Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson Explains the 1.2 cent Electric Increase to Residents
We have a Press Release from the Mayor and a spreadsheet which explains and illustrates the issue even further. We thank the Mayor for his usual transparency. CLICK FOR SPREADSHEET. This is a follow up to a related article, CLICK HERE.
Press Release from Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson on May 4, 2026: “Good Morning, Over the weekend the City received questions regarding the City’s electrical aggregation program and a change in rate that was reflected on several rate payer’s bills. This was looked into this morning and the information is found in below in this email.
As you are likely aware, the City of Gardner signed a municipal electrical aggregation contract with “First Point Power” that is in effect until November 2028.
This contract locks in electrical rates for those in the City who participate in the electrical aggregation program, but contains one clause that allows for variability in costs due to a new regulatory requirement to account for the Day-Ahead Ancillary Services Initiative (DASI) program.
DASI is a new program created by ISO‑New England, the independent/private organization that manages the electric grid for our region. Its purpose is to make sure the grid has enough backup resources ready one day in advance to keep electricity reliable. To put this into relatable terms, this can be compared to the grid setting aside emergency supplies ahead of time instead of scrambling at the last minute during times of emergency or high usage. As the grid changes due to more fluctuations in supply, it becomes more important to plan ahead. DASI intended purpose is to help ensure the grid can respond quickly if demand goes up or a generator goes offline.
Since this program is still new, the City’s contract with First Point Power had a clause requiring any DASI Cost Recovery Fees to be variable. Since DASI costs are based on the previous month’s cost data, it can fluctuate depending on how much energy is being used by the grid. Due to the extreme cold days we saw in January, the DASI costs increased exponentially as people were using more electricity to heat their locations. As a result, those cold days triggered the clause in the City’s contract that required rates to increase to recover the DASI costs expended by First Point Power for the City. This led to an increase in electrical rates in the City’s municipal aggregation plan from $0.13931/kWh to $0.15152/kWh for the remainder of the City’s current electrical aggregation contract- an increase of $0.01221/kWh. All other companies that bid on the City’s electrical aggregation service for this contract also included this clause as a requirement in their proposals as well.
This increase is being reflect in the latest round of electrical bills that many are seeing now.
As always, the City’s electrical aggregation contract has provisions that allow unlimited free opt-in/opt-out if rate payers find a cheaper provider with a different carrier. The only requirement with the City’s electrical supplier is to provide 5-days notice. It is worth noting however, that while the City’s electrical aggregation contract allows for an unlimited free opt-in/opt-out, other suppliers may have clauses in their contracts that create fees on that supplier end if someone wants to leave their program for the City’s program.
Even with the increase, the City’s electrical aggregation rate still falls under the average electrical provider rate currently available. The attached spreadsheet is the latest quarterly report the City has received relating to our electrical aggregation program. The first tab, “Gardner Aggregation Report” provides a breakdown in information for the third quarter of 2025. The second tab, “Gardner Detail,” provides a full description of cost and usage since the City’s electrical aggregation program began in November 2017. From November 1, 2017 through September 30, 2025 (latest data we have from DPU and our Energy Consultants) Gardner rate payers have saved $4,596,739 through the City’s electrical aggregation program compared to the average private supplier rates during the same period.
Best, Mike Nicholson”