In November 2018, the Rye City Council voted to join 22 other Westchester localities and buy electricity through Sustainable Westchester, an organization that would buy power in bulk at a fixed price and reduce the use of fossil fuels.
The change was good for the environment, and for most of the six years since the Sustainable Westchester rates have been comparable, though slightly higher in a few years. But in 2023, the Sustainable Westchester rates were a good deal higher.
Rye businesses and households have been opted-in to the power provided by Sustainable Westchester through CCA-Constellation New Energy. That is the energy supplier listed on the monthly Con Ed bill, and supplies power generated by a mix of natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, and solar.
The Sustainable Westchester contract is up for renewal in October, and Rye Mayor Josh Cohn said the city will review the matter. “When we first met Westchester Power, their rates were presented to us as quite competitive with Con Ed’s,” Cohn said. “The rate situation has changed markedly and, yes, I think review before renewal is appropriate.”
Sustainable Westchester’s goal is “to bring socially responsible, environmentally sound, and economically viable solutions that create healthy, resilient, sustainable communities.”
The group’s executive director, Noah Bramson, said the current price differential is the result of circumstances that he does not expect to recur.
The current contract, he said, “was negotiated at a particularly volatile time in the energy market, coinciding with the onset of the war in Ukraine. This has led to temporary above-market pricing, but there is no reason to expect that these unusual circumstances will impact our next contract.”
He added: “Residents can freely exit or resume the program at any time, with no fee or penalty. Similar ‘opt-out’ community choice aggregation models exist in nine states across the country and are deemed essential to the growth of renewable energy by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as they empower communities that desire local control over their electricity sources and more green power than is offered by the default utility.”
Council member Sara Goddard, who serves on the Sustainable Westchester board, extolled the benefits of the city’s contract. “Representing 27 municipalities across Westchester County, Westchester Power’s green supply program has mitigated 270,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 2023 alone — the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road,” she said. “I’m in full support of any mechanism, including Sustainable Westchester’s bulk energy program, that supports New York State’s Clean Action Plan.”
