https://sustainablewestchester.org/wp/yonkers/
It’s been the talk of the City of Yonkers for the past two weeks, but Yonkers residents, homeowners and anyone with an electric bill needs to learn the facts about the Westchester Power Community Energy Program, which Yonkers has joined to give its residents and Con Ed customers a choice of using renewable energy. The program will start on March 1, and residents recently received a notice in the mail about the program.
This reporter has heard all the rumblings from residents about having to Opt-Out of the program, or else they will automatically be Opted-in to the renewable energy plan. This is how the state implemented the program, as a way to bring enough people to join that they will make up a large pool of energy customers to make it feasible. Nobody is trying to trick anyone into joining the Westchester Power Community Energy Program.
In fact, that is why we are featuring this story, to inform residents so that they know what this program is about and know what their options are, and also that they have a decision to make whether to opt-in or out.
The real question that homeowners and Con Ed customers should be asking is, what is the cost of each program and is the Westchester Power program more expensive? The answer is no it is not more expensive, and in fact, as of today (Jan. 26) a comparison in the energy costs of both programs finds Westchester Power’s rate for Yonkers residents is cheaper than Con Edison’s rate.
There have been some claims that in other communities the cost of power increased by 30% for those who opted into the Westchester Power Community Energy Program. While we have been unable to verify that claim, it really doesn’t matter what Greenburgh, or any other community in Westchester is paying for their renewable program.
The City of Yonkers has negotiated its own rate with the vendor who has been contracted to provide renewable energy to Yonkers customers who join the program. In short, Con Ed’s average price for electricity in the first half of January is around 12 cents, while Westchester Power is offering a fixed rate of 8.71 cents for renewable supply and 7.512 cents for standard supply. And the renewable rate is locked in for one year.
And a key provision for those who may be nervous about joining Westchester Power is that you can opt out and go back to Con Ed at any time.
Mayor Mike Spano used his weekly email blast to explain the program to residents. “Exciting news! Finally, residents have a choice when it comes to their energy provider. Yonkers is one of the 29 Westchester County municipalities to join the Westchester Power Community Energy Program. All eligible residents should have received a letter in the mail explaining the program. If you did not receive a letter or misplaced it, you could learn more at sustainablewestchester.org/wp.
“It is important to know that the choice is yours. Residents can opt-out of the program now or at any point in time without penalties or costs. I encourage you to learn more about the program if you have not already.
“The best way to opt-out is one of the two following ways: go online to opt-out at sustainablewestchester.org/wp or email info@sustainablewestchester.org.
“Our goal was to give power back to residents. You can be in control of your energy supplier. I strongly encourage you to learn more and consider joining one of the free information sessions offered every Thursday. See the graphic for full details,” said Mayor Spano.
The Westchester Power program allows local governments to procure electricity, gas, and other services on behalf of their residents and small businesses. The program supplier is a qualified Energy Service Company (ESCO), selected through a competitive bidding process. The distribution, maintenance, and billing services remain with the utility. By joining together, communities gain leverage to negotiate better rates with competitive suppliers and choose greener power sources.
Through the competitive bidding process, Constellation New Energy (CNE) was awarded the contract to be the ESCO provider to the City of Yonkers for the initial launch. CNE will supply electricity to Yonkers starting from the program launch on March 1st, until November 30th, 2023.
There are two fixed-rate supply options available to Yonkers residents through Westchester Power: 100% Renewable: 8.710¢/kWh, and Standard (a mix of fossil fuels, nuclear, and some renewable energy): 7.512¢/kWh. The City of Yonkers has chosen to have the 100% Renewable supply option as its default offering to residents.
Several information sessions are being offered before Yonkers customers make their decision. On Feb. 2 two remote, Zoom presentations will be held at 12 noon and 6pm. On Feb. 3 another Zoom session will be held at 8pm. Links for those meetings can be found at
https://sustainablewestchester.org/wp/yonkers/
Other options include Wednesday Drop-in Presentations (no registration): February 16, March 2, March 30 at 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM. And Thursday Zoom Office Hours at 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM (5:00 PM sessions include Spanish-speaking support) to answer questions. January 27, February 3, February 10, February 17, February 24th.
Registration is required for some of these meetings, but all of the links to zoom calls, and additional information for residents to read and review can be found at
https://sustainablewestchester.org/wp/yonkers/
Please do your own research and determine what is best for you. If all things are equal, most important the cost of your power, this may be an opportunity for you to get your power with cleaner, renewable energy. To date, this program has been able to offset the emission of roughly 880,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere. That represents ~191,000 cars off the road for a year, or 14.6 million seedlings grown for 10 years
