If you are focused on lowest price, the state list is useful — so long as you watch out for price increases after you sign up, as Ed noted. (So many of these providers have used misleading marketing tactics that when Maura Healey was Attorney General, she recommended outlawing them!)
However, if you want an electricity supply contract that has a positive environmental effect, unfortunately the state list itself is more misleading than helpful, because it fails to distinguish between different kinds of “renewable sources”. The only kind of electricity supply contract you can be assured will reduce global warming emissions is one that matches your electricity usage with “Class 1” renewable energy credits (“RECs”) as defined in MA law. A Lincoln resident can get those by staying in or joining Lincoln’s Green Energy Choice program. Anyone can get by signing up with Green Energy Consumer Alliance. You could try to find out if the vendors on the state list are pairing their electricity supply with (a) meaningful Class 1 RECs versus (b) essentially useless “Texas wind” or “national” RECs. But when I have asked a few of them, they have declined to answer. I infer that they generally do not. - Paul Shorb On Mon, Aug 19, 2024 at 3:03 PM Edward Young via Lincoln < [email protected]> wrote: > > Laura, here is the link to the current chart of electricity suppliers: > > https://www.energyswitchma.gov/#/compare/2/1/01773// > > > And here are just the first three suppliers on the chart, out of a couple > dozen. Eversource is listed first and the other entries are arranged by > price. > > The chart also tells you when each contract expires, which suppliers are > 100% from renewable sources, whether there is a cancellation fee and > whether the contract will be renewed automatically at a new rate if you > don’t make a note to yourself to check back to the chart before the > expiration date and select whichever of the couple dozen contracts then on > offer is best for you instead of whatever price and terms your current > supplier may offer to you as a continuing customer (probably not the > original teaser price for its first-time customers that you’ve been > enjoying).If there is no cancellation fee, you can switch at any time to > something you find that’s better > We chose a 30 month, 100% renewable, no cancellation fee contract at 12.9 > cents/kw awhile ago and haven’t bothered to change it since, but people who > want the very best deal are free to check and switch as frequently as they > wish > > > > SUPPLIER NAMEPRICE CONTRACT TERMRENEWABLE ENERGY ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS > & SERVICESESTIMATED MONTHLY > COST > > *Basic Service* > *15.772 ¢/kWh* > *TBD* > Aug '24 through Jan '25 > Feb '25 through Jul '25 > Required:62% | Voluntary:0% > TOTAL : 62% > $94.63 > through Jan '25 > [image: SmartEnergy logo] > Compare > *New Customers Only* > *10.570 ¢/kWh* > 6 months > No cancellation fee > Automatic renewal > Required:62% | Voluntary:38% > TOTAL : 100% > $63.42 > through Feb '25 > [image: Think Energy logo] > Compare > *New Customers Only* > *12.670 ¢/kWh* > 6 months > No cancellation fee > Automatic renewal > Required:62% | Voluntary:0% > TOTAL : 62% > $76.02 > through Feb '25 > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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