Westchester Power

Westchester-Power-Renewable-Energy-Sources

New Castle residents and businesses have reduced greenhouse emissions by 16,700 tons annually!

Westchester Community Choice Aggregation Program

The Westchester Power  program allows New Castle residents and small businesses to pool their electrical demand with residents and businesses from 28 other participating Westchester municipalities. This allows Westchester Power to negotiate electricity purchases in bulk under long-term contracts, thereby providing both 100% renewable and standard electricity supply at fixed rates.  These rates are usually lower than other fixed-rate offerings from energy service companies (“ESCOs”) and may be lower than the variable-priced ConEdison supply.

Program Highlights

  • In 2016, New Castle was the first municipality in New York State to select 100% renewable power as its default electricity supply.
  • As of December 2021, the program had 4,201 customers in New Castle (~ 72% participation rate), with almost 99% using the 100% renewable option.
  • The program has reduced CO2 emissions in New Castle by over 16,700 metric tons annually (more than 25% of New Castle’s 2011 Climate Initiative commitment to reduce 60,000 tons per year).

Latest Updates

  • The Westchester Power program, in which most New Castle residents participated for their fixed-rate electricity supply, terminated on July 1, 2022. Participants were temporarily transferred to the default ConEd variable rate supply.
  • Starting November 1, 2022, a new Westchester Power contract provides fixed-rate electricity at the rate of 15.128 cents/kWh for renewable supply and 13.364 cents/kWh for standard supply. While this rate is significantly higher than the prior rate, all suppliers have seen similar increases including ConEd variable rates. These increases are driven by geopolitical events such as the Ukraine war, which have caused an upheaval in the global energy markets.
  • Electricity delivery will continue to be provided by ConEd, as it always has been. There will be a seamless transition of electricity supply.
  • You do not need to take any action at this time. All current Westchester Power participants that did not switch to another energy service company (ESCO) will be automatically transferred back into the Westchester Power program with fixed rates (for renewable or standard electricity as per your prior selection).

More Information

  • Click here to view a copy of the June 2022 letter mailed out by Sustainable Westchester (the administrator of the Westchester Power program). 
  • Click here to view certain tips to lower your electricity bill.
  • Click here to view Frequently Asked Questions prepared by the New Castle Sustainability Advisory Board.
  • Click here to access the Westchester Power website.
  • If you have additional questions, you can send them to SAB@mynewcastle.org.