Mass Energy Consumers Alliance

CONTACT:

670 Centre Street
Boston, MA 02130
(617) 524-3950
www.massenergy.com

Larry Chretien, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

Related Article: Energy in Massachusetts 2001

Small energy consumers — i.e., almost all of us — are difficult and costly to supply because our needs are each highly varied in quantity over time. A California Enron executive said it is "impossible to make money on small consumers".

One solution is to "aggregate" consumer demand for energy services — to pool the buying power of potential users into large, diverse groups, which together constitute stable and adequate markets for suppliers. The Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance (MECA) is building such an aggregation in Eastern Massachusetts. Using existing communications networks, MECA will focus its recruiting on those predisposed to environmentally sound energy, who can in turn recruit others to join them — e.g., its own 7,000 members (170 are non- residential; members of other environmental and socially responsible charities; communities actively pursuing clean energy solutions — e.g., Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Medford, Newton, Somerville, Watertown, etc.; and environmental or related businesses. Planners of this Project include: the Boston Public Health Commission; the municipalities of Brookline, Cambridge, and Newton; environmental organizations (the Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM — Cat.'98), the Sierra Club of MA, the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG — Cat.'97), the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, and the Tufts Climate Initiative, and many others. As the Aggregate is formed, it will identify and assist potential green energy suppliers for its market. Once the market is in place and functioning, MECA will help raise it to self-support levels on both supply and demand sides.

This practical, realistic strategy has been tried and proven elsewhere; what it needs here are a few venture-philanthropists to help launch it.

(2001: NATURE: Environment: Energy, Toxics, Waste Recyling)