Concord is gearing up for the start of lower electricity rates through the community power system, with a public information meeting set for Sept. 4, but one question about rates has arisen.

The program is set to begin in October, making Concord one of more than 60 towns, cities and counties around New Hampshire that are buying electricity not through the local utility but on the open market via the Community Power Coalition. This creates lower rates and also gives residents the flexibility to buy electricity from renewable sources.

Starting with their November bills, Concord residents who join the program will see that electricity is costing them 9.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, less than the current residential rate of 10.5 cents from Unitil, 10.4 cents from Eversource and 11 cents from Liberty. The average Concord home is said to use 650 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, although that varies widely over the course of the year.

Concord is one of a few communities in the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire that is not setting the program’s default rate at the cheapest level, called Granite Basic, which is 8.6 cents per kilowatt-hour through the winter. Instead, people will be placed in the Granite Plus option at 9.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, under which a portion of the power will come from renewable sources.

People can switch at any time to the lower Granite Basic rate without any cost. Or they can switch to two higher rates, which would buy even more of their power from renewables.

People can also opt out of the community power program altogether if they want to keep paying their utility. That decision must be made by Sept. 25.

Almost all communities in the community power program start with Granite Basic although at least three towns – Hanover, Peterborough and Plainfield – use Granite Plus rate as the default.

The average Concord home would spend about $4 less a month by switching from Granite Plus to Granite Basic, with an estimated energy charge of $56 instead of $60. The most expensive option, in which 100% of electricity is said to come from renewables, would cost $78 a month, more than the utility rate.

The Concord Energy & Environment Advisory Committee recommended and the City Council agreed that the city default to Granite Plus to support the city’s ambition to have 100% of its electricity come from renewable energy by 2030.

That drew some pushback at a March 11 council meeting.

Resident John Gaudet said that “I understand the desire to move toward renewable energy” but that “we have people making the decision do I get my meds or do I go to the food store.”

State Consumer Advocate Don Kreis has stepped into the issue, saying in his weekly column, called Power to the People, that not defaulting to the lowest rate goes against the spirit of the state law which established community power.

Concord, he wrote, is “assuming that electric customers in the Capital City prefer to pay more for their electricity to make it greener.”

Concord residents who have solar power with net metering cannot participate in community power because of complexities with the rate setting.

The electricity charge makes up about half of each resident’s bill. The rest is the delivery charge covering the cost of poles, wires and other equipment. That portion of the bill is still set by the local regulated utility, which remains responsible for dealing with power outages and other service issues.

The non-profit Community Power Coalition is not the only program for community power in New Hampshire. Some communities use for-profit brokers such as Standard Power, which negotiates power purchases for them. Those programs currently have higher rates than the Community Power Coalition but also have long-term contracts, which prevents price shocks down the road as electricity rates change.

The city is holding two public information sessions to answer questions about the program: At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, in the Community Center Auditorium, 14 Canterbury Rd, and at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17, in the City Council chambers, 37 Green St.

All customers have until Sept. 25, when Concord Community Power launches, to decide whether to participate.