The Rye City Council voted in a special meeting last week to re-enter into an agreement with Westchester Power — a move proponents in the majority said will both provide Rye residents with more choice as well as maintain clean energy practices.
The agreement with Rye — which is a member of the Sustainable Westchester community bulk energy purchasing program — will automatically enroll most Rye residents in Con Edison territory into Westchester Power’s energy services, which power homes with clean energy from hydro, solar, and wind.
Residents with private energy service providers, those who have opted out of the program in the past, and those on bill assistance programs will not be automatically enrolled, according to Westchester Power Deputy Program Director Nick Tedrow. And even residents who are enrolled with Westchester Power can opt out of the program and switch to Con Edison or other private energy service companies if they choose.
To do so, customers can use their account number to file an opt-out form at sustainablewestchester.org.
The council vote was 4-1. Councilmembers Sara Goddard — a board member of Sustainable Westchester — Jamie Jensen, and Josh Nathan, as well as Mayor Josh Cohn, voted in favor. Councilman Bill Henderson was opposed. Julie Souza and Keith Cunningham, Rye’s other two City Council members, were absent.
Henderson argued that choosing Westchester Power as Rye residents’ default power source on an opt-out basis is “inherently un-democratic,” saying he’s “very skeptical of this arrangement.” He said while he’s in favor of renewable energy and wants to do what he can to combat climate change, he “believe[s] the City Council is putting community choice over individual Rye consumers’ choice.”
Some councilmembers said they were concerned that Rye residents might not know about their opt-out option. “As one who was sitting on this dais years ago and agreeing we should go into Westchester Power, I now sit here years later dissatisfied with the efficacy of the disclosure we attempted,” said Cohn. “I feel as if we came up short.”
Councilmembers also said they were concerned about the price comparison between Westchester Power. Energy from both service providers has been mostly financially comparable since the partnership’s inception, but in the last year or so Westchester Power’s sustainable energy package has been more expensive than Con Ed’s.
According to Sustainable Westchester, the price difference has remained fairly in line from 2016 to 2022. In 2023, however, the price of Con Edison energy averaged 9.36 cents per kilowatt hour, while Westchester Power’s renewable package was priced at 15.13 cents per kilowatt hour.
This year the gap closed a little more between Con Edison and Westchester Power, 10.03 cents to 15.44 cents, respectively.
Table courtesy Nick Tedrow
Dan Welsh, the Westchester Power team director, justified the price by emphasizing environmental goals.
“How does the grid get greener? People pay for green energy generators to put energy in the grid for them,” he said.
Prior contracts have had a 100 percent renewable energy source guarantee. The new contract will offer both 100 percent renewable and 50 percent renewable options.
The new contract’s pricing and duration was to be determined on July 17 (after press time) when Sustainable Westchester was to award a bidder for the energy service.
The city’s current contract with Westchester Power ends at the end of October, and the new contract begins Nov. 1.