A TURBULENT YEAR FOR THE ENERGY MARKET SHINES LIGHT ON THE POWER OF LOCAL CONTROL OVER ENERGY CHOICES
Rockland County – December 1, 2022 – Joule Community Power (a division of Joule Assets) is proud to announce that during a year of record high electricity prices, Joule’s local electricity supply programs have saved residents and small business across NY State a total of $11.5 million as of October 31, 2022, while shifting entire communities over to clean energy. High energy prices and inflation have had a significant impact on NY households' bills. Meanwhile, some communities have protected their residents from feeling the brunt of these upward swings in the energy market by implementing Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs, providing price stability and competitive electricity supply rates. In Rockland County, NY, home to Joule’s community-based renewable electricity CCA program
Rockland Community Power, program participants saved more than
$10 million over two years (November 2020 - October 2022) compared to if they had been paying the local utility’s electricity supply rate.
Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) – a program authorized, regulated, and promoted by NY State – empowers local municipalities rather than the state, to select the default energy supply offering for their residents (homeowners and renters) and small businesses. Through CCA, municipalities can leverage their aggregated buying power to secure competitively priced energy, secure stable prices, strengthen consumer protections and source clean energy.
Rockland Community Power's first electricity supply contract ended October 31, 2022. Participating communities’ (Towns of Clarkstown and Orangetown and the Villages of Grand View-on-Hudson, Haverstraw, Nyack, and Upper Nyack) new electricity supply contract will start on April 1, 2023. Between the end of the first contract and the start of the new contract, program participants have been returned to Orange and Rockland Utilities electricity supply, with no interruption in service. Eligible residents and small businesses in participating communities will be sent a letter from their municipality ahead of the new contract with information about their options. Once again, the electricity supply rates will be fixed – and there are no individual contracts for consumers. Rockland Community Power is hosting public information sessions over the next two months, visit
www.rocklandcommunitypower.com/events for event details.
Joule acts as the program administrator for the CCA and provides ongoing support, education, and outreach in the communities. Joule now serves more than
50 NY State municipalities. 23 Joule municipalities had active CCA programs this year and are located in 5 different NY utility territories. The participating households in these communities (approximately 100,000 households), saved a total of $11.5 million on their utility bills this year by paying the stabilized CCA electricity rate, instead of the local utility’s variable electricity supply rate.
Beyond this, all but one of the municipalities who have implemented CCA programs through Joule have selected renewable energy offerings as default energy supply for their communities, allowing them to reach their sustainability goals and significantly lower their carbon footprint while strengthening consumer protections.
Clarkstown Supervisor, George Hoehmann says "I knew that Community Choice Aggregation would provide Clarkstown residents the ability to save green by going green. I just never anticipated how much green they'd be saving. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty and pervasive inflation, the CCA program proved its value by locking in competitive rates that provided stability and peace of mind."
Jessica Stromback, CEO states “This year, among increasing energy prices and rising inflation, Joule is proud to have supported New York municipal leaders in protecting their residents. The fact that this was done while still providing 100% New York State renewable electricity is amazing. Local leadership truly creates global impact.”
Mike Gordon, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer looks ahead at CCA’s potential, stating "Beyond savings, what we are doing now, in shifting communities over to existing renewable energy sources through CCA, is the tip of the iceberg, with respect to what is possible. CCAs also have the ability to spark the construction of many MWs of new renewable power plants, creating quality jobs across the state, given proper regulatory ambition and oversight. We look forward to future opportunities for development."
