Program Approval Timeline
Timeline for program development and the approval process followed all steps required by State statute, including local authorization, public review, and approval by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. Follow the Newport Community Electricity Program’s progress with the table below.
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Step One: On October 7, 2019, City Council voted in favor of creating the Newport Community Electricity Program. In April 2020, the City selected Good Energy, L.P. as the consultant to assist in developing and managing the Program.
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Step Two: From April through May of 2020, the City worked to develop a draft Aggregation Plan, including the program’s goals, organization, and operation. The draft plan was presented to the Resilience and Energy Committee, then to the City Council on May 18, 2020.
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Step Three: The City made the draft Aggregation Plan available for public review starting on May 25, 2020, and held a public hearing on June 8, 2020. The draft Aggregation Plan was amended based on public input and comments received during the review.
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Step Four: The City Council voted to approve the Aggregation Plan on June 8, 2020.
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Step Five: In May 2021, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the Aggregation Plan in docket number 5212.
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Step Six: In September 2022, Newport chose NextEra Energy Services as the supplier for the program. Newport monitored the market to identify the appropriate time to run a competitive bid for electricity supply.
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Step Seven: From March to April 2023 Newport implemented an education and outreach campaign to make residents and businesses aware of the upcoming program launch and their choice to participate in the Program, or leave before it started (opt out). This included:
- A post-card and Customer Notification letter mailed to each eligible electricity customer
- Public meetings to answer questions and explain the program:
- Tuesday, March 28th, at Innovate Newport located at 513 Broadway, Newport, RI 02840.
- Special Virtual Discussion: Tuesday, March 21st, Green Energy Consumers Alliance, the local non-profit that helps bring new renewable projects to New England will held a virtual discussion about our city’s community electricity program. A second meeting took place on Thursday, March 23rd.
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Step Eight: The Program began providing electricity as of the May 2023 meter read. Participants can switch their Program option or opt out, without penalty or fee of any kind, any time after the Program has begun.