community charrette

Community Energy for Con Edison-Area Municipalities

In 2016, after several years of development and hundreds of community meetings, Westchester communities launched the first Community Choice Aggregation energy program in NY and today, continue to lead the transition to clean, renewable energy.

Participating Municipalities

100% Renewable Supply Default
Village of Ardsley, Town of Bedford, Village of Croton-on-Hudson, Village of Dobbs Ferry, Town of Greenburgh, Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, Village of Irvington, Village of Larchmont, Town of Mamaroneck, Village of Mamaroneck,  Town of New Castle, City of New Rochelle, Town of Ossining, Village of Ossining, City of Peekskill, Village of Pelham, Village of Pleasantville, Village of Rye Brook, City of Rye, Village of Sleepy Hollow, Village of Tarrytown, Village of Tuckahoe, City of White Plains

Standard Supply Default
Village of Mount Kisco

Quick links for your energy choices

Just received a newly eligible letter?

If you just received a newly eligible letter and are not yet enrolled in the program

Click here

Existing customer or want to opt in?

If you would like to opt in, opt out, change supply,
or check your enrollment

Click here
Hydro power dam

Current contract for Con Edison area (other than Yonkers) participants

Constellation New Energy is the supplier for this contract, which is in effect from the first meter reads in November of 2022 to first meter reads of November 2024

100% Renewable Supply

NY State sourced
Primarily hydropower
Residential: 15.449¢/kWh
Small Commercial: 15.449¢/kWh

Standard Supply

Grid mix similar to utility
Majority fossil fueled
Residential: 13.685¢/kWh
Small Commercial: 13.685¢/kWh

Rates on your bill will include GRT if your municipality assesses it.

[Prices increase January 1, 2024 due to a NYS transmission charge – click here for the notice]

Westchester Power Basics

COLLECTIVE POWER – the community-selected default electricity supply option for 29 participating municipalities.

[ConEdison remains responsible for Distribution – the infrastructure and billing]

100% RENEWABLE ENERGY made easily accessible, vetted, at scale; Standard supply also available.

OPT-OUT FORMAT – eligible customers are enrolled in the default supply unless they take action to opt out or change supply.

CONSUMER-FRIENDLY structure allows you to participate with no contracts, fees, or penalties for coming or going.

RATE STABILITY – stable and predictable pricing vs the monthly variability of the utility supply.

Savings are not guaranteed through this program, as we cannot predict what the utility will charge month-to-month.

For more information the Dept. of Public Service has prepared this FAQ: faq-template_v2.pdf

Contacts and resources:

How to read your bill

When your electricity supply is from an Energy Service Company (ESCO) such as is the case with participation in Westchester Power, the supply charge is separated from the Con Edison distribution charge, where before they were combined. Click here for Con Edison explanation of other charges.

Comparison of Con Edison average monthly rates for current contract

  • The October rate displayed is from October 6 to October 31 due to incomplete Con Ed data.

Comparison of Con Edison average monthly rates from program launch

  • Rates do not include Gross Receipt Tax (GRT). If your municipality collects GRT, it will be added to these rates.
  • The 12-month trailing average for the period January 2023 to December 2023 was 9.459 cents/kWh for residential customer and 8.970 cents/kWh for commercial customers
  • Westchester County lies in Con Edison zones H and I; the 12-month average rates shown here represent the average of the two zones.

Upcoming Public Information Sessions

Check back here for more upcoming information sessions!

Past Public Information Sessions

2024
March 1st Enrollment Period Information Sessions
Newly Eligible Information Sessions
Wednesday, January 24, at 12PM on Zoom – click here to watch the recording
Sesión de Información Comunitaria
Jueves 11 de enero a las 6:30 PM en Zoom – haga clic aquí para ver la grabación

2023
November 1st Enrollment Period Information Sessions
Newly Eligible Information Sessions
Tuesday, September 26, at 12PM on Zoom
Tuesday, September 26, at 7PM on Zoom
Wednesday, September 27, at 12PM on Zoom
Wednesday, September 27 at 7PM on Zoom (Video Link)
Sesión de Información Comunitaria
Martes 26 de septiembre a las 7PM horas por Zoom
Miércoles 27 de septiembre a las 7PM horas por Zoom 

March 1st Enrollment Period Information Sessions
Thursday 2/2
ConEd @ 12 Noon on Zoom
ConEd @ 7:00pm on Zoom

Sesión de Información Comunitaria en Español
jueves 2/2 a las 7:00pm on Zoom

2022
Sound Shore (Rye, Rye Brook, Mamaroneck V, Mamaroneck T, New Rochelle, Larchmont, Pelham)
Central County (White Plains, Mt. Kisco, Bedford, New Castle, Tuckahoe, Pleasantville)
Upper River Towns (Peekskill, Croton on Hudson, Ossining Town, Ossining Village, Sleepy Hollow)
Lower River Towns (Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Hastings on Hudson, Town of Greenburgh)

