NARROWSBURG, NY — Despite an onslaught of wintery precipitation a full house was present to hear details of a program being considered by the Tusten Town Board, the result of which would be decreased energy costs for residential and small commercial customers.

The program, known as Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), would combine the benefits of promoting clean energy, primarily local solar, with guaranteed negotiated savings in energy-supply costs for customers currently supplied by NYSEG.

Electric power is provided to homes and businesses in three phases: the generation or supply of electric power, the transmission of that power over high-voltage power lines, and finally through a distribution system that delivers the power into individual houses and businesses. Tusten residents are served by NYSEG for their transmission and distribution needs, but for the past many years, customers have had the opportunity to choose their energy supplier. Historically 75% of customers do not choose another supplier, and under current regulations, the result is that NYSEG is the default supplier.

Under the CCA, the town would partner with other municipalities through a consortium by means of a negotiated contract that would guarantee a specified level of savings from historic NYSEG prices and/or be negotiated to utilize clean energy, including locally produced solar power.

One of the impediments to new solar companies is the expense of cultivating new customers and completing the transfer of the current energy supplier to the clean energy provider. It is estimated that this mining of customers accounts for about 25% of the total project cost.

Under a CCA, rather than the local distribution company (NYSEG) being the default energy supplier, the companies signed under the CCA become the default provider. This aids the development of solar and other clean-energy supplies while guaranteeing the negotiated cost savings to the customers. Customers would have the opportunity to opt out of the CCA agreement if they chose.

Like all distribution companies in New York, NYSEG had to divest itself of its generation assets, so it acts simply as a pass-through for energy. It was said that they are agnostic as to whom their customers choose as their energy source, but they are mandated by the state to assure that customers get the energy they need. NYSEG’s source of profit is on the distribution side of the business, with their profit level established by the New York State Public Service Commission through periodic rate filings.

CCAs are still fairly new in New York State. There is a program currently in place in Westchester County where approximately 35 municipalities have joined a similar consortium. Over the years that it has been in existence, customers have experienced an 8% decrease in overall energy supply costs, or about a 4% overall decrease to their electric bill. To work in this area, there would need to be buy-in from virtually all municipalities to create more negotiating strength and purchasing power. Tusten was the first town to be approached with this opportunity.

The board members and residents at the meeting expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to experience lower rates and provide incentives for solar energy development. Though no commitment was made, there was unanimous consent that the information provided at the meeting be forwarded to the town attorney for review.

In other business, the board unanimously passed a resolution to establish a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from the years 1990 to 2035 in accordance with New York State’s green energy goals. The resignation of Tina Spangler from the Zoning Board of Appeals effective December 31 was accepted with regret. The hourly rate for court bailiff was set as a $45 minimum for the first two hours of service, and at $22.50 per hour thereafter. Craig Burkle was nominated to the Sullivan County Fire Advisory Board.

During the public comment period, Charles Petersheim complimented the board on their progressive thinking, thanked Ned Lang for his service as a councilman and urged that the robust debate among the board members continue, with consideration given to local businesspeople and job-creators.