Rhode Island has one of the country’s largest aggregations of municipal accounts, which has provided member cities and towns with electricity savings of $28M since 1999.

The Rhode Island Energy Aggregation Program–REAP–is operated by the Rhode Island League of Cities & Towns and serves 37 of Rhode Island’s 39 municipalities by negotiating rates lower than the state’s Standard Offer or Basic Service rate. REAP has increased members’ contract flexibility and the percentage of renewable power, renewable energy certificates (RECs), or both that members can procure. Several requirements in Rhode Island’s CCA statute have discouraged creation of additional CCAs: a public referendum on whether the program is to be opt in or opt out, two public hearings on all aspects of the proposed aggregation, and disclosure of precise pricing in advance of the aggregation when such pricing is subject to change up to the point of contract signing.

RHODE ISLAND CCA FAST FACTS

• Percentage of renewable power chosen for 2012 by eleven REAP members: 5-10%
• Percentage of power from retail electricity providers in Rhode Island that must be renewable by 2019: 16%
• Likelihood that Rhode Island electricity providers used RECs to comply with state Renewable Energy Standard requirements, according to a 2009 report: 99.99%
• Percentage of Northeastern hydropower, biomass, and landfill gas resources associated with those RECs: 9%, 43%, and 46%, respectively
• Ranking of Rhode Island nationally in per capita spending on energy efficiency measures in 2011: Top 5
• Percentage increase in Rhode Island’s energy efficiency spending between 2004 and 2011: 68%
• Year that Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chaffee signed into law the decoupling of utility profits from utility sales volume to remove disincentives to energy efficiency and demand reduction measures: 2010

RHODE ISLAND CCA LINKS

RHODE ISLAND LEAGUE OF CITIES & TOWNS REAP

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