Guest Editorial: Croton has signed a new contract with Westchester Power. Is it the best overall deal for local residents?
A former Croton trustee argues that villagers are paying too high a premium for renewable energy, and that once again ConEd's opt-out price will be much lower.
by Bob Anderson
You have a choice of electricity company. Which will it be?
I should have known better than to try and speak about the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program at the July 24 Board of Trustees meeting, since the housing issue was the number one topic. So here are my thoughts, and some facts, related to the program that I didn't get to at the meeting.
(If you are happy to pay a higher rate for your energy, STOP READING NOW. If not, please continue.)
I have not been a fan of Sustainable Westchester’s CCA program (called Westchester Power) since the village first got involved with it in 2017. I do not disagree with the overarching goal of moving towards fully renewable energy, but I have concerns about implementation and performance. The village has agreed to the proposal for 100% renewable energy for village residents at a higher kilowatt per hour (kwh) price, with an opt-out option for individual households. The CCA option could go about 20% higher than the ConEd rate.
One might think that the village itself is part of the program, but it is not. Village facilities receive most of their power from the New York Power Authority (NYPA.) This is similar to our local law stating you can't use a gas leaf blower but the village can.
The initial promise of lower costs for rate payers has not come true. Westchester Power will tell you that it was not a guarantee. The figure of $100-200 worth of savings for consumers was floated around when the village first wanted to join the program. That never came close according to my informal research, including three years of analyzing my own bills.
I opted out of the CCA, and I use the standard energy supply (mixed sources) as opposed to fully renewable supply. My annual savings compared to the CCA rate is approximately $100 per year. This is important to our senior community and those families just starting out—every bit of savings helps.
The variable rate from ConEd has beaten the CCA rate consistently. The problem is that when you lock the price in for two years and then the rates go down, you're stuck with the higher rate. That is the gamble that CCA takes, and it lost badly on this last contract. Conversely, the lock in will protect you if rates go up. But to the best of my knowledge, this hasn't happened yet.
Keep in mind that rates have gone up for everyone due to transmission costs of delivery and not cost per kwh. Westchester Power competes in the same markets for energy as ConEd, which has a larger customer base. Who do you think has more leverage? Why do you need a middleman to negotiate for you? The directors of Sustainable Westchester, the nonprofit which administers Westchester Power, earn more than $300,000 annually, according to the latest available IRS 990 filing in 2022. I suspect that money comes from the slice they take from every transaction on your behalf.
Interestingly, two former Croton mayors are closely aligned with Sustainable Westchester, and one if not both have benefited financially from the association since 2017. The link seems to be a little too close for comfort in terms of decision making for the village, but you can draw your own conclusions by checking the IRS 990 filings for Sustainable Westchester yourself.
My last supply charge was 9.69 cents/kwh and the new CCA rate has been locked in at 13.29 cents/kwh for one year. A current comparison to the villages/towns of Greenburgh and Larchmont show an average difference of $50-$65 per month between CCA and ConEd, and we will probably be in that ballpark. The village is a municipal corporation that has a fiduciary duty to provide services in a fiscally responsible manner. I think the Board of Trustees has failed us.
You have a choice to opt out. I suggest you take it.
Bob Anderson is a former Croton-on-Hudson trustee and current president of the Croton Senior Club.
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Bob, unlike our Croton trustees, puts Croton residents first! One of the many unfortunate aspects of this is that Croton’s poorest ESL residents may not understand that they need to take action to opt out of this costly energy. Also some fixed income seniors may not understand why there energy has jumped in price and don’t know they can opt out. We need to recruit new Croton first people to run for Mayor and trustees. Let’s form an action committee. Contact me on FB messenger here to get the ball rolling. This is they most damaging crew of governance for our community that I’ve seen in my 17!years in Croton.
I was in this which I didn’t like and opted out to find my bills were much lower after. No one should be automatically opted in. That’s highly dubious and inappropriate. I don’t see this program being affordable in the near future. Thank you!