Valley Green Energy Coming November 1. Information Session Scheduled for August 20.

Local Energy Advocates of Western Massachusetts are hosting Ben Weill, Director of the Northampton Climate Action and Project Administration, and Northampton representative on the Valley Green Energy Working Group at their Tuesday, August 20 meeting on Zoom. Weill will present, “Everything you need to know about Valley Green Energy, your new electricity aggregation.”  The Zoom meeting begins at 7 p.m. and the public is invited.

Northampton, Amherst ,and Pelham are set to launch their newjoint municipal electricity aggregation, Valley Green Energy (VGE),on November 1 and information will be in the mail to folks on August 30. VGE is a regional, group electricity buying program developed to provide the dual benefits of cleaner electricity and stable prices to residents and businesses in all three communities. Program prices will be fixed until November 2026, providing 24 months of stable pricing and protection from seasonal electricity price spikes.    

Participants in Valley Green Energy will automatically receive an additional 10% renewable energy content for 13.994 ¢/kWh, a price that will be lower and more stable than the Eversource residential electricity supply prices (14.023 ¢/kWh starting in August) in place at launch. However, because the utilities’ prices change, and future prices are unknown, future savings cannot be guaranteed.  

Valley Green Energy is a regional energy services program known as an electricity aggregation, which is a kind of group electricity buying program for cities and towns with no hidden fees or penalties. Valley Green Energy is administered by the Town of Amherst, the City of Northampton, and the Town of Pelham. The purpose of Valley Green Energy is to contract on behalf of consumers for a supply of electricity. Similar programs already exist in Greenfield, Hatfield, Leverett, and Northfield.