Keene Community Power (CP) is a city-operated group purchasing program that pools the electric use of residents, businesses, non-profits, and property owners to provide competitively priced electricity options. The Program offers Keene electricity customers with a city-vetted alternative to Eversource’s default service and other third-party electricity suppliers. The Program is part of a larger effort to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050.
***Beware of copy-cat offers from other companies (like this one). Remember: any communication from Keene’s program will have our City seal.***
Questions? Call Keene Community Power’s supplier, Direct Energy Services, at (866) 968-8065 or visit our support page.
Electricity Options
The table below summarizes the program’s electricity options, which apply to all rate classes. For additional details go to the Products & Pricing page here.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Keene Standard (for automatic enrollment) |
Keene Basic |
Keene 50 |
Keene 100 |
Eversource Default Service (Residential) |
| 11.471 ¢/kWh | 11.100 ¢/kWh | 12.050 ¢/kWh | 13.900 ¢/kWh | 12.582 ¢/kWh |
|
Adds 10% voluntary renewable energy (NH Class I RECs) |
No additional renewable energy |
Adds voluntary renewable energy (NH Class I RECs) to total 50% |
Adds voluntary renewable energy (NH Class I RECs) to total 100% |
No additional renewable energy |
| June 2023 - December 2025 | August 2023- January 2024 | |||
How it works: If you participate in Keene Community Power, your Eversource bill will be impacted as follows:
- The Supplier portion of the bill will change to reflect your participation in Keene program.
- Eversource will continue to provide all Delivery Services, including responding to power outages, and will continue to send you your electricity bill.
- Customers that receive a discount on their electricity bill through the Electric Assistance Program (EAP) will continue to receive their benefits.
- Budget billing customers will continue to receive budget billing for the Delivery Services portion of the bill.
- Net metering: Keene Community Power cannot yet offer the net metering value we would like for all net metering customers. For residential customers that participate, those on Net Energy Metering 1.0 (or “Standard”) would continue to receive the same value for their generation as today; however, those on Net Energy Metering 2.0 (or “Alternative”) would receive less value for their generation than today. There are additional factors to consider, and we highly encourage each net metering customer to make their own decision. Please see our detailed Net Metering FAQ for Keene Community Power here to help with your decision. If, after reading this document, you are still uncertain about the best decision for your household, please call our net metering support line at 877-877-1670 ext 3.
- You may leave the Program, or switch to a different program option, at any time, and without penalty.
On November 3, 2022, City Council unanimously voted to adopt the Community Power Plan, as approved by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.
Keene Community Power will play a key role in achieving the City’s renewable energy goals for 2030 and 2050, as identified in the Keene Sustainable Energy Plan. The Program also seeks to support the City’s goals for equity, energy efficiency, job creation, and climate resilience and preparedness.
Start
Keene’s path to a community power program started in mid-2020 with the formation of the Community Power Committee (CPC).
The CPC has been meeting since July 2020 to develop a community power plan, incorporating input from the citizens of Keene.
Survey
The City of Keene ran a survey for one month in December 2020 through early January 2021 in order to gather input on program features and benefits that would best meet the needs of Keene residents and businesses. Over 120 responses to this survey were received. Overall, the responses indicated strong support for a program that provides more renewable energy at a competitive price. View a summary of the survey results.
Review
When the draft plan was released in early February 2021, the City invited public review for nearly two months, including two public hearings on March 30th. The review prompted some revisions, primarily to clarify details of renewable energy sources.
Approve
The Community Power Committee voted unanimously to approve the Plan on April 8, 2021. The NH Public Utilities Commission approved the Plan on October 3, 2022 as docket DE 22-022. The City Council approved the Plan on November 3, 2022.
Bid and Launch
In order to gain the greatest degree of leverage with qualified suppliers, the City of Keene joined with the Towns of Marlborough, Swanzey and Wilton to hold a competitive bid on March 7, 2023. We are extremely pleased to announce that the bid was successful and resulted in Direct Energy being selected by the the four municipalities as the exclusive supplier for the Community Power Program. The Program launched in June 2023 and will last for 30 months though December 2025.
This website will continue to serve as an essential conduit for outreach, so check back often, or sign up for the City email notification system to receive emails with additional program information and updates.
Public Meetings were held to discuss Keene Community Power during the outreach period. These meetings were held in-person and/or virtually.
Past Public Meetings
- Tuesday, April 25, 2023 from 6:00-7:30 pm at the Keene Public Library, Heberton Hall located at 60 Winter Street in Keene. For more information, please contact the Community Development Department at 603-352-5440
- Tuesday, May 2, 2023 from 6:00-7:30 pm in the second floor Council Chambers of City Hall.
CONTACT
City of Keene
3 Washington Street, 4th Floor
Keene, NH 03431
communitydevelopment@keenenh.gov
(603) 352-5440
EMAIL UPDATES
Sign up for email updates from the City of Keene about the Community Power Program by going to the email updates page and selecting Community Development: Community Power Program.