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If you Googled and saw a single rate like “28¢/kWh” for Concord, you saw the Massachusetts state average — which is computed from Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil. Concord buys power from Concord Municipal Light Plant, and the residential default is a seasonal time-of-day schedule ranging from $0.20 to $0.30 per kWh. Every number on this page is sourced to the actual Mass DPU filing.
Concord is served by Concord Municipal Light Plant (CMLP). The default 2026 residential schedule is Rate R TOD (DPU 501): $$20.00 monthly customer charge, seasonal time-of-day energy rates with Standard-season on-peak at $0.30315/kWh (Mon–Fri 3–7pm) and shoulder-season super off-peak at $0.19644/kWh (1–5am daily). Customers may opt out to Rate OPT OUT (DPU 502), a tiered structure where a 908 kWh/month bill works out to ~$$216 before PCA and NYPA adjustments. There is no flat rate. Any article quoting a single $/kWh for Concord is using the wrong utility's number.
Most pages ranking for “Concord MA electricity cost” pull a single state-average number — typically from EIA — and apply it to every town. That figure is computed from the three investor-owned utilities (Eversource, National Grid, Unitil) that serve about 85% of Massachusetts customers. The remaining 15%, including Concord, buys electricity from a municipal light plant with its own rate-setting authority.
CMLP was founded in 1898 and is owned by the town. The current residential schedules — Rate R TOD (Mass DPU No. 501) and Rate OPT OUT (Mass DPU No. 502) — both took effect April 1, 2026, replacing earlier filings. The default schedule is now a seasonal time-of-day structure, not a flat per-kWh price. Both schedules also flow Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) and NYPA Power Credit adjustments through every billing cycle.
That means a couple of things for a Concord homeowner reading another article's payback math: (1) the rate they cite is almost certainly the wrong utility's, and (2) a flat-rate model doesn't describe CMLP service at all — your actual bill depends on which time bands your kWh fall in, which season, and (on OPT OUT) which usage tier.
Mass DPU No. 501, effective April 1, 2026. Source: concordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/60581. PCA Clause and NYPA Power Credit adjustments are applied on top of the rates below.
| Customer charge | $20.00 / month |
| Standard on-peak (Jan–Feb · May–Sep · Dec) | $0.30315 / kWh |
| Standard off-peak | $0.20432 / kWh |
| Standard super off-peak | $0.20117 / kWh |
| Shoulder on-peak (Mar–Apr · Oct–Nov) | $0.25379 / kWh |
| Shoulder off-peak | $0.20230 / kWh |
| Shoulder super off-peak | $0.19644 / kWh |
Per CMLP's Rules and Regulations, all rates per kWh are further adjusted plus or minus by the Power Cost Adjustment Clause and the NYPA Power Credit each month.
Mass DPU No. 502, effective April 1, 2026. Source: concordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/60579. Customers may opt out of Rate R TOD to this tiered schedule. Distribution and energy charges are flat per kWh; capacity & transmission rises as monthly usage tiers up.
| Customer charge (single phase) | $20.00 / month |
| Capacity & transmission — first 657 kWh | $0.04969 / kWh |
| Capacity & transmission — next 178 kWh (658–835) | $0.06278 / kWh |
| Capacity & transmission — above 835 kWh | $0.08795 / kWh |
| Distribution charge (flat) | $0.08145 / kWh |
| Energy charge (flat) | $0.07903 / kWh |
Computed directly from Mass DPU No. 502. Before PCA + NYPA.
| Customer charge | $20.00 |
| Capacity & transmission (tiers 1+2+3) | $50.24 |
| Distribution (908 × $0.08145) | $73.96 |
| Energy (908 × $0.07903) | $71.76 |
| Subtotal (before PCA/NYPA) | $215.96 |
Effective $0.238/kWh including customer charge, $0.216/kWh usage-only. PCA and NYPA adjustments are applied on top each month and can move the total a few dollars in either direction.
