Municipal aggregation

Information on municipal aggregation, a process where municipalities can aggregate the electrical load of customers within their borders to procure competitive supply of electricity.

Overview

Municipal aggregation is the process by which a municipality (meaning a town or city) purchases electricity in bulk from a competitive supplier on behalf of the residents and businesses within the community. 

In a municipal aggregation:

1. A municipality will competitively procure electric supply on behalf of participating customers.
2. A municipality may join with other municipalities to competitively procure electric supply.
3. Customer participation is voluntary.  The municipality will provide customers an opportunity to opt-out of participating in a municipal aggregation program.  Customers who do not opt out will be automatically enrolled in the aggregation program, but may opt out at any time after that.
4. The electric company will continue to provide electric transmission and distribution service to participating customers.

How does a municipality create a municipal aggregation program?

A municipality must:

1. Vote to initiate the municipal aggregation program.
2. Prepare a municipal aggregation plan in consultation with the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), often in partnership with a consultant.
3. Allow an opportunity for resident review of the municipal aggregation plan.
4. Submit a municipal aggregation plan to the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for review and approval.

Municipal aggregation guidelines

On July 9, 2024, the DPU approved municipal aggregation guidelines (Guidelines). D.P.U. 23-67-A.  These Guidelines set forth:

1. the information to be included by a municipality in its municipal aggregation plan;
2. the information that a municipality must provide on an ongoing basis about the operation of its municipal aggregation program;
3. the requirements that apply to electric companies related to facilitating the successful operation of municipal aggregation programs; and
4. the DPU’s review of municipal aggregation plans.

The Guidelines ensure that constituents and interested stakeholders have access to useful program‑related information presented in an understandable way.  Municipalities will report on program performance during the previous year, including: 

1. product information related to rate component, renewable energy content, and participation;
2. a description of the services provided through each rate component; 
3. a description of the voluntary renewable certificates to be retired for each renewable energy category; and 
4. procurement of supply.

The transparency resulting from these reporting requirements, and the resulting increase in public scrutiny, is appropriate and necessary given the discretion that the Guidelines provide the municipalities.

As municipalities develop their plans, they must take into consideration the DOER Recommended Best Practices for Advancing Clean Energy in Municipal Aggregation Programs.  As noted by the DPU, this is “a good example of how agencies can work together to advance the Commonwealth’s clean energy goals.”  D.P.U. 23-67-A at 21.

Approved municipal aggregation programs

To view information about your municipality's aggregation program, including pricing information, click on your municipality's name below.

To view all document filings related to the approval of the municipal aggregation plan, visit the file room and enter the case number using the following format: XX-XX (numbers only).  The first two digits in a case number represent the year the case was opened.  The following digits are assigned sequentially for all cases opened in that year.  

