Program Development Timeline

Timeline for the program development and approval process will follow all steps required by the State statute including local authorization, public review, and approval by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. Follow the program’s progress with the table below.

  • September 12, 2020: Town Meeting voted to authorize the Town Administrator to investigate and develop a Community Electricity program. The Town of Boxford selected Good Energy as a consultant to assist in developing and managing the program.

  • November to December 2021: The Town developed a draft Aggregation Plan including the program’s goals, organization and operation.

  • December 2021: The draft Aggregation Plan was be made available for public review for a month, followed by a public hearing in January 2022.

  • June 2022: The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources provided its consultation letter to the Town of Boxford

  • July 2022: The Town updated its Aggregation Plan to accommodate new requirements for aggregation programs from the Department of Public Utilities. The Town released the updated Plan for public review, with a public hearing on August 29.

  • August 29, 2022: The Boxford Select Board will voted to approve the Plan, and send the Plan to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for its review and approval.

  • Fall 2022: Following the approval by the Boxford Select Board, the Town submitted the Aggregation Plan to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for approval. Docket #22-128.

  • November 22, 2022: DPU’s first phase of review of the Aggregation Plan was to schedule a public hearing. The hearing was held via Zoom. The official Notice with details on how to access the hearing on Zoom and to submit written comments is here. Watch the recording of the hearing here.

  • December 22, 2023: DPU signaled that Boxford’s petition to initiate a municipal aggregation has been approved preliminarily, pending a compliance filing. Once Boxford’s compliance filing document is submitted to the satisfaction of the agency’s requirements, the Town of Boxford will begin its public procurement process to select and sign a contract with an electricity supplier.

  • January 29, 2024: Boxford’s compliance filing received a stamp of approval from the Department of Public Utilities signaling full approval of the program. The Town of Boxford can now begin its public procurement process to select and sign a contract with an electricity supplier for Boxford Community Electricity. During this process, the details for the program will be finalized, including the amount of renewable energy included in and the price for the Boxford Standard product, as well as the other optional electricity products to be offered.

  • Upon selection of an electricity supplier, Boxford will implement an extensive extensive education and outreach campaign to make residents and businesses aware of the upcoming program launch and their choice to participate in the program or leave before it starts (opt out). Participants can also opt out any time after the program has begun without penalty or fee of any kind.

  • April 23, 2024: The Town of Boxford held a public informational meeting on Boxford’s Community Electricity Program. View a copy of the presentation slides here or watch a recording here.

  • June 2024: Boxford Community Electricity Launch