National Grid Default Supplier Rate Will Adjust to 18.213 cents/kWh in November

National Grid announced that their default supplier rate will be 18.213 cents/kWh for November through June.   Lancaster has yet to announce the new rate for the Municipal Aggregation Program: the current contract expires in December.  The pressure is on: the Aggregation Program rate has actually been more expensive than the National Grid default supplier for 13 of the last 18 months.

National Grid released the rate they're proposing for the six months starting in November: 18.213 cents/kWh.   Not great, but much better than the 33.891 cents/kWh they announced last fall.   Recent news articles indicated that the improved rate was largely linked to lower prices for natural gas prices this year.

Lancaster's Aggregation Program has been on the ropes since 2021, when a long Select Board squabble over whether to adopt a higher ratio of renewable energy led to a disastrous 11th hour contract that wasn't competitive.  Most other Colonial Power customers enjoyed supplier rates between 10 and 12 cents/kWh over the past year, while Lancasters Municipal Aggregation rates spiked as high as 29.984 cents/kWh. 

Many residents in Lancaster have taken to finding their own suppliers this year, which has offered better rates.  In the spring I found a three-year contract, with 100% renewable energy from wind, for 16 cents per kWh. 

Massachusetts runs a state website that lists a number of alternate suppliers.  (energyswitchma.gov)  It's relatively easy to switch, but keep an eye on the terms.  Some charge a fee to switch before the end of your contract period.