Rochester's revised town electricity plan is open for comment through Oct. 31
The revision updates the rules for a program that has bought power for Rochester homes and businesses since 2023. The default price stays fixed at 13.7 cents per kilowatt-hour through December 2027.
Updated Oct. 18 with more detail.
ROCHESTER Rochester residents have until Saturday, Oct. 31, to comment on a revised plan for the town's electricity program, Rochester Community Electricity, according to a town press release posted Oct. 1. The program buys power supply for homes and businesses that do not opt out. Current prices stay fixed through December 2027, the release says. The revision rewrites the rules the town follows to buy future supply, notify customers and report to the state.
The town is revising the plan "to ensure that the plan aligns with the new rules" the state Department of Public Utilities issued in July 2024, the program website says. The plan cites those rules as the department's Municipal Aggregation Guidelines, D.P.U. 23-67, dated July 9, 2024.
What customers pay
The default product, Rochester Standard, costs 13.7 cents per kilowatt-hour and carries the renewable energy the state requires, 69% in 2026, according to the plan and the program site. Rochester Plus costs 15.04 cents and adds Massachusetts Class I renewable energy credits to reach 100%. Both prices run from December 2024 to December 2027 meter reads. The supplier is Direct Energy.
The plan lists Eversource's residential Basic Service price at 17.323 cents per kilowatt-hour from Aug. 1, 2026, to Jan. 31, 2027. That puts Rochester Standard 3.623 cents, or about 21%, below Eversource for homes in the current period, by our calculation. For a home using 600 kilowatt-hours a month, the difference is about $21.74 a month on the supply part of the bill. Eversource's small business price is 16.761 cents, and its large business price is 11.578 cents for August through October, the plan says, so the program is not cheaper for every customer.
The plan breaks the default price into 13.6 cents for supply and renewable energy and 0.1 cent for the town's consultant, Good Energy. "The Town does not include additional components in the current ESA," the plan says, meaning the town takes no fee of its own.
The town's release says it "cannot guarantee that program prices will always be lower than Eversource Basic Service rates." Customers may leave at any time without penalty. Eversource still delivers the power, sends the bill and handles outages.
How we got here
Selectmen voted May 20, 2019, to start work on a plan, which the town first put out for public review from Aug. 20 to Sept. 3, 2019, according to the revised plan. The Department of Public Utilities approved it Dec. 30, 2021, and the program launched in March 2023. The current prices date to December 2024.
At least 90 days before the supply contract's term ends, the plan says, the town will seek bids for a new one. At the end of the pricing term in December 2027, participants are "automatically renewed" in their current product, which "may have a higher or lower price," the sample opt-out letter attached to the plan says.
What happens next
After the comment period, the town will send the revised plan to the Department of Public Utilities "for informational purposes," the plan says. The town administrator's office oversees the program, the program website says, and the plan lists Town Administrator Cameron Durant as the town's contact.
How to weigh in
The plan is posted on the program website, electricity.townofrochestermass.com, and is available at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way. Comments go through the website's contact form, which has a "Plan Comment" topic. Good Energy answers questions at 508-301-3868. The town administrator's office is at 508-763-3871, ext. 111. To switch products or opt out, Direct Energy's line is 866-968-8065.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
How we verified this
Every fact comes from the town's press release, the revised plan it links and three pages of the town's program website, listed below. We read them on Oct. 18. The percentage gap and the monthly dollar figure are our own arithmetic from the plan's prices; the 600 kilowatt-hour home is an example, not a town figure. The plan prints the town administrator's email with spaces and a domain unlike the town website's, so this story gives only the phone number. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar and each claim against the sources. South Coast 360 sought comment Sunday from the town administrator; no reply yet.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (5)
- Press Release: Revised Municipal Aggregation Plan (News Flash, posted Oct. 1, 2026)Town of Rochester. The review period, the program start, what Eversource still does, the two prices, the December 2027 term, the opt-out rule and the no-guarantee line. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Town of Rochester Revised Municipal Aggregation Plan (Document Center 2795, 20-page plan plus sample opt-out notice; header undated)Town of Rochester. History (2019 vote, 2019 review, 2021 approval, 2023 launch), the price breakdown, renewable content, Eversource prices by class, the rebid rule, the renewal line, the DPU filing and the town contact. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Rochester Community Electricity program website (home page)Town of Rochester program site. The July 2024 rules, the review period, the comment route and the 69% and 100% renewable figures. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Contact Us, Rochester Community ElectricityTown of Rochester program site. The comment form with a Plan Comment topic, the Good Energy and Direct Energy phone numbers. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Resources, Rochester Community ElectricityTown of Rochester program site. The 2021 approved plan, the revised plan and the 2023 to 2025 annual reports. Read Oct. 18, 2026.