quality of service to you will be unaffected by your participation in Lincoln Green Energy Choice. The reason is because Eversource does not profit from the Supply charges on your electric bill. They pass the electricity Supply charges along to you with no markup. They make their profit from the Delivery charges. As a result, they have no preference whether they choose your electricity supplier or Lincoln does.

Yes. You will lose budget billing on the Supply portion of your bill as a participant in Lincoln Green Energy Choice, but budget billing will continue on the Delivery portion of your bill. If retaining budget billing for your entire bill is important to you, you may wish to opt out of the program.

No. You will continue to receive your low-income discount or fuel assistance as a participant in Lincoln Green Energy Choice.

An electric utility like Eversource is responsible primarily 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.

An electricity supplier is a company that buys electricity for you from electricity generators or from electricity brokers. An electricity supplier can be a utility like Eversource, or it can be a third-party company. If your supplier is a third-party company, it does not replace Eversource as your electric utility.

• When Eversource is also your electricity supplier (i.e., when you have 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 electric bill as your electricity supplier, and the price you negotiated with them will be used to calculate the Supply charges on your bill.
• With Lincoln Green Energy Choice, the Town chooses an electricity supplier on your behalf. Lincoln has signed a contract with First Point Power to supply electricity to the Town. First Point Power will appear on your electric bill as your electricity supplier, and Eversource will use a price the Town secured with them to calculate the Supply charges on your bill.

The minimum amount increases every year. For 2024, Massachusetts state law requires that all electricity supply products include a minimum of 62% from renewable or clean energy resources. All Lincoln Green Energy Choice options exceed that requirement.

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

When you choose the Lincoln 100% Green option, 100% of your electricity will be generated by new renewable energy projects in the New England region (MA Class I RECs), with no biomass.

Choosing this option means making a significant commitment to sustainability and to the New England economy.

Every time you pay your electric bill, you will take a significant step toward:

• Addressing climate change and improving local air quality by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants created from generating electricity with fossil fuels. Electricity generated from renewable resources, such as the sun and wind, does not create the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and does not pollute the air.
• Helping to drive the development of new 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 all of your electricity from New England-based renewable energy projects.

Opt up to Lincoln Green Energy Choice.