Kingston Community Choice Aggregation (CCA)

Announcements

Kingston Community Energy is now accepting nominations for its Community Council.

For more information about the Community Council and how to submit a nomination, click here.

What is CCA?

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a New York State approved program that enables municipalities to accelerate the transition to clean energy on behalf of residents and small businesses. CCA empowers communities to pool the buying power of individual members to negotiate fixed-rate pricing and more favorable terms with respect to energy products and services. It is a program to purchase power and other clean energy products and services in bulk for virtually all homes and small businesses in Kingston.

The City of Kingston’s CCA program is called Kingston Community Energy. Kingston Community Energy will invite all community members to help Kingston design and carry out a comprehensive strategy to speed Kingston’s transition to clean energy. Kingston Community Energy will allow for equitable distribution of clean energy resources to all residents in the City of Kingston, regardless of income level, by going beyond bulk power supply to address greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and the transportation sector.

The State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation statewide greenhouse gas emissions report from 2021 explains that 32% of New York’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings and 28% come from transportation. To help mitigate these CO2 sources, Kingston Community Energy will expand the conventional CCA model to go beyond bulk energy supply by including programs that directly address the carbon footprint of all of Kingston’s buildings and provide new and accessible sources of support for zero emission transportation infrastructure.

Kingston Community Energy will allow us to:

Contribute Directly to State and Local Clean Energy Goals

• Speed the transition to clean energy by aggregating the buying power of Kingston residents and businesses

• Support the development of new renewable energy resources in New York

• Enable Kingston to claim major reductions in its carbon footprint

• Study and develop demonstration projects for solar and battery storage, microgrids, low impact small and micro-hydropower and other Distributed Energy Resources (DERs)

Capture the Economic Benefits of Clean Energy for CCA Members

• Save money on utility costs

• Facilitate aggregation of individual actions to benefit CCA Members

• Spur investment in good-paying jobs and local economic development

• Secure financial support that allows all homeowners to invest in energy efficiency, home weatherization, and clean heating and cooling

Empower Kingston to Shape Our Energy Future

• Engage and partner with leaders in the business, civic, and environmental communities

• Empower community members to make informed decisions about their energy choices

Address Equity by Increasing Access to Clean Energy

• Prioritize Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) households, Disadvantaged Communities (DACs), and Environmental Justice Areas

• Address the needs of non-English speakers

Ensure Transparency and Consumer Protection for All CCA Members

• Negotiate better prices and terms on clean energy products

• Offer clear, transparent pricing with no hidden fee or penalties

• Protect data to ensure the same level of consumer protections as currently provided by utilities

The Process

The State of New York allows municipalities to form CCA programs according to the rules and procedures of the New York State Public Service Commission.

1. Enabling Law: To create a CCA program, a city must enact a Local Law establishing the CCA. The City of Kingston took this step on July 21, 2022, when the Common Council enacted Local Law 3-2021.

2. Administrator Selection: The City then selects a CCA Administrator who will guide the City through the process, including the adoption of Implementation and Data Protection plans. The City of Kingston has selected Mid-Hudson Energy Transition, Inc., as Administrator who will work with their partner PowerMarket on implementing a robust clean-energy program for Kingston.

3. Education and Public Input: Public input and educational campaigns are crucial to the CCA’s success. There will be public meetings and widespread publicity via mailings, social media, radio, and local newspapers. Educational campaigns will be run through the City’s Office of Sustainability and the Climate Smart Kingston Commission.

Monitoring and Oversight: The Public Service Commission and CCA Advisory Group will oversee the entire process to be sure the resulting program is fair, reasonable and effective.

Timeline

Further Resources

NYSERDA CCA guidance documents: https://tinyurl.com/yxv54sjb

Communities for Local Power CCA webpage: https://citizensforlocalpower.org/cca

The City of Kingston achieved Bronze Climate Smart Community certification in 2014, and now Silver certification in 2018, both the highest levels achieved by any municipality in New York State. Kingston has completed a variety of adaptation and mitigation strategies to achieve this level, including appointing a commission, conducting a 2010 Greenhouse Gas Inventory (External link) and creating a Climate Action Plan (External link).

The Climate Action Plan outlines strategies and actions for the city to take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and set a goal for energy use reduction of 20% by 2020. To take the City’s commitment even further, in 2017, the City adopted Resolution #179 of 2017: Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Kingston, NY Committing to 100% Clean Energy by 2050 and Continuing Support of the Principles of the Paris Agreement. In 2021, the City completed the second Climate Action Plan, further advancing sustainability and energy goals out to 2030.

On April 10, 2018, the City of Kingston, New York joined the 100% Committed campaign (External link) in partnership with The Climate Reality Project: Hudson Valley and Catskills NY Chapter. Through this commitment, the City pledged to help our community shift to 100 percent renewable electricity.

The City of Kingston worked with Cadmus and NREL to map our way to 100% renewables. The complete roadmap can be found here.

The City of Kingston and MHET held two informational sessions on December 7, 2022. Watch the meeting below:

Kingston Community Energy - Webinar público en español (7 de diciembre de 2022)

See Julie Noble's comprehensive presentation to the Common Council:

Hear Mayor Noble and Julie Noble discuss CCA on Radio Kingston here:

More sustainability projects can be found at https://kingston-ny.gov/sustainability

https://www.facebook.com/kingstoncca

https://www.instagram.com/kingstoncca/