For Immediate Release: August 25, 2011
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Joe Soares (508) 375-6623
Compact Customers to Share in $111 Million Savings From Long-term Renewable Energy Contracts
Barnstable, MA, August 25, 2011 – As a result of the Cape Light Compact’s participation in a proceeding before the Department of Public Utilities (the “Department”), the Compact’s customers will share in approximately $111 million worth of net savings produced by three long-term contracts entered into between their distribution company, NSTAR Electric Company (“NSTAR”), and renewable energy developers. The Department issued the order on August 19, 2011, requiring NSTAR to recover its costs for energy, capacity and renewable energy credits (“RECs”) under those contracts in a manner that allows NSTAR distribution customers, including Compact customers, to benefit from those savings. The recovery method approved by the Department for RECs was originally proposed by the Compact during the proceedings, and the Compact worked to achieve the competitively neutral result with NSTAR, which ultimately recommended the Compact’s proposal to the Department in the briefing stage of the proceedings.
NSTAR initiated these proceedings for approval of long-term renewable energy contracts as required under state law. Under NSTAR’s original recovery proposal for RECs, only NSTAR’s basic service customers (but not the Compact’s customers) would have benefitted from the REC-related savings. Through the expert testimony of its technical consultant, Jonathan Wallach of Resource Insight, Inc., the Compact argued that NSTAR’s proposed REC recovery may have resulted in cross subsidies to NSTAR’s basic service customers to the detriment of NSTAR’s other customers (including Compact customers). The Compact’s proposed recovery for RECs, which was the method approved in the Department’s order, allows all customers (including Compact customers) to share in any net savings – estimated by NSTAR at $111 million – produced by the contracts.
ABOUT CAPE LIGHT COMPACT
The Cape Light Compact, as administered through Barnstable County, is a regional energy services organization made up of all 21 towns on the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard, and Barnstable and Dukes counties. The purpose of the Compact is to represent and protect consumer interests in a restructured utility industry. As authorized by each town, the Compact operates the regional energy efficiency program and works with the combined buying power of the region’s 200,000 electric consumers to negotiate for low cost electricity and other public benefits. For more information about the programs and a free energy audit, please call 1-800-797-6699 or go to the website, www.capelightcompact.org.