Fitchburg Community Electricity Aggregation (CEA) is a program offered by the city of Fitchburg to provide new electricity supply options and more renewable energy to Fitchburg residents and businesses.
Fitchburg Community Electricity Aggregation is the only electricity program offered by the City – beware of look-alike offers and always look for the town seal on materials sent to you.
Enroll in the program
Please note, most residential and small business customers will not need to take any action to participate in the Program. See the “How It Works” section below for details on enrollment.
Fitchburg CEA has a standard product, Fitchburg Standard, which has more renewable energy certificates (MA Class I RECs) than required by the Commonwealth. Participants in the program receive Fitchburg Standard unless they affirmatively choose one of the other electricity products.
| Fitchburg Community Choice Electricity (CCE) | Unitil Basic Service | |||
| Fitchburg Standard (default product) | Fitchburg 5 | Fitchburg Plus | Residential | |
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| Rates | 17.268 ¢/kWh | 17.467 ¢/kWh | 19.048 ¢/kWh | 19.338 ¢/kWh |
| Fixed for 21 Months |
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| Extra Renewables from New England |
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| 100% Renewable Energy |
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| Renewable Energy | Meets renewable energy standards | Adds 5% voluntary renewable energy (MA Class I RECs) | Adds voluntary renewable energy (MA Class I RECs) to total 100% | Meets renewable energy standards |
| Duration | March 2023 through December 2024 |
January through July 2024 |
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| Details | ||||
Future savings compared to Unitil Basic Service cannot be guaranteed.
Products described as Green contain Renewable Energy Certificates (MA Class I RECs) above that required by Massachusetts and come only from solar, wind, anaerobic digestion, and low-impact hydro located within New England.
All of the additional RECs included in the Program are designated as Massachusetts Class I RECs and are the accepted legal instrument used to track renewable energy generation and to substantiate claims of renewable energy use. Learn more about the RECs that are included on the Renewable Energy page.
Goals of Fitchburg Community Electricity Aggregation
Competitive, Stable Price
Using strategic purchasing, combined with the bulk buying power of thousands of households and businesses in the City, Fitchburg CEA looks to provide competitive, stable rates. While the Program cannot guarantee savings for customers in the future, we expect the Program will perform well and remain competitive over the years to come.
Support Renewable Energy
Fitchburg CEA’s standard and optional products include more renewable energy than required by Massachusetts. This means you can use cleaner electricity and support the growth of renewable energy generation in our region.
Increased Choice & Easy Participation
The Program offers different options for electricity supply so that everyone in Fitchburg CEA can find an option that fits their budget and climate goals.
Participants in Fitchburg CEA may leave the Program at any time without penalty.
How it works
Fitchburg CEA does not replace Unitil as our electric utility. The utility continues to deliver electricity, repair outages and manage all billing. The Program offers alternatives for the Supply portion of your bill. See the How to Read Your Bill section on the Unitil website to see the difference between Supply and Delivery sections.
The Program is open to electricity customers in Fitchburg, whether they be a resident, business, renter, or owner.
Prior to program launch, Fitchburg will conduct extensive education and outreach to notify our community.
The Program is structured with voluntary participation and automatic enrollment.
- Voluntary participation: customers can leave the Program at any time without penalty, either before the Program starts or during.
- Automatic enrollment for most: in Fitchburg, most residential and some business customers are receiving their electricity supply from Unitil Basic Service. For these customers, entry into the Program will be simple and easy. They will be given a 30-day period during which they have the opportunity to opt out (i.e., not participate) or choose one of the program’s optional products. Those who do not opt out are automatically enrolled in the Program.
Customers eligible for automatic enrollment will periodically receive a Customer Notification Letter in the mail. It will provide program details and ways in which to opt out via prepaid mailer, phone and online form.
- Opt-in required for some: those Fitchburg residents and businesses who have already chosen an electricity supplier other than Unitil are not automatically enrolled in the Program, though they can voluntarily opt in to the Program at any time. The Department of Public Utilities advises all customers of third party suppliers to check their contract terms as their supplier may charge them a fee or a penalty to leave before the end of their contract with that supplier.
Solar electricity consumers will not be impacted and will continue to receive all net metering credits while participating in the Program.
Budget Billing and Low Income Delivery Rate customers will continue to receive those benefits while participating in the Program.
Questions & Support
Have questions or need help? Please visit the Contact Us page, which contains a form for comments.