Residents could save hundreds on their energy bills next fall and help out the environment without lifting a finger, according to a representative for the energy consulting firm Good Energy. John O'Rourke, director of marketing with Good Energy, met with Selectmen Tuesday to explain the company's municipal bulk purchasing program.

Good Energy does not supply electricity, it purchases electricity for entire communities and towns from energy suppliers such as Eversource.

O'Rourke said that aggregating a community's purchasing power provides strength in numbers and causes energy suppliers to offer lower prices than a single resident or business could get. He said some of the benefits from community aggregation are long term electricity price stability, lower costs, and the ability for a community to determine the amount of renewable energy it uses.

"The risk to the residents is really zero and the savings, I think conservative number is $150 to $200 a year to the average resident," said Selectman Alan Slavin.

O'Rourke said that the program comes at no cost to the town and that the company has saved citizens more than $100 million over the last four years.

O'Rourke said that Good Energy has been working with SRPEDD and of the 20 eligible communities in SRPEDD, 15 have signed on to the community aggregation program. According to O'Rourke, that represents 150,000 households in towns such as Acushnet, New Bedford, Fall River, Fairhaven and Dartmouth to name a few.

He said that residents would still receive a single bill from Eversource and can opt out of the program at anytime without penalty. Selectman Alan Slavin said that he thinks the board should consider proposing the idea to voters in the form of a Fall Town Meeting article later this year.