Timeline for program development and the approval process followed all steps required by State statute, including local authorization, public review, and approval by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. Follow the Portsmouth Community Electricity Program’s progress with the table below.
June 22, 2020: Town Council voted in favor of creating the Portsmouth Community Electricity Program (called Community Choice Aggregation at the time). In June 2020, the Town selected Good Energy, L.P. as the consultant to assist in developing and managing the Program.
June through July of 2020: Town worked to develop a draft Aggregation Plan, including the program’s goals, organization, and operation.
July 27, 2020: Town made the draft Aggregation Plan available for public review starting on July 27, 2020, and held a public hearing on August 11, 2020. The draft Aggregation Plan was amended based on public input and comments received during the review.
August 11, 2020: Town Council voted to approve the Aggregation Plan.
September 23, 2021: Plan has been approved by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in docket number 5169.
September 2022, Portsmouth chose NextEra Energy Services as the supplier for the program. Portsmouth monitored the market to identify the appropriate time to run a competitive bid for electricity supply.
March to April 2023 Portsmouth implemented an education and outreach campaign to make residents and businesses aware of the upcoming program launch and their choice to participate in the Program, or leave before it started (opt out). This included:
- Thursday, March 23rd at Town Hall and by zoom. You may read additional information about the meeting here.
- Special Virtual Discussion hosted by Green Energy Consumer’s Alliance
Tuesday, March 21st, Green Energy Consumers Alliance, the local non-profit that helps bring new renewable projects to New England, held a virtual discussion about our town’s community electricity program. A second meeting took place on Thursday, March 23rd.
As of the May 2023 meter read the Program began providing electricity. Participants can switch their Program option or opt out, without penalty or fee of any kind, any time after the Program has begun.