Mass DPU No. 509, effective April 1, 2026. Source: concordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/60571. Optional residential schedule for customers with a separate meter installed for the sole purpose of EV charging. Off-peak and super off-peak kWh on the second meter bill at a single reduced rate; on-peak follows the main TOD schedule.
| Standard on-peak (Jan–Feb · May–Sep · Dec) | $0.30315 / kWh |
| Standard off-peak & super off-peak | $0.17056 / kWh |
| Shoulder on-peak (Mar–Apr · Oct–Nov) | $0.25379 / kWh |
| Shoulder off-peak & super off-peak | $0.17056 / kWh |
Same time bands as Rate R TOD: peak Mon–Fri 3–7pm, super off-peak 1–5am daily. A separate dedicated meter is required for the rate to apply.
Even with municipal-utility rates that don't track Eversource distribution cases, four pressures push CMLP bills up year over year.
Roughly ordered by speed-to-savings. Anything that requires the federal Section 25D residential ITC is now off the table — that credit expired December 31, 2025.
Solar still works in Concord, but the math is genuinely different from Eversource territory. Here is what applies at CMLP, and what to ignore from generic articles.
Next step
CMLP's published two-phase rate plan jumps the Standard-season Peak rate from $0.30315/kWh today to $0.48000/kWh in 2027 — a 58% increase on the most expensive 4 hours of every weekday. Off-peak rates actually drop slightly (from $0.20432 to $0.18300), meaning the spread between Peak and Off-Peak more than doubles.
For a Concord homeowner, that creates a TOD arbitrage opportunity that doesn't exist in Eversource territory: charge a battery overnight at $0.174/kWh, discharge during Peak hours to displace grid imports at $0.480/kWh. The ~30¢/kWh spread is the spread your battery actually captures — and it didn't exist at all under the prior flat-ish CMLP schedule.
Real DPU 501 rates for 2026, announced Phase 2 schedule for 2027. Adjust the sliders to model your house.
Phase 2 Standard Peak = $0.480/kWh — vs $0.303 in Phase 1.
| Scenario | Year 1 (2026) | Years 2-10 (2027 rates) | 10-yr total | Saved vs grid-only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grid only | $2,656 | $25,263 | $27,918 | — |
| + Solar (8 kW) | $600 | $5,300 | $5,900 | $22,018 |
| + Solar (8 kW) + Battery (10 kWh) | $587 | $4,886 | $5,473 | $22,445 |
Cost-only model. Excludes solar/battery equipment cost, financing, federal/state incentives, MA sales-tax and property-tax exemptions, and PCA/NYPA monthly adjustments. Phase 2 rates are CMLP's published two-phase schedule and subject to final DPU filing. Solar production assumed 95.8 kWh/kW/month on MA rooftops.
Model is illustrative. Battery dispatch logic: store excess solar first, then charge from Super Off-Peak grid if peak-displacement capacity remains; 90% round-trip efficiency, 1 cycle/day. Retail and export-credit rates blended across 8 Standard months and 4 Shoulder months. Actual results vary with weather, exact load shape, and PCA Clause adjustments.
When solar exports to the grid, CMLP credits at the Sent to Grid rate — about half of retail. In Phase 2 Standard months, exports during Off-Peak earn $0.092/kWh, but a kWh you import during Peak costs $0.480. You pay 5× as much to buy back energy you sold for less. Solar without storage is still positive — but you're subsidizing CMLP.
Even without solar, a battery on CMLP can charge during 1–5am Super Off-Peak ($0.17400/kWh in Phase 2) and discharge during the 3–7pm Peak ($0.48000/kWh). That's a $0.306/kWh round-trip spread. At ~90% round-trip efficiency, every kWh shifted is real margin against grid imports. ConnectedSolutions doesn't apply on CMLP — but TOD arbitrage does, and it's structural.
Solar charges the battery at zero marginal cost (you already produced it). Battery discharges into the home during Peak, displacing $0.480/kWh grid imports. Excess solar after the battery is full still exports for a credit. Every kWh that would have been a Peak grid import is now self-consumed at zero variable cost. Phase 2's 58% Peak hike is what makes this the structurally correct play in Concord.
We'll size a solar + battery system against your actual usage and the real DPU 501 rates above — not state-average math. Free, no obligation, takes about 15 minutes on the phone.
