ATHOL – This afternoon, residents can learn about the goal of municipal aggregation and how it can help lower electricity costs.
On Tuesday afternoon, a meeting, facilitated by Kevin Kelly of Crimson Power, will be held at 1 p.m. in Room 21 of Town Hall. Kelly will offer an explanation of the program, including details surrounding its implementation.
In late November 2024, Athol’s Town Energy Committee recommended that the town move ahead with aggregation, which was approved by voters at a Town Meeting in 2012. The Selectboard didn’t authorize the town manager to work on a plan until May of last year, however.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines municipal power aggregation as a program that allows “local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider.”
Aggregation, according to the agency’s website, can “increase the use of green energy beyond that offered by its default utility, and reduce monthly electric bills for the municipality, its residents, and local businesses.”
In Athol’s case, the default utility is National Grid.
“Communities gain leverage to negotiate better rates with competitive suppliers and choose greener power sources,” according to the EPA.
At the Town Energy Committee’s November 2025 meeting, Kelly cited Webster as an example of a community where lower rates had been negotiated under municipal aggregation. In addition, Kelly explained that Webster offers its citizens a 100% green energy option. Nearly all of Webster’s 6,500 electricity consumers, which are mostly all residential – have chosen to “go green.”
In-person attendance for Tuesday’s meeting is limited to 20 people. The meeting will also be livestreamed at https://tinyurl.com/362m96wj. The meeting ID is 813 1825 4732 and the passcode is 320948.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.