Newport Community Electricity Winter Rates Announced

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Rates to Be Set Below Rhode Island Energy Last Resort Pricing
  
NEWPORT, R.I. (TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2023) – The Newport Community Electricity program is announcing new winter electricity supply prices to go into effect beginning with the November meter read. The new prices are fixed for six months and will be adjusted to summer rates in May 2024. Current participants do not need to take any action to remain in the program and receive the new pricing for the product in which they are currently enrolled.

Most participants in Newport’s program use “Newport Standard” which provides more renewable energy than RI Energy’s Last Resort Service, and will still provide cost savings this winter. The additional renewable energy is sourced entirely from local Rhode Island projects, including the Narragansett Bay Commission wind turbines at Fields Point in Providence, solar in West Greenwich and additional wind turbines in Coventry.

The table below shows the prices for Residential customers compared to RI Energy. Prices for Commercial and Industrial customers can be found on the Program website:
 

	Rhode Island Energy Last Resort Service (if you opt out)	Newport Basic	Newport Standard (Community Default)	Newport 50	Newport 100
Residential Price	17.741 ¢/kWh	17.430 ¢/kWh	17.641 ¢/kWh	18.462 ¢/kWh	20.666 ¢/kWh
Voluntary Renewable Energy	None	None	Adds 5% voluntary renewable energy (RI New RECs)	Adds voluntary renewable energy (RI New RECs) to total 50%	Adds voluntary renewable energy (RI New RECs) to total 100%
Duration	October 2023 through March 2024	November 2023 through April 2024	November 2023 through April 2024	November 2023 through April 2024	November 2023 through April 2024
The Newport Community Electricity Program cannot guarantee savings compared to Rhode Island Energy Last Resort Service for the duration of the Program pricing because future Last Resort Service prices are unknown.

 
Newport is part of a group of seven municipalities who shared in launching the first municipal aggregation programs in Rhode Island. Barrington, Central Falls, Narragansett, Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and South Kingstown are all working with Good Energy as their consultant and share a common electricity supplier and pricing.

This May 2023, the City launched its electricity supply program, Newport Community Electricity, offering residents and businesses cleaner electricity at a lower cost than the utility.

The voluntary renewable energy content in the Program’s standard and optional products comes from projects that qualify as RI New and makes a sizable impact on the City’s carbon footprint. In the first three months of the program, participants purchased more than 3,000 megawatt-hours of voluntary renewable energy, equivalent to displacing over 2,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. This equates to taking 240 gasoline-powered vehicles off the road for one year.

The vast majority of the City’s residential electricity users enrolled in the program, and collectively participants saved more than $140,000 from May through July, while supporting new, renewable energy facilities here in Rhode Island. Savings upwards of $900,000 are expected by the end of the first six month pricing term.

This is a City-operated program open to all Newport residents and businesses. To join, complete the enrollment form on the program website: newportcommunityelectricity.com or call the program’s supplier, NextEra Energy Services Rhode Island, at (888) 387-1084. Participants may leave the program at any time without fees or penalties. Visit the program website to review all program options available and to submit any questions via the program contact form: newportcommunityelectricity.com