By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

Recently, the villages of Manlius, Minoa and Fayetteville have been approached by Good Energy about the possibility of bringing a municipal program that may be able to lower electricity and natural gas costs to residents, called the Community Choice Aggregation program.

So far, Fayetteville and Minoa have adopted legislation that will allow the process to being and data, such as account number and addresses, to be collected from residents. Manlius still has not begun the legislation process, but will soon discuss it if it is something the village board wants to look into.

Good Energy is a provider of municipally-endorsed energy savings for natural gas and electricity. The New York State Public Service Commission recently passed an order that allows the company to bring their Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program to municipalities in New York.

According to the Good Energy website, benefits of the CCA program include: long-term fixed energy pricing; predictable monthly energy expenses; protection against volatile seasonal prices; and support for sustainability-driven community goals and initiatives

Fayetteville and Minoa have passed legislation that will allow the company to access data from the villages to make a determination if they will be able to lower gas and electricity bills for residents. If a savings is found, another round of data collection will occur, followed by a community education campaign carried out by Good Energy.

If a village board decides to move forward with the program, residents in the village will receive a letter that will give them information on how to opt-out of the program, which they must do in 30 days or they will be automatically switched to the new energy provider.

“We won’t go forward with it if there doesn’t seem to be a cost-savings for the residents,” said Minoa Mayor Bill Brazill. “It’s not like anyone is being forced to change their provider … I think it will be a good way to save money and be more efficient.” Minoa has adopted the local law and the data collection will begin soon, said Brazill.

At the Oct. 11 meeting of the board, Fayetteville Village Attorney Ted Spencer proposed a clause be written in the local law before it is officially adopted and sent to the New York Department of State that allows the village to drop out of the program if at any point they feel it is not in the best interest of the residents. The matter has been tabled and will be discussed at the next board meeting, 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24 at the village offices.

Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said he has met with representatives from Good Energy, but has not yet brought the issue it to the village board. At a board meeting in the near future, he said he hopes to bring a representative to present the information so community members and the board can learn more and see if it is something they’d like to consider.

“I think that is might get us better pricing for the community. It was something that was beneficial to look into and leave it up to the people,” said Whorrall. “We’ll have to see what the benefits are.”

For more information about the Community Choice Aggregation program, go to goodenergy.com/Community-Choice-Aggregation/new-york. To learn more about the program in your village, contact your village clerk’s office.