Keene Adopts Community Power, First in NH

“Keene has become the first New Hampshire municipality to adopt a community power program since the state began allowing them in 2019,” according to the Keene Sentinel.  In the story Keene’s mayor praised it as a citizen based, grassroots effort.

The story adds:

The City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to approve a plan for the program, which would allow Keene to purchase electricity on behalf of consumers. This would give the city more say over where the power used in Keene comes from.

Now the plan has to be approved by the N.H. Public Utilities Commission, which has a history, as one commentator put it, of “sitting on their hands.”

The Keene Community Power website says:

Keene Community Power (CP) is a City-operated group purchasing program that pools the electric use of residents, businesses, non-profits, and property owners to provide competitively priced electricity options. The program offers Keene electricity customers with a City-vetted alternative to Eversource’s default service and other third party electricity suppliers.

Eversource continues to deliver electricity and manage all billing. The only change will be the source and cost of electricity supply, chosen by the City of Keene through a competitive bidding process. The program is part of a larger effort to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

A draft of Keene’s final plan can be see here.

NHPR’s Exchange did a program in February 2021 entitled: Community Power: A New Way to Think About Your Energy Bill

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