Council Renews Green Power Contract for Rye

In a special meeting last week, the Rye City Council renewed its green power contract with Sustainable Westchester’s Westchester Power program. The program, in place locally since 2019, provides residents with electrical power from renewable solar and wind sources as part of an effort to decarbonize.

The contract renewal was supported in a 4 – 1 vote with Mayor Josh Cohn and Councilmembers Jamie Jensen, Sara Goddard and Josh Nathan voting in favor. Goddard serves on the board of Sustainable Westchester. Head of the Rye Sustainability Committee James Ward, who is running for Council this fall, spoke in favor of the program. The program is one of the reasons why the City recently achieved NYS Climate Smart Communities Bronze Status.

Councilmember Bill Henderson voted against the renewal, citing higher rates and poor communication to residents on how they are able to opt-out of the program. He argued while he also has concern about climate change, the City has no business legislating power options. Council members Julie Souza and Keith Cunningham were absent for the vote. 

How It Works

Through the program, Westchester Power remains the default energy provider for City of Rye residents served by Con Edison, as it has been since 2019. Your ConEd bill has various components – delivery charges (always from ConEd), gas charges, taxes and fees and electricity charges.

It used to be that ConEd was the default provider of your electricity and if you wanted an alternative provider you had to actively opt-in to one of the many energy service companies (ESCOs). Now Westchester Power is your default provider and residents can opt-in to ConEd or one of 76 other energy offers from ESCOs (63 electric and 13 gas).

Costs and Benefits

While ConEd is a publicly traded utility managing value for its shareholders and price for its customers, Sustainable Westchester (SW) is largely a policy organization helping local governments in the County decarbonize in line with the larger policy goals of New York State. SW says in 2023 its work mitigated 270,190 tons of CO2, the equivalent of taking 60,125 gas cars off the road for a year.

All this comes at a price. SW negotiates fixed rate contracts for green power, and across four of the last six years has been more expensive than sourcing from Con Ed. One year was essentially even and one year the fixed rate of SW beat the variable rate from Con Ed.

Depending on whose numbers you use, the average Rye household has been paying between $14.68 – $19.47 more each month for SW’s green power option. About 12% of the 4,100 or so ConEd households in Rye have opted out of the SW program in favor of ConEd or another power source. (1)

Who Is My Electricity Provider?

Not sure who you actually purchase electricity from? And the related costs and other options? This video explainer from Sustainable Westchester shows you how to find out what’s what and who is who when looking at your ConEd bill:

Watch the Council Debate

Want to learn more about Sustainable Westchester’s Westchester Power and Rye’s participation? Watch the special meeting from July 10, 2024:

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(1) data was sourced from Sustainable Westchester and ConEd via City Council