Brookhaven Issues RFP to Select Natural Gas Supplier for CCA
Town is first municipality on Long Island to reach important step in providing lower utility rates for residents through Community Choice Aggregation
November 24, 2020
FARMINGVILLE, NY – Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine announced that the Town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) today for a natural gas supplier for the Town’s Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program. Brookhaven is the first municipality on Long Island to reach this step in the effort to provide cheaper gas and electric for its residents through a CCA program.
“Community Choice Aggregation could result in cheaper, cleaner energy use for all of our residents and businesses in Brookhaven and would give them the opportunity to seek an alternative provider for the first time,” said Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine. “Issuing this RFP for a natural gas provider brings us one step closer to putting in place the first CCA on Long Island.”
CCA is a municipal energy procurement model that replaces the utility as the default supplier for virtually all homes and small businesses within your jurisdiction. The utility remains responsible for energy delivery and billing. By pooling demand, communities build the clout necessary to negotiate lower rates with private suppliers and are able to choose cleaner energy. CCA allows for the bulk purchasing of electricity and/or natural gas and provides the ability to obtain more competitive rates from energy suppliers, ultimately saving money for residents and commercial properties. The Town has retained Good Energy, a CCA Administrator in New York, to administer the program and run the public outreach once the Program is initiated. “Working with CCAs nationwide, I’ve seen significant benefits for communities. As a Long Island resident, I am very excited to finally see this program come to our area,” said Javier Barrios, Managing Partner with Good Energy.
After receiving bids for potential CCA natural gas rates, the Town will examine if there is a cost savings benefit to residents and small businesses and choose whether to sign the contract to begin CCA. If approved, residents and businesses currently served by the local utility company do not need to do anything in order to be included in the CCA – they will be automatically included unless they affirmatively opt-out. There is no contract for the resident or small business to sign or enter into. If a resident or business wishes to leave the CCA program, they may terminate at any time with no early termination or exit fee. No taxpayer or public funding is used to run a CCA program.
The Town recently provided comments to the Public Service Commission (PSC) on how to improve the rules surrounding LIPA’s Long Island Choice program and its effect on CCA programs for electricity customers.
Other municipalities on Long Island that are in the process of establishing CCA programs include Hempstead, Southampton, and East Hampton. More than 80 municipalities across New York State have enacted legislation to begin the process to adopt CCA. The largest adoption area to date is in Westchester County, where 27 municipalities have joined with Westchester Power.
To learn more about the RFP, click on the image below.