Wednesday (8/31) at 12 Noon
Central Westchester: (Link to video)
Lower River Towns: (Link to video)
Sound Shore: (Link to video)
Upper River Towns: (Link to video)

Wednesday (8/31) at 7:00pm
Central Westchester: (Link to video)
Lower River Towns: (Link to video)
Sound Shore: (Link to video)
Upper River Towns: (Link to video)

Thursday (9/1) at 12 Noon
Central Westchester: (Link to video)
Upper River Towns: (Link to video)

Thursday (9/1) at 7:00pm
Central Westchester: (Link to video)
Lower River Towns: (Link to video)
Sound Shore: (Link to video)
Upper River Towns: (Link to video)

Friday (9/2) at 12 Noon
Lower River Towns: (Link to video)
Sound Shore: (Link to video)

Thursday (9/22) at 7:00pm
Central Westchester: (Video link)

Wednesday (9/28) at 12 Noon
Sound Shore: (Link to video)

Wednesday (9/28) at 7:00pm
Lower River Towns: Link to video

Friday (9/30) at 12 Noon
Upper River Towns: (Link to video)

Tuesday (10/4) at 12 Noon
Central Westchester: (Link to video)

Tuesday (10/4) at 7:00pm
Sound Shore: (Link to video)

Wednesday (10/5) at 12 noon
Lower River Towns: (Link to video)

Wednesday (10/5) at 7:00pm
Upper River Towns: (Link to video)

Sesión de Información Comunitaria en Español
miércoles (10/5) a las 7:00pm
(Enlace al video)

Commitment To Clean Energy

Since 2016, the Westchester Power Community Energy program has helped municipalities in Westchester County leverage the collective power of its residents to control costs and provide insurance against fluctuations in electricity supply through competitively priced and fixed-rate bulk purchasing, while also leading the transition to renewable energy in the state through Westchester Power’s 100% Renewable energy as the primary product subscription of most participants.

Renewable program participants annually mitigate 219,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of taking 49,000 cars off the road for a year!

For more about how Westchester Power fits into the clean energy transition click here.

A Community Energy Platform

The large scale of the program enables us to attract new opportunities for increased environmental impact and potential savings. These include:

Westchester Power Solar Credit offering – Sustainable Westchester is preparing to launch an exciting, new Solar Credit offering within the Westchester Power program in late 2023. The Solar Credit offering provides guaranteed savings to participating households and small businesses. The offering will prioritize the delivery of the Solar Credit savings to those enrolled in the existing utility’s low-income assistance program.

Demand Response – Previously available only to large commercial businesses, Sustainable Westchester has collaborated with a technology firm, Logical Buildings, to pilot demand response for residential customers. By cutting usage during a few peak hours of the year, ConEd can avoid switching on the dirtiest “Peaker Plants,” and will pay you money for that. Learn more about the GridRewards program and how to opt in here.

Let’s Talk About Clean Energy

Why clean energy? By now, everyone has heard of climate change, but it’s not always easy to make the connection to our daily lives. Our energy choices are, however, linked to many of the most serious challenges that we face these days, as well as the question of what kind of future we leave our children.

Most of our electricity is still generated by burning fossil fuels which release greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. This has contributed to our environment’s degradation, increasing temperatures, and local effects such as more frequent higher intensity storms and changes in seasonal patterns. Here’s a short video about the greenhouse effect which is responsible for this problem.

Solar, wind, and hydropower are emissions-free sources of energy. New York State has an aggressive plan to switch over to these clean energy sources and away from fossil fuels. Westchester communities have taken the lead in these efforts, and now dozens of NY communities have followed with similar programs.

Clean Energy Implications
for Westchester County

Our communities need to move away from fossil fuel-powered electricity quickly to help mitigate the challenges associated with climate change. A transformation towards clean-powered electricity is entirely possible.

Westchester Power communities can help accelerate this transition by promoting the generation of clean energy, as well as sending signals to electricity generators, investors, and governments that we place a high priority on ensuring a sustainable and healthy future.

Our energy choices and COVID 19

Studies are showing that areas with higher levels of pollution see worse outcomes from COVID 19. Many observers have pointed out the similarities in the challenges since both require collective, long-term action to solve.

Sea Level Rise

Over the past century, the Hudson has risen about a foot due to global warming (see this Scenic Hudson article), threatening households and habitats. This map shows how the Yonkers waterfront may fare over this century. We can reduce the impact and costs by taking strong action to reverse the growth of greenhouse gases.

Temperature Rise & Disparate Impacts

By the year 2100, on our current trajectory, New York starts to look more like Florida (Climate Central):

But like so many of the effects of global warming, the impact can vary greatly. Groundwork Hudson Valley has done amazing work to go one step further and show how the practice of Redlining has amplified the environmental justice aspect of the problem through the creation of “heat islands” [read more here]:

More resources about local climate change impacts