There's a new initiative kicking off between six municipalities in Rockland, pooling power for lower prices and 100% renewable energy.
It's called
Rockland Community Power, and the municipalities include Clarkstown, Orangetown, South Nyack, Nyack, Upper Nyack and the village of Haverstraw.
The move switches 40,000 households from Orange & Rockland as the default provider to Constellation NewEnergy, powering homes with a mix of wind and hydroelectric power.
O&R isn't fully out of the picture. It is still the utility delivering the power and would handle power outages - only the source of the electricity will change.
Homeowners can opt out by contacting their municipality.
Orangetown, while in the program, is the only local government not switching to 100% renewable as their default energy.