2020-05-14-SLC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Town of Lexington Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of Meeting of May 14, 2020 A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held by Zoom conference. A quorum of eight was present. Members Present: Cindy Arens, Celis Brisbin, Paul Chernick, Marcia Gens, Rick Reibstein, Todd Rhodes (vice-chair), Dan Voss (chair), Charlie Wyman Members Absent: Other Attendees: Archana Dayalu, Jeffrey Rhodin, Mark Sandeen (Select Board), Paul Gromer (Peregrine Energy), Mary Hutton, Per Jensen, Tina McBride, Ricki Pappo, Mandy Smith The meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm. Todd read the opening statement requested by the Town Clerk, and all members responded that they could hear. Guests introduced themselves and described their interest in the meeting. 1. Previous minutes. The minutes of November 26, December 11, January 1, January 28, February 4, and February 25, all of which were circulated previously, were approved as written. 2. Community Aggre ag tion. Paul Gromer of Peregrine Energy presented background on Lexington's Community Choice Program and decisions facing the town. • Lexington currently offers three options: 100% Green (which has 5% more Class 1 RECs than the 16% required by the Renewable Portfolio Standard, with the rest of the mix offset with national wind RECs), New England Green (100% Class I REC's), and Eversource Basic Service. The 100% Green option is the default, and the vast majority of Lexington residents are enrolled in it. Community Choice offers a stable rate, while Eversource Basic Service tends to be higher in winter, lower in summer, and overall tends to be a bit higher than the 100% Green option. • The current contract expires in December; the town will need a new supply contract and will go out to bid in fall. However, electricity prices low now, so it may make sense to enter into a new contract now, though it wouldn't begin until the end of the year. Bidding occurs in two rounds: indicative prices in an initial round, and then executable prices (only good for a day) in a second round. Peregrine is working with the Town Manager's office to get indicative prices now, which will be discussed with the Town Manager on Monday, at which point he'll decide whether to proceed now or wait until the fall. • A lengthy discussion ensued about whether to increase the percentage of Class I RECs in the 100% Green option, including the relative merits of Class I RECs and national wind RECs, what other towns are doing, and whether to offer an additional option that bracketed the others. 1.