MERIDEN — Plainfield voters gave a community power aggregation plan, the municipal budget and green burials their approval at the floor meeting in the Plainfield Elementary School’s gym on Saturday.
Plainfield’s community power electric aggregation plan sparked extended debate, while other articles passed with overwhelming majorities and little discussion.
The town has already joined the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, a public nonprofit designed to aggregate the buying power of multiple municipalities and protect each town from legal and financial liability. Under a community power model, a municipal government buys power on behalf of residents and businesses from alternative sources while utility companies continue to deliver electricity on their power lines.
“It’s the old motto: In unity, there’s strength,” said Evan Oxenham, who co-chairs the Plainfield Energy Committee.
The combined buying power of many counties, cities and towns across New Hampshire aims to allow the coalition to access lower rates. Supporters argued that community power would bring competition, whereas now the utilities have a monopoly and little incentive to buy electricity at the lowest rates.
Oxenham prepared most of the Plainfield Community Power Electric Aggregation Plan, which was up for voters’ approval. The 70-page plan outlines how community power will be implemented in Plainfield, including the customer notification and enrollment process, guidelines on rates, and Plainfield’s relationship with the statewide coalition. It also suggests ways that Plainfield could meet its energy goals through “innovative local programs” such as time-based rates or energy storage programs.
He highlighted community power’s benefits, including local control, lower costs and more renewable energy in the power mix for customers who choose it. He assured that the default rate would be lower than the utilities’ rates, and that there would be an even cheaper rate available for residents who chose a power mix without renewables. Utility payments, not taxes, would cover the operating costs.
Community power would launch on an opt-out basis, which stirred controversy.
“Don’t put my name on a list,” Priscilla Wheeler said. She objected that it was not ethical to bring people into Plainfield Community Power without first getting their express consent. She and Boon Rondeau also doubted that they would see lower rates.
Town officials emphasized that residents would find it easy to opt out, and that community power would not launch unless it provided the cheaper rates that its supporters promise.
The article had the Selectboard’s unanimous support, and members tried to assuage residents’ concerns about the complex new model for electricity.
“If I thought it was 100% a push for green energy, do you think I’d put my name on it?” said board member Eric Brann. He emphasized that lowering electricity rates was his first priority, although he added that renewable energy is an “avalanche that’s not going to be held back.”
After time for residents’ questions, the plan passed in an 85-16 vote.
It will be at least a year before Plainfield Community Power sources energy for customers in town, Oxenham said.
Meanwhile, high fuel prices and inflation cast a shadow over the town’s budget discussions.
“The one constant in the budget is change,” said Stephen Halleran, the town administrator. He walked the town through the $2.63 million budget. The 6.6% increase over last year’s total is “a very big number for us,” but he expects that a lower school budget and some revenue surplus from last year will amount to a tax rate equal to or lower than the previous year’s.
He warned that the budget did not reflect the recent dramatic spike in fuel prices, and so the town may do less road work than it planned. He estimated that the town would spend between $2,000 and $3,000 on diesel on Saturday alone.
Looking ahead, he said that Plainfield would have $250,000 in COVID-19 federal relief funds by the end of the year. Despite the temptation to use the money for increased operating expenses, he said the Selectboard hopes to use the money for a more positive, lasting benefit, such as renewable power or broadband. Residents will be able to attend meetings in the spring and summer to have their say in how the money is spent.
Margaret Drye, a cemetery trustee, presented an article that asked for the town’s approval to begin developing policies to allow for green burial. In green burials, bodies are prepared without chemical preservatives and embalming fluids, and they are buried without a permanent vault.
“We have all the time in the world to do this,” she said. “We just want to do it.”
Residents passed the article in a unanimous voice vote.
Plainfield also learned that it will soon have a new state representative in the New Hampshire House. State Rep. Lee Oxenham, who has represented Plainfield since 2014, announced that she will not run for reelection this fall. She told the Valley News that she is struggling with long COVID and does not feel that she can serve her constituents as she used to.
Claire Potter is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at cpotter@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.