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Motherhood works WILLIAMSTOWN — The Clark Art Institute has invited moms and their families to celebrate motherhood on Mother's Day, May 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. The afternoon will feature activities for adults and children and admission is free. Michael Cassin, curator of education, will give a slide talk at 1:15 p.m. on mothers and mothering in art. His talk will explore images of motherhood and the mother-child relationship that artists have returned to over the ages. At 3 p.m., folksinger Bernice Lewis will perform. Lewis, who studied vocal technique with Bobby McFerrin, has been featured on National Public Radio's "Mountain Stage" program. Her five recordings include “Religion & Release” and “Isle of Spirit.” Her original song "Bridges That Hold" was featured in the PBS documentary "Lifelines," starring Peter, Paul and Mary. Lewis is an adjunct member of the faculty at Williams College and also teaches songwriting, singing and yoga at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y. From 1 to 4, children can have their picture taken with their mother and make gold-leaf frames for the photographs. Throughout the afternoon, visitors will be invited to go behind-the-scenes in the Clark's print study room to see prints and drawings featuring mothers and children. These works on paper are rarely on public view. One of the highlights is the pastel “Woman with Baby” and other pastels by favorite American impressionist Mary Cassatt. Groups of 15 will visit the print room every 20 minutes beginning at 2. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute is at 225 South St. and is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 to 5. Gallery admission is free through June 27. Information: 458-2303 or www.clarkart.edu . MoCA movie NORTH ADAMS — “Incident at Oglala,” narrated and produced by Robert Redford, will be shown at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art tonight [Thursday, May 6] at 8, as part of its Cinema Lounge series. The film examines the events at South Dakota’s Pineridge Reservation on June 26, 1975, when a shootout killed two FBI agents and one Native American. Leonard Peltier, an activist of the American Indian Movement, has been sentenced to life in prison despite protests that he is innocent and did not receive a fair trial. “Incident at Oglala” also looks at the American legal system. Tickets, at $5.50, are available at the Mass MoCA box office, 662-2111, or at www.massmoca.org. Lickety Split will serve dinner and snacks starting at 7 when the doors open. There will also be a full bar. Ventfort ballet LENOX — The Junior Company of the Albany Berkshire Ballet will perform at Ventfort Hall with a celebration of company dances on Sunday, May 16, at 3:00 pm. The performance in full costume will take place in the Great Hall and will be followed by a Victorian high tea in the dining room. The company is composed of dancers ages 14 through 18. The ballet mistress is Deirdre Duffin-Swindlehurst, who will present backgrounds of the dances. Younger dancers will also perform special dances in celebration of the spring season. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for members and $6 for children under 16, who must be accompanied by an adult. All proceeds will benefit the restoration of the 1893 Gilded Age mansion. Reservations or further information: 637-3206. Advanced reservations are recommended due to limited performance space. Ventfort Hall is at 104 Walker St. Video-making WILLIAMSTOWN – The second annual 24-Hour Goosechase and Free-for-All, sponsored by Images Cinema and the Contemporary Artists Center, will kick off on May 8 at noon. The free event is an opportunity for video-makers at all levels of experience to shoot, edit and screen a video within 24 hours. Those who attend the initial meeting at Images, 50 Spring St., will receive the “secret clues” that must be included in each video. Twenty-four hours later, on May 9, all will reconvene at Images at 12:30 p.m. with completed videos of 5 minutes or less. A public screening of all completed videos will begin at 1, and cash prizes will be awarded based on audience vote. “It was fun putting together the short video,” said Lisa Carton, of Bennington, Vt., winner with A. J. Rossi of last year’s “Best Use of Object” award. “Being able to see it on the big screen was really incredible!” Entries last year came from as far away as Albany, N.Y. They included high school and college students, working professionals and artists, with wide ranges in experience levels and ages. Images is one of the few nonprofit, single-screen cinemas left in the country. It seeks to entertain and educate with quality programming, while maintaining its strong dedication to independent film and media. For up-to-date happenings, see www.imagescinema.org. The Contemporary Artists Center is a not-for-profit artists' studio facility established in 1990 at the Beaver Mill in North Adams. It provides art-making residencies, acts as a resource facility for artists and stages exhibitions. The event is supported in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Information: 458-1039. BCC exhibit PITTSFIELD — An exhibit at Koussevitsky Art Gallery, Berkshire Community College, by New Jersey artist and mathematician Susan Happersett links drawing with mathematical sequences and will be on display through May 10. