By Adam Swift
Winthrop is taking steps to be more environmentally conscious.
Last week, Town Manager Tony Marino announced that the town recently purchased its first electric vehicle, a 2024 Chevy Blazer that will be used by the inspectional services department.
“I drove it for a few days to make sure there were no quirks,” said Marino. “It’s a nice vehicle, and we’re setting up a charging point over at the DPW garage with a 240 plug to be able to charge it there on the weekend. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Marino also announced that the town received a low bid for an electricity distributor for its electric aggregation program from Direct Energy which is three cents lower per kilowatt hour than what is currently charged through National Grid.
“Once we go to the program, it is an opt-out program,” said Marino. “People will be placed in the midrange, which is basically the base rate with a 10 percent green energy component to it. There are two other options, people can opt in to just the base rate without any sort of green energy component … and then there is a higher option which would be the basic rate plus a 100 percent option (for green energy sources.”
Residents will still be receiving their bills through National Grid, and National Grid will still be responsible for transmission and distribution services in the town.
“There will be a lot more literature to come forward about this, and we will be letting residents know about it,” said Marino.
The goal is to have the electric aggregation ready to go at the beginning of 2025, Marino said.