EASTHAMPTON — The city is taking public feedback on a draft plan for a new community electricity program that seeks to offer more renewable energy options to homes, businesses, and municipal buildings at competitive and stable prices.

Officials on Monday released the draft, called Easthampton Community Electricity, for a period of public review before implementation.

“This plan is two-pronged. One, it’s about reducing resident and business utility bills,” Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said. “Two, it corresponds directly to our Climate Action Plan, balancing the best prices with the cleanest ways to get electricity.”

Easthampton’s Community Electricity, once implemented, will be the new default electricity supply. It is an example of municipal aggregation, a process through which “a municipality purchases electricity in bulk from a competitive supplier on behalf of the residents and businesses within the community,” according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities website.

“In the city of Easthampton, we’ll aggregate everyone’s energy use and utility bills together,” said LaChapelle. “We anticipate that, through this process, people will experience lower costs per kilowatt hour.”

Under the plan, “Easthampton Standard” will be the default electricity supply option. “Easthampton Plus” will be the 100% renewable energy option, and “Easthampton Basic” will use the minimum amount of renewable energy required by the state.

“We get to choose a mix of energy sources depending on energy price,” said LaChapelle.

Over 170 Massachusettts cities and towns have active community electricity programs, including Hadley, which has had an active program since 2019, and Belchertown which is launching its program this month. Amherst, Pelham and Northampton, meanwhile, are collectively working on a similar program called Valley Green Energy

If the program is successfully implemented, Eversource will continue to own and manage all of the city’s electricity delivery services.

While Easthampton’s Community Electricity program will create a new default electricity supply, anyone may opt out of the program at any time with no penalty. Anyone using Eversource basic service will be eligible for automatic enrollment, and will receive a letter notifying them of their eligibility at least 30 days before the program’s launch, which will provide information about the program and instructions on how to opt out. Residents will be able to opt out via postage-paid mailer, phone, or online form.

The push toward the aggregation model began in April 2022 when the City Council authorized the mayor to research and develop a plan for this program. Now, in accordance with state law, the plan is available for public review and comment through July 6. There will be a public hearing about the plan on June 24 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Easthampton’s City Hall, which will also provide virtual access.

In addition, the public is invited to submit commentary in writing. The Aggregation Plan, information about virtual hearing attendance, and written comment submission can be found at EasthamptonCommunityElectricity.com. Comments can also be submitted in writing to the Mayor at mayor@easthamptonma.gov.

Following the hearing and public review period, the city will submit the plan for review and approval by the Massachusetts DPU. Once approved, the city may launch the program.

“Ideally we’ll be approved for the coming winter season, because of the utility spike that occurs around that time due to heating,” said LaChapelle. Ultimately though, she said that the implementation timeline “depends on the state.”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com or on Instagram and Twitter at @alexamlewis.