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.

  • Fall 2022-Winter-2023: DPU is reviewing the Aggregation Plan

  • Fall 2023 (tentative) – Potential for receipt of approval from the DPU. Currently, there is no requirement for the DPU to approve Aggregation Plans within a certain timeframe, therefore, Fall 2023 is an estimate.

  • Winter 2023 (tentative) – Upon approval by the DPU, Boxford will monitor the market and identify the appropriate time to run a competitive bid for electricity supply. Upon selection of an electricity supplier, Boxford will implement an 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.