A-G

Municipality	Case number
Abington	D.P.U. 19-51
Acton	D.P.U. 16-154
Acushnet	D.P.U. 15-94
Adams	D.P.U. 15-69
Alford	D.P.U. 24-70
Amesbury	D.P.U. 21-48
Amherst	D.P.U. 23-106
Andover	D.P.U. 21-77
Aquinnah	D.P.U. 14-69
Arlington	D.P.U. 16-100
Ashby	D.P.U. 12-94
Ashfield	D.P.U. 24-71
Ashland	D.P.U. 15-86
Attleboro	D.P.U. 15-93
Auburn	D.P.U. 15-63
Avon	D.P.U. 17-182
Ayer	D.P.U. 24-72
Barnstable	D.P.U. 14-69
Becket	D.P.U. 18-133
Bedford	D.P.U. 17-178
Belchertown	D.P.U. 22-158
Bellingham	D.P.U. 16-131
Berlin	D.P.U. 16-45
Bernardston	D.P.U. 16-47
Beverly	D.P.U. 21-36
Billerica	D.P.U. 17-44
Blackstone	D.P.U. 24-73
Bolton	D.P.U. 20-128
Boston	D.P.U. 19-65
Bourne	D.P.U. 14-69
Boxford	D.P.U. 22-128
Brewster	D.P.U. 14-69
Bridgewater	D.P.U. 24-85
Brookline	D.P.U. 16-99
Buckland	D.P.U. 18-134
Burlington	D.P.U. 19-56
Cambridge	D.P.U. 16-176
Canton	D.P.U. 23-27
Carlisle	D.P.U. 17-07
Carver	D.P.U. 15-107
Charlemont	D.P.U. 16-98
Charlton	D.P.U. 16-98
Chatham	D.P.U. 14-69
Chelsea	D.P.U. 21-27
Chelmsford	D.P.U. 15-87
Cheshire	D.P.U. 15-91
Chilmark	D.P.U. 14-69
Clarksburg	D.P.U. 13-145
Cohasset	D.P.U. 20-19
Colrain	D.P.U. 18-136
Conway	D.P.U. 18-137
Dalton	D.P.U. 13-136
Dartmouth	D.P.U. 15-108
Dedham	D.P.U. 15-109
Deerfield	D.P.U. 18-138
Dennis	D.P.U. 14-69
Dighton	D.P.U. 15-97
Douglas	D.P.U. 15-110
Dracut	D.P.U. 15-111
Dudley	D.P.U. 24-74
Duxbury	D.P.U. 24-86
Eastham	D.P.U. 14-69
Easton	D.P.U. 17-109
Edgartown	D.P.U. 14-69
Egremont	D.P.U. 16-48
Fairhaven	D.P.U. 15-98
Fall River	D.P.U. 15-106
Falmouth	D.P.U. 14-69
Fitchburg	D.P.U. 20-117
Florida	D.P.U. 13-137
Foxborough	D.P.U. 16-132
Framingham	D.P.U. 24-18
Franklin	D.P.U. 16-57
Freetown	D.P.U. 15-99
Gardner	D.P.U. 16-113
Gill	D.P.U. 18-139
Gloucester	D.P.U. 16-101
Grafton	D.P.U. 18-61
Great Barrington	D.P.U. 16-186
Greenfield	D.P.U. 13-183

H-N

Municipality	Case number
Hadley	D.P.U. 17-173
Halifax	D.P.U. 16-142
Hamilton	D.P.U. 16-197
Hancock	D.P.U. 24-75
Hanson	D.P.U. 22-139
Harvard	D.P.U. 18-97
Harwich	D.P.U. 14-69
Hatfield	D.P.U. 16-111
Haverhill	D.P.U. 19-17
Heath	D.P.U. 16-62
Holliston	D.P.U. 15-17
Huntington	D.P.U. 18-140
Kingston	D.P.U. 16-115
Lancaster	D.P.U. 12-39
Lanesborough	D.P.U. 17-45
Lawrence	D.P.U. 24-90
Lee	D.P.U. 24-76
Leicester	D.P.U. 19-85
Lenox	D.P.U. 13-138
Leverett	D.P.U. 17-06
Lexington	D.P.U. 16-152
Lincoln	D.P.U. 19-19
Lowell	D.P.U. 14-100
Lunenburg	D.P.U. 11-32
Malden	D.P.U. 22-153
Marion	D.P.U. 15-112
Marlborough	D.P.U. 17-47
Marshfield	D.P.U. 20-20
Mashpee	D.P.U. 14-69
Mattapoisett	D.P.U. 15-113
Medfield	D.P.U. 22-109
Medford	D.P.U. 18-106
Medway	D.P.U. 17-48, D.P.U. 24-77
Melrose	D.P.U. 18-59
Mendon	D.P.U. 19-63
Methuen	D.P.U. 15-60, D.P.U. 23-04
Milford	D.P.U. 24-07
Millbury	D.P.U. 16-96
Millis	D.P.U. 17-179
Millville	D.P.U. 16-46
Milton	D.P.U. 19-84
Monterey	D.P.U. 15-18
Nantucket	D.P.U. 16-92
Natick	D.P.U. 13-131
Needham	D.P.U. 24-19
New Ashford	D.P.U. 17-46
New Bedford	D.P.U. 15-105
Newbury	D.P.U. 24-78
Newburyport	D.P.U. 15-62
New Marlborough	D.P.U. 13-139
New Salem	D.P.U. 18-141
Newton	D.P.U. 18-36
Norfolk	D.P.U. 24-79
North Adams	D.P.U. 13-140
North Andover	D.P.U. 17-15
Northbridge	D.P.U. 15-100
North Brookfield	D.P.U. 19-63
Northfield	D.P.U. 18-142
Northampton	D.P.U. 23-106
Norton	D.P.U. 15-101