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Happersett, who bases her work on mathematical sequences and algorithms, has been making meditative drawings based on the Fibonacci sequence since 1994. Fibonacci, a 12th-century mathematician, popularized the use of Arabic numerals instead on Roman ones and freed Europeans from the abacus by introducing algorithms for setting up complex problems by hand. Happersett's works are in major public and private collections, including the New York and San Francisco museums of modern art, London’s Tate Gallery and the Boston and New York public libraries.. Koussevitsky Arts Center is in BCC's main campus at 1350 West St. Gallery hours are 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. Information: 499-4660, ext. 362. Hawthorne Trio GHENT, N.Y. — The 18-month old Hawthorne Trio — pianist Gili Lev, cellist Jonah Thomas and violinist Amelia Giles — will perform works of Beethoven, Brahms, Fauré, Popper and Dvorak on May 9 to help the school raise funds for a concert-quality piano. The 3 p.m. concert is the first in a planned series of fundraisers called “88 Keys.” Tickets are $10 for adults, $20 for a family and $5 for students, and can be obtained at the door or by calling 518-672-5110. Families with children are welcome. Lev was raised in Jerusalem, where she studied piano with Susan Cohen and attended the Reubin Academy of Music. She studied at the Juilliard School in New York City and has performed in the United States, Israel and Europe as a soloist and the artist-in-residence for Eurythmy Spring Valley. In 2003, she released a CD for piano and flute in collaboration with Elyce Perico. She lives with her family in Harlemville. Giles began studying violin at age 5 with Alla Zernitskay in Pittsfield, Mass. For the past six summers, she has studied at the Greenwood Music Camp and in 2002 participated in a strings master class with the Chiara String Quartet. She has served as concertmistress in the Empire State Youth Orchestra and in June of 2000 played solo at Tanglewood's Ozawa Hall. She is a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra at the Manhattan School of Music, where she studies with Patinka Kopec, and is a student at Simons Rock College of Bard in Great Barrington, Mass. Thomas began cello studies at age 9. For the past six years, he has studied under Marion Feldman at the Manhattan School of Music and is the current principal cellist for the MSM Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a senior at Hawthorne Valley High School, where he is co-captain of the varsity basketball team and was recently named to the Hudson Valley League All-Star Team. In the fall, he will be a student at Juilliard. Hawthorne Valley School is a mile from the Route 217 (Philmont) exit from the Taconic State Parkway, in the village of Harlemville. It is an independent co-educational day school (nursery-12) committed to the ideals of Waldorf education. Information: 518-672-7092 or see www.hawthornevalleyschool.org . British study GREAT BARRINGTON – Simon’s Rock College of Bard sophomore Erin Morgan has been selected to study with the British American Dramatic Academy in London. She will begin her studies there in September. Paige Dana, also a sophomore, is on the waiting list for the program. The British American Dramatic Academy accepted only 16 of 600 applicants, according to Karen Beaumont, Simon’s Rock College faculty member in theater. She and faculty member Christine Adaire worked with the students to prepare their audition pieces. The academy was founded in 1983 to enable students from around the world to study classical theater with leading actors and directors in the British theater. Its faculty has included Ben Kingsley, Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson, Katie Mitchell and Deborah Warner. Its alumni include Orlando Blum, David Schwimmer, Melissa Errico and Jennifer Ehle. Programs are organized to allow American students to study ful-time and receive academic credit at their home institutions. Big concert WILLIAMSTOWN — Over 160 performers will mount two performances of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” on Friday, May 7, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 9, at 3 p.m. in Chapin Hall at Williams College. A setting of medieval poetry on fate, springtime and the pleasures of love, the work features a large orchestra, two choirs and three soloists. Bradley Wells, Lyell B. Clay artist in residence in vocal music, will conduct the Williams Concert Choir and Orchestra, the Bennington Children’s Chorus (Kerry Ryer-Parke, director) and Mary Ellen Callahan, soprano, James Ruff, tenor and Keith Kibler, bass-baritone. Admission is free and no reservations are necessary. Directions: 597-2736. Keyboard music NORTH BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Arts at the Station program will present Charles Metz, harpsichordist, for a full concert of keyboard music by Rameau, Couperin, Scarlatti and Bach on Saturday, May 8, at 7 p.m. Metz teaches harpsichord at Washington University, St. Louis. He performed recently at the Art Institute of Chicago in conjunction with its exhibition of the works of Rembrandt. He will play on a reproduction 1760 instrument built in 1982 by Walter and Berta Burr of Hoosick, N.Y. The concert will be accompanied by a show of landscape paintings by Berta Burr. She said 17th-century painting, as well as American work of the 19th and early 20th century influenced her. She is represented by the Plum Gallery in Williamstown, Mass. The gallery will open early before the concert for a viewing of the paintings, with additional open hours on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Art show NORTH ADAMS -- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will present “Exploring Nirvana: The Art of Jessica Park” May 12 through June 30 at the 94 Porter Street Gallery. The show will open Wednesday, May 12, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Park was diagnosed with early infantile autism. Her mother said, as Park matured and came to understand more about the world, her painting allowed her to interact with the outside world with a touch of creativity and style. Time magazine said her story is, "one of triumph, of a thousand skills arduously acquired and a thousand more yet to be mastered." Tony Gengarelly’s Museum Studies class of the Fine and Performing Arts department organized the exhibition, which Gengarelly directed. The show is free and open to the public. Donations to the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Autism Society of America will be accepted. Information: 662-5255. Teen concert