Product Details
| Year | Required MA Class I | Required Other Renewables | Voluntary MASS Class I RECs added by Townsend Community Electricity | Total Renewables | |
| Townsend Basic | 2024 | 24% | 38% | – | 62% |
| 2025 | 27% | 36% | – | 63% | |
| 2026 | 30% | 39% | – | 69% | |
| 2027 | 33% | 42% | – | 75% | |
|
Townsend Standard community default |
2024 | 24% | 38% | 10% | 72% |
| 2025 | 27% | 36% | 10% | 73% | |
| 2026 | 30% | 39% | 10% | 79% | |
| 2027 | 33% | 42% | 10% | 85% | |
| Townsend Plus | 2024 | 24% | 38% | 38% | 100% |
| 2025 | 27% | 36% | 37% | 100% | |
| 2026 | 30% | 39% | 31% | 100% | |
| 2027 | 33% | 42% | 25% | 100% | |
|
National Grid Basic Service if you opt out |
2024 | 24% | 38% | – | 62% |
| 2025 | 27% | 36% | – | 63% | |
| 2026 | 30% | 39% | – | 69% | |
| 2027 | 33% | 42% | – | 75% |
MA Class I renewables come from new, regional sources (i.e., generation located within, or delivered to, New England, built after 1997). For details on all required renewable resources, see www.mass.gov/service-details/program-summaries.
Additional Pricing Details
Prices for all program options in the Townsend Community Electricity program include a 0.1¢/kWh administration fee. Program prices could increase as a result of a change in law that results in a direct, material increase in costs during the term of the electricity supply agreement. Program prices apply only to the electricity supply portion of your Unitil electric bill. Delivery charges on your Unitil electric bill are not affected by the Townsend program.
Future savings against Unitil’s fixed Basic Service rate cannot be guaranteed because Unitil’s rates change every six months for residential, small and medium business customers. Unitil offers large and very large business customers a market price. For Unitil Basic Service rates, please review the Unitil supply rates page.
If you participate in Townsend’s program, you will be automatically enrolled at a new price at the end of the contract term unless you inform the Town otherwise. The new price may be higher or lower than the existing price, and the voluntary renewable energy content may change. The Town will contact you no later than 30 days before each automatic renewal to notify you of your supply options.
Sourcing the Additional Renewable Energy
The Townsend Community Electricity program presents a unique opportunity for the Town to influence the development of renewable energy resources by going above and beyond requirements in Massachusetts, i.e., voluntarily purchasing additional renewable energy. See the Massachusetts’ renewable energy requirements.
In Townsend Community Electricity, all purchases of renewable electricity are certified by purchasing and retiring Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), the accepted legal instrument used to track renewable energy generation and to substantiate claims of renewable energy use. Read more about why we need RECs.
Only from New England
By law, MA Class I renewable energy can come from New England or adjacent parts of Canada and New York that are connected to our electricity grid. Townsend sources its additional renewable energy exclusively from within New England. We’re helping to keep our energy impact local and supporting New England’s clean energy economy.
A Local Option
All of the extra renewable energy in the Townsend program qualifies as MA Class I, and is provided through the local non-profit, Green Energy Consumers Alliance (GECA). Purchasing through GECA provides two important benefits for our renewable energy:
Only Zero Emission or Methane Destroying Sources
Townsend’s extra renewable electricity only comes from zero emission sources, such as solar, wind, low impact hydropower2, and sources that destroy methane, such as anaerobic digestion. Methane has a global warming potential (GWP) 28-36 times greater than CO2 over a 100 year period3. Combustion destroys methane and releases some CO2, resulting in a net reduction in GWP. Other forms of biomass are explicitly not purchased, due to their positive emissions of CO2 during their life cycles.
Only New England Sources
MA Class I renewable energy can come from New England or adjacent parts of Canada and New York. Townsend exclusively sources its extra renewable energy from within New England. We’re helping to keep our energy impact local, supporting New England’s clean energy economy. See below for a map of sources.
Green Energy Consumers Alliance helps bring new renewable projects to New England through strategic support of development opportunities with short and long-term contracts. The map below shows the sources from which Green Energy Consumers Alliance has been purchasing as of April 2025.
Helping Expand Renewable Energy
Massachusetts requires all energy suppliers to include a minimum amount of MA Class I renewable energy; that amount increases annually. This policy, called the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), provides growing demand for renewable energy and, as a result, has been the primary driver of growth for renewable energy in our region.
By purchasing a significant quantity of extra MA Class I renewable energy, Townsend will increase demand further and incentivize even more renewable energy generation development in New England.
Recent estimates suggest that fully 10% of renewable energy purchased in the MA Class I REC market will soon be voluntarily purchased by municipal aggregations like Townsend, going above and beyond state requirements.
What Are RECs and Why We Need Them
When electricity generated by renewable sources – such as solar and wind – is put onto our regional electricity grid, it becomes mixed in with, and indistinguishable from other generation sources of electricity on the grid. It is not possible to physically separate out renewable electricity from the grid mix for your individual consumption.
As a result, a tracking system, called Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), has been created to enable the purchase and use of renewable electricity. For every megawatt-hour (MWh) of renewable electricity generated, one REC is created. In order to use renewable electricity, one must purchase a quantity of RECs equal to the amount of electricity purchased from the grid. Once used, a REC is retired so that no one else can purchase that same REC or claim to use it.