MOTNICELLO, NY — Residents in New York State have the option of choosing which company will supply them with electricity, but it turns out that 75% of residents don’t bother to research the issue and change suppliers, and they are left with the default choice. In much of Sullivan County, the default company is NYSEG.

However, if the county were to move forward with a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) project, the county, in conjunction with a nonprofit entity, would be able to choose a different default company. Judging by the experience of municipalities in the six states where CCA is already underway, consumers could save five to 10% on their electric bill.

That information came from Mike Gordon, a board member of Sustainable Westchester, which is moving a number of municipalities through the process in the first CCA project in the state. He spoke to legislators at the government center on June 11, and explained the details of a CCA project.

Gordon said electric bills are divided into the part that covers utility poles and wires, and the part that covers the actual electricity, and that is the part over which consumers already have choice in terms of suppliers.

He said if the county wanted to move forward, it would put out a request for proposals (RFP) from a nonprofit, which would be a consultant. That consultant would then get the initial information required to prepare an RFP for electricity suppliers. Because the process is so new to New York, the state Public Service Commission has not yet worked out all of the details, but it appears there would be a charge of 72 cents per household for the necessary data.

The nonprofit and the county would then put out an RFP to electric suppliers and would select the best deal for consumers.

The county would need to pass a local law to allow this to go forward, and residents could have the opportunity to opt out before the switch is made. Also, after the switch is made, customers would have the opportunity to opt out at any time, and go back to using NYSEG as their electricity supplier.

Gordon said, “There is no exit fee… residents can opt out, or join the CCA.” He said in the Westchester CCA the municipalities are looking for a fixed-price for a three-year contract.

He said nationally the average savings has been five or 10%, but “If natural gas prices go up to historical levels, the savings will be quite a bit more than that.”

Gordon also said there is no risk to consumers. “Since there’s not a penalty for moving away, if the utility price goes down for any reason, customers are free to go back to that regulated utility.”

He also said that moving forward with the CCA project would enhance the chance of getting state funding for two micro-grid projects in Monticello and Liberty being pursued by the county and the Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development.

The U.S. Department of Energy defines micro-grid as “a local energy grid with control capability, which means it can disconnect from the traditional grid and operate autonomously.”

Sullivan legislators may vote on whether to move forward with a CCA project at a meeting on June 18.