Resiliency and Affordability

Vineyard Power manages the implementation of the Resiliency and Affordability Program (RAP) on Martha’s Vineyard. The RAP, negotiated through Vineyard Power’s historic Community Benefits Agreement with Vineyard Wind, is a $7.5 million fund over 15 years dedicated to enabling energy resiliency and affordability on Martha’s Vineyard. Eligible RAP projects include solar for our island’s government, nonprofit, and tribal facilities, as well as subsidies to reduce electricity costs for income-eligible households on the island.

Pursuant to the program design, Vineyard Power has established a RAP Advisory Committee comprising representatives of all six island towns, Dukes County, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, Vineyard Wind, and MA Department of Energy Resources. The role of the RAP Advisory Committee is to recommend resiliency projects for critical facilities and provide overall guidance on program implementation.

RAP Advisory Committee

Committee Members

Jim Pickman (Aquinnah)

Hugh Weisman (Chilmark)

Alan Strahler (Edgartown)

Marilyn Miller (Oak Bluffs)

Resiliency

Solar and Battery Storage

Energy resiliency is a crucial aspect of Martha’s Vineyard journey to becoming 100% renewable by 2040. As more island residents electrify their homes and vehicles, the overall demand for electricity on MV will increase. With more and more people electrifying, it’s important that our power supply is adequate and resilient.

Vineyard Power has allocated over $3.7 million over the next 15 years to help critical facilities across MV access solar technology. So far, Vineyard Power has committed funding to 3 solar projects at critical facilities on island.

Projects

• West Tisbury Library: $375,000 over 20 years

• Tisbury Senior Center: $236,000 over 20 years

• Wampanoag Tribe Gay Head (Aquinnah) $45,000 (interest-free loan)

Affordability

Income-Eligible Ratepayer Assistance Program

To promote energy affordability, Vineyard Power has allocated $3 million over next 15 years, or $200,000 annually, to subsidize electricity costs for income-eligible households on Martha’s Vineyard. On average, this works out to around $400 in savings per MV household each year. Subsidies are issued in the form of checks that are mailed out twice per year.

To date, Vineyard Power has delivered over $340,000 to income-eligible households across MV through our assistance program since 2023.

To qualify for this program, beneficiaries must be enrolled on the Eversource Discount Rate (R2 or R4) and the Cape Light Compact Power Supply.

If you need assistance, please sign up for an income-eligible coaching session with Vineyard Power here.

Island Housing Trust

In addition to our ratepayer assistance program, Vineyard Power is supporting affordability by partnering with Island Housing Trust to help install solar technology at affordable housing properties around Martha’s Vineyard. In 2024, Vineyard Power donated $40,000 to IHT’s Kuehn’s Way housing project to help subsidize the cost of solar, and has pledged an additional $210,000 for solar development at Meshacket Commons and Tackenash Knoll.