Concord-specific answers — written from the actual CMLP tariff filings, not state-average guesses.
Concord is served by Concord Municipal Light Plant (CMLP). The default residential schedule is Rate R TOD (Mass DPU No. 501, effective April 1, 2026) with a $20.00 monthly customer charge and seasonal time-of-day energy rates: on-peak $0.30315/kWh in Standard months (Jan–Feb, May–Sep, Dec), off-peak $0.20432/kWh, and super off-peak (1–5am daily) $0.20117/kWh. Customers can opt out to the tiered Rate OPT OUT schedule (Mass DPU No. 502). Both schedules are subject to Power Cost Adjustment Clause and NYPA Power Credit adjustments.
Peak is Monday through Friday, 3:00pm to 7:00pm. Super off-peak is daily 1:00am to 5:00am. Off-peak is every other hour. These bands apply to Rate R TOD and Rate R-EV SM. The seasonal "Standard" months (higher rates) are Jan–Feb, May–Sep, and Dec; "Shoulder" months are Mar–Apr and Oct–Nov.
On Rate OPT OUT at 908 kWh/month (the EIA residential average for Concord), the math from Mass DPU No. 502 gives roughly $216/month before PCA and NYPA adjustments — about $0.238/kWh effective. On the default Rate R TOD, your actual bill depends on how much of your usage falls in the peak 3–7pm weekday window: a household that runs most loads off-peak pays close to the $0.20/kWh band, while one that runs heavy A/C or oven during peak hours pays closer to the $0.30/kWh band on those kWh. There is no single flat number for Concord.
They scrape EIA state-average residential prices, which weight Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil — the three investor-owned utilities serving ~85% of Massachusetts customers. Concord is one of 41 MA municipal-light-plant towns served by its own utility (CMLP) with its own time-of-day and tiered tariffs. Applying the Eversource state average to a CMLP customer misses both the rate structure and the actual numbers.
CMLP rates are structurally different — TOD with seasonal bands, or a tiered alternative — not a flat number. A side-by-side dollar comparison only works for a specific customer load shape; the result depends on when (and how much) they use power. The accurate framing for a prospective Concord customer is: use the actual CMLP tariffs above (DPU 501 and 502), not a state average. Eversource customers should compare against their own current supply + delivery rates.
Yes. Rate R-EV SM (Mass DPU No. 509) is an optional residential rate for separately metered EV charging. Off-peak and super off-peak kWh are billed at $0.17056/kWh — significantly below the standard TOD off-peak rate. On-peak kWh (Mon–Fri 3–7pm) bill at the same $0.30315/kWh as the main TOD schedule. A separate meter is required for the rate to apply.
No. The SMART program is administered by the MA Department of Energy Resources and applies only to investor-owned utility customers (Eversource, National Grid, Unitil). Customers of municipal light plants — including CMLP — are excluded. Solar in Concord uses CMLP net billing, MA sales-tax and property-tax exemptions, and (for third-party-owned systems) Section 48E commercial ITC — not SMART income.
The residential federal solar ITC (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025 — it is not available for residential installs completed in 2026 regardless of utility. The commercial Section 48E ITC is still available for third-party-owned systems (PPAs and leases) that begin construction by July 4, 2026.
Other in-depth pages covering related angles for Concord and the MA municipal-light landscape.
Detailed solar pricing for Concord homes — system sizes, payback math, historic district permitting guidance.
How CMLP net billing actually works, why SMART and ConnectedSolutions are excluded, and what does substitute.
CMLP is one of 41 MA municipal light plants. How MLPs differ from investor-owned utility customers across the state.
Why rates keep rising across Massachusetts, with state-level context and the wholesale ISO-NE drivers.
We'll model your real bill against the actual CMLP TOD schedule above — not state averages — and tell you whether solar, battery, or solar+battery pencils for your address.
NuWatt Energy · Licensed solar & battery installer · Serving MA municipal-light towns
Last reviewed: May 2026. Every rate figure on this page is sourced directly to the cited Mass DPU filing PDFs above. Rates are subject to PCA Clause and NYPA Power Credit adjustments each billing cycle. Confirm current schedules with CMLP directly before financial decisions.