Greenburgh Insider: Sustainable Westchester ESCO- will you save money if you don't opt out?

 

The ESCO rates are fixed -can't go up or down. No guarantees that they will be less than Con Ed. An explanation.

Greenburgh is one of a number of communities that have agreed to participate in Sustainable Westchester's ESCO. Everyone is enrolled unless you opt out. You should be receiving a card with info from Sustainable Westchester in the near future. Some residents have asked: Will the ESCO result in cheaper utility bills?  Sustainable Westchester will resume their ESCO in November ending their pause. The program rates will be 15.128 cents per kwh for 100% renewable supply and 13.364 cents  for standard supply. These rates will be fixed until November 2024. The rates can't go up or down. 

I asked Dan Welsh of Sustainable Westchester to advise if Greenburgh/Westchester residents sign up for their ESCO if customers will definitely save money. This is what he said:

"We don't know what the future Con Ed rates will be. The new program prices are certainly significantly higher than we are used to, and higher than the current Con Ed price (looking like it will finish at about 11.8 cents for August). It's true that gasoline and crude oil have come down recently, but natural gas, still the electricity market driver, is sitting at 3 times what it was a year and a half ago, and there is still no relief on upward pressure in sight. We are coming into the winter, and last winter, before the Ukraine war broke out, we already hit highs of 17 cents in Con Ed.

There is of course a premium for the renewable energy supply today, but we welcome folks to look around at comparable offerings in the market; in our last survey the Westchester Power rates were lower than other ESCO options, and those appear to be rising still.

We don't treat this subject lightly - we know rising energy costs are a concern. Of course we've been over this ground, but it's worth pointing out again that the program is still an additional option that people would not have if it didn't exist. There is a risk associated with both staying in Westchester Power, and also in switching back to Con Ed. If Mr Samis, weighing his own projection of future utility rates and whatever value he assesses relative to the effort to transition to renewable energy at scale, decides to switch back to Con Ed, we of course will facilitate - program choice is still a key element of the program and we are happy that he can exercise it.

- Dan

Dan Welsh

Program Director Westchester Power

A Program of Sustainable Westchester"

If you have additional questions please e mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.comPAUL FEINER