icaquito t1_ja9nm14 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 9:28 PM

I was surprised to see the increase in my bills too, wasn’t expecting it to be so high. I’d suggest switching suppliers if your town has an agreement in place as it tends to be the cheapest and same pricing for the length of the contract, it’s really easy to do online. It’s still going to be billed through national grid so not sure that building management will need to know. It takes about a billing period to take effect, but will save you money for a bit.

No_Huckleberry7316 OP t1_ja9oa3l wrote on February 27, 2023 at 9:32 PM

Thank you. I'm looking into that as well. I'm just not sure what the exact process is, like once I get in a contract with a new supplier, do I have to call National Grid to let them know or cancel anything? I suppose I could call one of the suppliers and see if they know..

sjam1052 t1_jaadefi wrote on February 28, 2023 at 12:22 AM

You’ll still be a customer of National Grid’s. And your delivery, transmissions, etc charges will still be from national grid. It’s simply the supply rate portion of your billl that will state the third party supplier name and their price. They coordinate with national grid (or any utility) directly.

Read your contract carefully before signing. Third party electricity suppliers are great and offered in MA because we have a deregulated energy market.

You should see if your town or city (like Boston is, most of the cape is) is a part of a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). If your town is then they have an agreement in place with a third party electric supplier already and you can opt into it. Your local town’s department of utilities should have more information.

Energy prices are extremely high right now and the rates are in effect for 6 months. Nation grid until may. And who knows what the summer rate will be which will be in effect for may-Nov. If you can lock in a lower rate with a third party, you should. Just, again, read the contract carefully and look out for escalators which are atypical of CCAs since the town/city does so much vetting of the offer first for their residents

(I work in energy, close to this sector)

icaquito t1_jaaqolq wrote on February 28, 2023 at 2:00 AM

The other poster’s comment was on point, but to answer your question, you fill out a form online and they notify national grid for you. All you need is your national grid account number to make the change. Here’s the link for the municipal aggregation program, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/municipal-aggregation - select your town and then enroll in the program.