Board of Selectmen — February 24, 2025

Amherst residents auto-enrolled in new electricity program by March 25 deadline — but many say they never got the notification letter, and savings cannot be guaranteed.

The extended Community Power public hearing drew substantial public opposition centered on automatic enrollment, inadequate notification, unverifiable savings claims, and vendor quality concerns — with one resident explicitly challenging the program's legitimacy on cultural-political grounds and the board unable to offer firm reassurances on several key issues.

Date Monday, February 24, 2025 Duration 2.7h Speakers 22 Public comments 18 Decisions 14 Spirited

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📢 AMHERST RESIDENTS — ELECTRICITY SUPPLY CHANGE IN EFFECT: Here's what the Board of Selectmen discussed at their February 24, 2025 meeting that directly affects your utility bill.

Amherst has launched a Community Power program, switching eligible residential and small commercial customers from Eversource's default supply to Direct Energy (through broker Standard Power). The program was approved by 81% of voters in March 2024. But here's the critical detail: enrollment is AUTOMATIC. You are switched in unless you actively opt OUT by March 25, 2025. The program goes live April 1.

At the February 24 public hearing, residents raised serious concerns that deserve attention. First: notification has been incomplete. Multiple residents at the meeting said they never received a letter. The board directed staff to post information online and send an E-Alert — but no commitment was made to more direct outreach. Second: if you have solar panels and receive monetary net metering credits on your bill, you need to opt out immediately. The program cannot provide supply credits to net metering customers, and there is no mechanism to reimburse you if you're enrolled by mistake. Third: when a resident pressed the program consultant for concrete, long-term savings data from comparable communities, the honest answer was that she couldn't provide it and couldn't guarantee savings. The town receives no revenue from the program. The board accepted these answers without seeking independent data.

Separately, the board also discussed going cashless at the Transfer Station starting April 1, 2025. One board member argued the town should absorb any transaction fees if residents are being compelled to pay electronically — but that question was not resolved at this meeting and will return March 10.

What you should do right now: Check the Amherst town website (amherstnh.gov) for program details and your opt-out options. If you have solar/net metering, opt out before March 25. If you haven't received a letter, contact the town office. The March 10 Board of Selectmen meeting will address the transfer station payment policy — attend or watch if that affects you.

Feb 24, 2025 2.7h long 22 speakers 18 public comments 14 decisions Spirited

❝ Notable statements ↔ Drag to browse

“I have contacted Senator McGu about this issue [regarding opt-out vs opt-in structure]”

— Speaker A (Board Chair) · Response to resident concern about the opt-out structure not being 'the New Hampshire way' 26:48

“It's not the New Hampshire way. The New Hampshire way is to choose not to be told what to do. And this is not the New Hampshire way at all.”

— Resident Peter · Expressing opposition to the opt-out structure of the Community Power program 25:21

“The town gets no revenue from this. It is absolutely neutral. There's no cost to the town and there's no revenue to the town.”

— Speaker K (Town Manager) · Clarifying that the town receives no financial benefit from the Community Power program 33:14

“We can't predict the cost of the future. I can't promise you savings but that is the goal of the program is savings”

— Speaker B (Emily Manns) · Explaining that while savings are the goal, future electricity rates cannot be guaranteed 35:57

“One of the suggestions that we've had a couple of times over the past year is to change the funding of that and rather than go pay period by pay period, do some sort of upfront funding... if we have an employee who is in the plan and has a large medical expense early in the year, they may have nothing in their health savings account at that time or little.”

— Speaker K (Board member) · Explaining rationale for HSA funding policy change to help employees with early medical expenses 1:39:24

“If we're going to force people into that corner, I don't think we should also have them incur the fees. I think that's the cost of us doing business is my thought.”

— Speaker J (Board member) · Opposition to charging transaction fees for mandatory electronic payments at transfer station 1:56:00

“I think checks might even be less common than cash these days. I think I'd be inclined to rip the band aid off and just make it totally electronic because then you get all the benefits of the digital trail you're talking about.”

— Speaker K (Board member) · Discussion of transfer station cashless payment policy and whether to continue accepting checks 1:58:38

“We're cleaning every single basin in Amherst, which to my knowledge we haven't done. But we're doing that on purpose, by”

— Unidentified speaker

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Public ⁠impact

Issues from this meeting with documented community impact.

What was discussed

Town-wide electricity supply change affecting all eligible customers; default rate of 8.88¢/kWh vs. optional tiers; net metering customers with monetary credits face potential financial harm if they fail to opt out

What was discussed

Mandatory transition to electronic payments beginning April 1, 2025 with potential transaction fees passed to users; eliminates cash and possibly check payment options