Good Morning, Burlington!

Lately there’s been a lot of chatter on the socials about increases in the price of electricity. Did you know there’s a way for you to save on electricity with little effort or commitment?

Most electrical customers have their electricity supplied* directly from the utility (Eversource for Burlington). But in Massachusetts, customers can shop for competitively priced electricity suppliers. Just go to www.energyswitchma.gov and compare suppliers. It helps to have a copy of your bill handy so you can compare to what you currently pay.

There is also a program in the state of Massachusetts, called Municipal Aggregation, where a city or town can choose to go with a single supplier for all the residents who haven’t chosen their own. Many towns offer multiple options, from basic service to local green energy for a higher cost (but still much less per kilowatt-hour than Eversource is charging.)

Municipal aggregation has been saving residents of neighboring towns like Bedford, Billerica and Lexington millions of dollars per year on electricity costs. Burlington has applied to this program, but certain steps (like a town vote and a shopping period to determine which provider we would use) need to be taken before we can officially join the program.

The Land Use Committee’s Sustainability Subcommittee plans to discuss Municipal aggregation this evening.

*There are two parts to electricity service: supply, which refers to the generation and purchase of the energy, and delivery, which refers to the infrastructure like lines and poles that get the electricity from the supplier to your home. Eversource remains responsible for delivery, which includes all the infrastructure costs. Supply is where we have a choice and where we can exact cost savings.

Today in Burlington

Municipal Meetings and Community Events

• 9:30 AM - 50+ Job Seekers Networking Group (Morning Session) - Artificial Intelligence, Applications & Cover Letters (Virtual; Register)
• 6:00 PM - Town Hall meeting with Congressman Moulton: Congressman Moulton has represented the Massachusetts 6th Congressional District since 2015. This is your opportunity to ask questions directly to your representative and learn more about his priorities in Congress. Doors open at 5:30. (Grand View Farm)
• 7:00 PM - Land Use - Sustainability Sub-Committee will discuss a number of sustainability issues including a solar panel ordinance and Green Municipal Aggregation. (Town Hall Annex)
• 7:00 PM - Zoning Bylaw Review Committee Sign Subcommittee will continue discussing the signage districts guide and the bylaw articles related to signage. (Virtual)

Sports and Activities

I accidentally put this info in yesterday’s schedule. But there were no sports on the official calendar yesterday! Sorry about that—chalk it up to new-school-year crazies.

Freshman soccer today against Winchester, with boys playing at Rahanis at 4:15 and girls traveling for a 4:00 game. Our field hockey teams also play Winchester, hosting at 4:15 (varsity) and 5:30 (JV) at BHS.

See you tomorrow, Burlington!

Nicci

Thanks so much for reading Burlington Buzz. Share this edition with someone who needs a break on their electricity prices!