About the Pause in Service

PAUSE IN SERVICE: Extreme volatility in electricity prices has presented challenges to securing a supply contract that provides the value and stability to participants that the program has delivered these last 6 years. While we continue to work for a new contract, the timing is now such that participants will experience a pause in program supply at the end of this current contract.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Starting in July, you will be transitioned into the Con Edison default electricity supply and be billed for electricity at their variable rate. You will:

• Receive a notification card from Con Edison in June regarding your impending switch over to their supply

• Starting in your July billing cycle, you will receive Con Edison’s electrical supply and be billed at their monthly rates with no interruption of service, receiving your first bill under that supply in late July/August

• Ahead of the restart of Westchester Power supply, you will be notified through the mail regarding the new contract terms and have the opportunity to opt out or change supply options should you wish before automatically re-enrolling

This change DOES NOT APPLY to Yonkers residents. The following ConEdison territory municipalities that participate in the program are affected: Ardsley Village, Bedford Town (ConEdison service only), Croton Village, Dobbs Ferry, Greenburgh Town, Hastings Village, Irvington Village, Larchmont Village, Mamaroneck Town, Mamaroneck Village, Mount Kisco Village, New Castle Town, New Rochelle City, Ossining Town, Ossining Village, Peekskill City, Pelham Village, Pleasantville Village, Rye Brook Village, Rye City, Sleepy Hollow Village, Tarrytown Village, Tuckahoe Village, White Plains City.

Commitment To Clean Energy

Since 2016, the Westchester Power Community Energy program has helped municipalities in Westchester County leverage the collective power of its residents to control costs and provide insurance against fluctuations in electricity supply through competitively priced and fixed-rate bulk purchasing, while also leading the transition to renewable energy in the state through Westchester Power’s 100% Renewable energy as the primary product subscription of most participants.

In 6 years of operation, Westchester residents and businesses have mitigated the emission of about 1,100,000 metric tons of CO2 through their decision to support renewable energy via Westchester Power. This is equivalent to taking roughly 293,000 cars off the road for one year.

Westchester Power Electricity Supply Service Basics

• Westchester Power is a program that allows local governments to procure electricity, gas, and other services on behalf of their residents and small businesses
• This is only an electricity SUPPLY offering. Participants are still customers of their utility company who continue to be responsible for energy distribution, infrastructure maintenance, and billing of customers
• Westchester Power hosts auctions among qualified Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and awards supply contracts through this competitive bidding process
• Enrollment is on an “opt-out” basis- you receive a notification letter with all the program details, and are enrolled unless you say you do not want to be. Participants can exit (or change supply option http://sustainablewestchester.org/wp/energy-choices/) at any time with no fee

A Community
Energy Platform

The large scale of the program enables us to attract new opportunities for increased environmental impact and potential savings. These include:

Westchester Power Solar Credit offering – Sustainable Westchester is preparing to launch an exciting, new Solar Credit offering within the Westchester Power program in late 2022. The Solar Credit offering provides guaranteed savings to participating households and small businesses. The offering will prioritize the delivery of the Solar Credit savings to those enrolled in the existing utility’s low-income assistance program.

Let’s Talk About Clean Energy

Why clean energy? By now, everyone has heard of climate change, but it’s not always easy to make the connection to our daily lives. Our energy choices are, however, linked to many of the most serious challenges that we face these days, as well as the question of what kind of future we leave our children.

Most of our electricity is still generated by burning fossil fuels which release greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. This has contributed to our environment’s degradation, increasing temperatures, and local effects such as more frequent higher intensity storms and changes in seasonal patterns. Here’s a short video about the greenhouse effect which is responsible for this problem.

Our energy choices and COVID 19

Studies are showing that areas with higher levels of pollution see worse outcomes from COVID 19. Many observers have pointed out the similarities in the challenges since both require collective, long-term action to solve.

Sea Level Rise

Over the past century, the Hudson has risen about a foot due to global warming (see this Scenic Hudson article), threatening households and habitats. This map shows how the Yonkers waterfront may fare over this century. We can reduce the impact and costs by taking strong action to reverse the growth of greenhouse gases.