Frequently Asked Questions

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

Typically, your electric utility, Eversource, provides two sets of 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. Natick has signed a contract with Direct Energy.

A municipal electricity aggregation, such as the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, 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 that is purchased on behalf of the community as well as the price.

If you participate in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, Eversource delivers your electricity, but Direct Energy appears on your Eversource bill as your electricity supplier. Also, the Natick Electricity Aggregation price will be used to calculate the Supply charges on your Eversource electricity bill instead of Eversource’s 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.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program appears on your Eversource electricity bill in two ways:

1. On the Supply portion of your Eversource electricity bill, you will see Direct Energy 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.

Additionally, the amount of renewable energy purchased on your behalf may change, depending on which program option you choose.

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 this program.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program offers three options:

• Standard Green: 11.263 ¢/kWh for all customers. Standard Green is the default program offering, and it includes an additional 10% renewable electricity from renewable energy projects in New England, above and beyond the minimum amount required by the state, which is 16% in 2020. New electricity accounts in Natick are automatically enrolled in Standard Green, but you may then choose one of the other options or opt out.
• 100% Green: 13.063 ¢/kWh for all customers. 100% Green includes 100% renewable electricity, all from renewable energy projects in New England (MA Class I RECs).
• Natick Basic/Brown: 11.026 ¢/kWh for all customers. This option does not include any additional renewable electricity beyond the minimum required by state law. which is 16% in 2020.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program price is fixed until December 2020. Having a stable price for the supply part of your Eversource electricity 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 that is used to calculate the supply charges on your Eversource bill changes every 6 months for residential and other small customers, and it changes more frequently for larger commercial customers.

Having a stable price for the supply part of your Eversource electricity bill 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.

When the Town signs a new electricity supply contract and the price changes, the Town will announce the new price publicly before it takes effect.

No. The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program price is fixed until December 2020. Eversource’s Basic Service price changes every 6 months for residential and other small customers, and it changes more frequently for larger commercial customers. Future prices are not known. As a result, savings cannot be guaranteed.

All new electricity customers in Natick are automatically enrolled in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, in Standard Green, unless they choose another option or opt out.

However, if you left the program previously and want to re-enroll, or you were never enrolled, please contact the program’s electricity supplier, Direct Energy at 1-866-968-8065.

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 electricity bill. Eversource does not generate electricity.

An electricity supplier is a company that buys electricity for you from electricity generators or from electricity brokers.

• For most electricity customers, their utility is also their electricity supplier. When they are your supplier (i.e., when you are on Eversource’s Basic Service), your electricity bill will indicate that is the case.
• 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 rate you negotiated with them will be used to calculate the Supply charges on your bill.
• In the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, the Town chooses an electricity supplier on your behalf. Natick has signed a contract with Direct Energy to supply electricity to the Town. Direct Energy will appear on your Eversource bill as your electricity supplier, and the rate the Town has secured from with them will be used to calculate the Supply charges on your bill.

The minimum amount increases every year. For 2020, Massachusetts state law requires that renewable electricity must be purchased from renewable energy projects in New England to match 16% of your electricity use.

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 highly efficient but not renewable.

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 renewable energy projects in New England.

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

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 local renewable energy projects 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.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program sends out one letter about the program when your electricity account is first enrolled, which occurs shortly after you open the account with Eversource. That letter includes the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program name, the Town seal, and the Town Manager’s name at the bottom. If the letter you received does not include all three items, it is not from the Town and does not represent the Town program.

Please note that if Eversource is your electricity supplier and you receive a letter about the program in the mail, you will be automatically enrolled in the program unless you choose to opt out. 

You do not need to provide additional information to participate. Any person or company who asks for additional information when they market their program to you does not represent the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program.

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

• 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 explore this option, please check the terms of the agreement carefully. Things to check for include: minimum bill amounts, contract length requirements, early termination fees, low introductory rates that change after the introductory period ends, and rates that vary.

Check your most recently Eversource bill. If you are enrolled in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, your electricity supplier will be listed as “Direct Energy Natick Aggregation.”

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 $0.13063/kWh (13.063 cents/kWh). If you are enrolled in the Standard Green offering (10% additional renewable electricity), the price will be $0.11263/kWh (11.263 cents/kWh). If you are enrolled in the Natick Basic/Brown option (minimum amount of renewable electricity required by the state), the price will be $0.11026/kWh (11.026 cents/kWh).

Natick’s current contract is with Direct Energy. The contract price will be in effect until December 2020 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 price, and program participants will remain enrolled under the new contract.

All metered electricity customers within the geographic boundaries of Natick are eligible to participate. All new electricity accounts in Natick are automatically enrolled.

Yes. If you would like 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.

If you decide you would like to enroll, please contact the Town’s electricity supplier, Direct Energy, at 1-866-968-8065 and ask to be enrolled in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program.

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.

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

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

Direct Energy 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, Direct Energy 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 Direct Energy. Visit the Tax-exempt accounts page for information on where to send your documentation. .

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 supplier or Natick chooses your supplier.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation price is fixed until December 2020. However, Eversource’s Basic Service prices change every 6 months for residential and small business customers, and every 3 months for medium and large business customers. As a result, it is likely that for some months, the Eversource price will fall below the price of the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program price.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program cannot guarantee that it will beat Eversource’s Basic Service price. The program goal is to beat the average of the changing Eversource prices, although there is no guarantee that it will do so.

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

If you are eligible for a low-income rate, you will receive that discount within the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program.

However, budget billing is not available within the program. If you wish to retain budget billing, you should opt out of the program and be placed on Eversource’s Basic Service.

Yes. Net metering will work the same way if you participate in the program. Your net metering credits will continue to appear on your Eversource bill and will continue to be calculated based on the Eversource Basic Service price.