The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
NOTICE OF FILING AND PUBLIC HEARING
D.P.U. 16-168 October 14, 2016
Petition of the Town of Winchester for approval by the Department of Public Utilities of a municipal aggregation plan pursuant to G.L. c. 164, §134.
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On October 6, 2016, the Town of Winchester (“Town”) filed a request with the Department of Public Utilities (“Department”) for approval of a municipal aggregation plan pursuant to G.L. c. 164, § 134. General Laws c. 164, § 134 authorizes a municipality to procure electric supply on behalf of consumers within its municipal borders through a municipal aggregation program. Eligible electricity consumers not already enrolled with a competitive electric supplier would be automatically enrolled in the municipal aggregation program unless they chose to “opt-out,” in which case they would continue to receive basic service provided by their electric distribution company, NSTAR Electric Company d/b/a Eversource Energy. The Department docketed this petition as D.P.U. 16-168.
The Town has retained Good Energy L.P. to serve as its agents in this proceeding and to assist in the implementation of the municipal aggregation program. The Town’s filing includes a form electric service agreement which will be negotiated with potential competitive electric supplier(s). The Town seeks a waiver for itself, and on behalf of the competitive electric supplier(s) chosen for the municipal aggregation program, of certain information disclosure requirements contained in G.L. c. 164, § 1F(6) and 220 C.M.R. § 11.06(4)(c).
A copy of the Town’s petition is available for public viewing during regular business hours at the Department’s offices, One South Station - 5th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02110 and on the Department’s website at http://www.mass.gov/dpu. Documents on the Department’s website may be accessed by docket number (D.P.U. 16-168) in the file room at http://web1.env.state.ma.us/DPU/FileRoom/dockets/ bynumber. A copy of the petition is also available for public viewing at Winchester Town Hall, 71 Mt. Vernon Street, Wincheseter, Massachusetts 01890.
The Department will conduct a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed municipal aggregation plan. The hearing will take place on Monday, November 7, 2016, at 2:00 p.m., at the Department’s offices located at One South Station – 5th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. Any person who desires to comment may do so at the time and place noted above or may submit written comments to the Department not later than the close of business (5:00 p.m.) on Monday, November 7, 2016.
An original hard copy of all written comments must be filed with Mark D. Marini, Secretary, Department of Public Utilities, One South Station, 5th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. Two copies of all written comments must also be sent to Lauren Morris, Hearing Officer at the Department of Public Utilities. One copy of all written comments should also be sent to counsel for the Town, Scott J. Mueller, Esq., 16 Conant Road, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467.
All documents should also be submitted to the Department in electronic format using one of the following methods: (1) by e-mail attachment to dpu.efiling@state.ma.us and to the Hearing Officer, Lauren Morris, Lauren.Morris@state.ma.us, or (2) on a CD-ROM. The text of the e-mail or CD-ROM must specify: (1) the docket number of the proceeding (D.P.U. 16-168); (2) the name of the person or company submitting the filing; and (3) a brief descriptive title of the document. The electronic filing should also include the name, title, and telephone number of a person to contact in the event of questions about the filing. All documents submitted in electronic format will be posted on the Department’s website: http://www.mass.gov/dpu.
Any person desiring further information regarding the Town’s filing should contact counsel for the Town, Scott J. Mueller at (617) 566-6578. Any person desiring further information regarding this notice should contact Lauren Morris, Hearing Officer, Department of Public Utilities, at (617) 305-3500.