O-Z

Municipality	Case number
Oak Bluffs	D.P.U. 14-69
Orange	D.P.U. 17-14
Orleans	D.P.U. 14-69
Oxford	D.P.U. 16-97
Pelham	D.P.U. 23-106
Pembroke	D.P.U. 16-141
Pepperell	D.P.U. 23-52
Pittsfield	D.P.U. 16-63
Plainville	D.P.U. 15-102
Plymouth	D.P.U. 16-114
Plympton	D.P.U. 17-17
Provincetown	D.P.U. 14-69
Quincy	D.P.U. 21-05
Rehoboth	D.P.U. 15-103
Richmond	D.P.U. 24-80
Rochester	D.P.U. 20-22
Rockland	D.P.U. 17-180
Salem	D.P.U. 15-58
Salisbury	D.P.U. 16-51
Sandisfield	D.P.U. 16-50
Sandwich	D.P.U. 14-69
Savoy	D.P.U. 24-81
Scituate	D.P.U. 20-21
Seekonk	D.P.U 15-104
Sharon	D.P.U. 19-32
Sheffield	D.P.U. 13-141
Shelburne	D.P.U. 18-143
Sherborn	D.P.U. 21-55
Shirley	D.P.U. 17-21
Somerset	D.P.U. 15-95
Somerville	D.P.U. 16-95
Southborough	D.P.U. 17-19
Southbridge	D.P.U. 24-39
Southwick	D.P.U. 24-87
Springfield	D.P.U. 24-88
Stockbridge	D.P.U. 24-82
Stoneham	D.P.U. 18-07
Stoughton	D.P.U. 19-52
Sudbury	D.P.U. 16-167
Sunderland	D.P.U. 18-144
Sutton	D.P.U. 16-38
Swampscott	D.P.U. 15-59
Swansea	D.P.U. 15-96
Tewksbury	D.P.U. 15-90
Tisbury	D.P.U. 14-69
Townsend	D.P.U. 24-08
Truro	D.P.U. 14-69
Tyngsborough	D.P.U. 16-112
Tyringham	D.P.U. 13-142
Upton	D.P.U. 22-27
Uxbridge	D.P.U. 20-23
Walpole	D.P.U. 16-155
Waltham	D.P.U. 19-83
Wareham	D.P.U. 16-102
Warwick	D.P.U. 18-145
Watertown	D.P.U. 18-63
Wayland	D.P.U. 22-172
Webster	D.P.U. 18-16
Wellfleet	D.P.U. 14-69
Wendell	D.P.U. 16-49
West Bridgewater	D.P.U. 17-16
West Brookfield	D.P.U. 16-61
West Springfield	D.P.U. 16-160
West Stockbridge	D.P.U. 13-143
West Tisbury	D.P.U. 14-69
Westborough	D.P.U. 15-125
Westford	D.P.U. 15-115
Westhampton	D.P.U. 24-84
West Newbury	D.P.U. 24-83
Weston	D.P.U. 20-99
Westport	D.P.U. 15-114
Westwood	D.P.U. 20-24
Whately	D.P.U. 18-146
Williamsburg	D.P.U. 16-143
Williamstown	D.P.U. 13-144
Winchendon	D.P.U. 15-19
Winchester	D.P.U. 16-168
Windsor	D.P.U. 22-28
Winthrop	D.P.U. 24-09
Worcester	D.P.U. 19-41
Yarmouth	D.P.U. 14-69

Last updated:	December 10, 2024