West Newbury Locks In 30-Month Energy Aggregation Deal, Approves Conservation Restriction

WEST NEWBURY -- January 23, 2025, West Newbury Select Board votes unanimously to lock in a 30-month municipal energy aggregation contract at rates below National Grid's current basic service rate of 14.67 cents per kilowatt-hour. Chair Wendy Reed and members Barry Fogel and Christopher Wile approved the opt-out program Thursday, authorizing Town Manager Angus Jennings to sign the final contract after pricing was confirmed January 24, with an April program start. The board selected a three-tiered product structure centered on a green energy default option at roughly five to six mils below the basic service rate, projected to save the average residential customer about $9 per month. Energy and Sustainability Committee members Chip Wallace and Lisa Grammer supported the recommendation. In the same meeting, the board approved a conservation restriction on the McGrath family's nearly eight-acre agricultural parcel off Church and Whetstone streets, a property in continuous farming use for more than a century, donated to Essex County Greenbelt Association, and accepted the historic Sunrise Dairy sign as a gift to the town from property owner John McGrath.