BEDFORD – The town will be hosting two public hearings on the draft of the Bedford Community Power Plan on Nov. 21 and Dec. 19.

The hearings will be held at 7 p.m. at 10 Meetinghouse Rd.

Residents and taxpayers are encouraged to attend to learn about the proposed plan to create Bedford Community Power. The aim of the program is to help electricity customers save money on the supply of their electricity. The public hearings are part of the preparations for bringing a warrant article on Bedford Community Power to Town Meeting in the spring.

The Town Council established the Bedford Community Power Electric Aggregation Committee to pursue potential electric cost savings for residents and taxpayers that may come from electricity aggregation under RSA 53-E, also known as the Community Power Law.

In enacting RSA 53-E, the New Hampshire legislature found it to be in the public interest to allow municipalities to aggregate retail electric customers, in order to reduce electric costs and encourage innovative solutions to local energy needs.

The committee’s mission is to recommend an entity to facilitate the Bedford Community Power program and to draft a Bedford Community Power Plan. At the committee’s recommendation, the Town Council voted to join the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, a nonprofit power supplier created by New Hampshire cities and towns to share resources and maximize the benefits and savings of community power programs statewide.

Under Community Power programs, electric distribution utilities continue to own and operate and maintain the power lines and infrastructure while local communities gain control over the cost of their energy and where it is sourced from.

Information about Community Power programs is available at www.CommunityPowerNH.gov and at www.cpcnh.org.