Chatham, N.Y. — Seven local teen-age musicians have been selected for the 2004 Uel Wade Music Scholarship auditions/public concert at the Spencertown Academy on May 16. The musicians will compete for music scholarships of up to $3,000. Part of the process for applicants is performing before a live, paying audience. Works for strings, winds, voice, and piano will be performed by a group of young people, including four from Pittsfield: violist Jorja Bagnera (works by Clarke and Brahms), bassoonist Jonathan Berch (“Concerto in F major” by Hummel), pianist Luke Massery (“Andante spianato & Grande Polonaise Brillante” by Chopin), and cellist Michael Tweed-Kent. (“Allegro from Sonata in C” by Prokofiev). Cellist Ivan Trabka (“Concerto in C minor” by J.C. Bach) is from Great Barrington. From Columbia County are cellist Lisa Jeon (“Sonata in D minor” by Shostakovich), and soprano Natalie Varriale (works by Purcell, Debussy, and Bernstein). The ages range from 16 to 18. The judges will announce the winners to the audience following the performance. Traditionally, one of the former winners returns to perform while the judges confer. This year, the musician is flutist Edwin Rist, who was a 14-year-old freshman when he won last year. The judges give their time and expertise without compensation. This year’s panel consists of Ronald Feldman, cellist and conductor, Robert Pace, pianist and author, Frances Pallozzi, soprano, and instrumental soloists and Albany Symphony members Susan Martula (clarinet) and Stephen Walt (bassoon). The Board of the academy donates the use of its hall along with admissions collected. Attorney Peter Lavigne, with staff of his N.Y. law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, made the scholarship corporate. The scholarship, which began nine years ago, now accepts applications from four counties, Columbia, Rennselaer and Greene in New York, and Berkshire County. Admission is $10 and all people 18 and under who take music lessons will be admitted free. Information: www.uelwade.org . River documentary PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Museum will host a screening of the award-winning documentary “Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time,” in conjunction with Housatonic River Summer 2004 on Saturday, May 15, at 8 p.m. The film is a journey into the world and mind of the renowned sculptor by award-winning filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer. Termed “Ravishingly beautiful,” by The New York Times, and bestowed the approving “Two Thumbs Up!” by film critics Ebert and Roeper, the acclaimed film was the Golden Gate Award winner for Best Documentary. British environmental artist Goldsworthy has been celebrated for creating art in the wild using whatever natural materials are at hand — stone and driftwood, summer leaves, even icicles. Tickets are $4 for members, $7 for non-members and $5 for students with ID. Information: www.berkshiremuseum.org or 443-7171, ext. 10. Classical duet BENNINGTON, Vt. — Pianist Tim Whitehead and violinist David Wish will perform a recital of seminal 20th-century works Sunday, May 16, at 3 p.m. at Bennington College's Deane Carriage Barn. As a duo committed to the contemporary repertoire, the two have toured across Europe, the United States and Canada and have been artists-in-residence at the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada. The program, their second at the college, will include Bela Bartok's “Premiere Sonate,” Wiltold Lutoslawski's “Partita” and miniatures by Krysztof Penderecki and Gyorgy Kurtag. The event is free and open to the public. Information: 802-440-4510 or stjones@bennington.edu. Coffee house GREAT BARRINGTON — The Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire will present “Brewed Awakenings Coffee House,” an evening of jazz and contemporary piano, saxophone and vocals, Friday, May 7, at 8 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 198 Main St. The show will feature John Sauer at the piano, Charlie Tokarz on sax, clarinet and flute and Jeanne Laurin on vocals. Music will include jazz standards, songs from the 1930s, some contemporary material, Latin tunes, Tuck and Patty, the Beatles and Cyndi Lauper. Sauer and Laurin perform regularly at the Dream Away Lodge in Becket, the Lion’s Den in Stockbridge and the Egremont Inn. Tokarz is a multi-instrumentalist who freelances in a variety of settings, and can play more than one instrument at a time. Doors will open at 7 and the music will start at 8. Desserts, coffee, teas and cider will be available. Information: 528-4850. Opera benefit CHESHIRE — Metropolitan Opera soprano Joyce Guyer and harpist Anita Briggs will perform at the Harbour House Inn Bed & Breakfast on Friday, May 14, at 8 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce, proceeds from the event will benefit Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, a community arts center recently opened in North Adams that provides studio art classes. Guyer is in her 14th season with the Metropolitan Opera and is one of the Met’s most valued and versatile performers. She sings leading roles such as Pamina, Adina, Susanna, Anne Trulove and Der Rosenkavalier’s Sophie. She has also been a frequent guest of the New Jersey symphony and made her debut with the New York Philharmonic last May, with Sir Colin Davis conducting. Briggs has held the principal harpist spot with several orchestras, including the New Haven, Berkshire, Columbus, Macon, Amarillo, Yale, Amherst and Smith orchestras. She has played engagements at the Shubert Theater, Boston Ballet, Boston Pops, the Atlanta Choral Guild and the Hartford Opera. She also performed under the direction of Paul Hindemith and Nadia Boulanger and has played in Avery Fisher Hall. The program for the evening will include works by Liza Lehman, Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Paure, as well as a number of English and American folk songs. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, 663-8338, by May 9. Seating is limited to 40. Tickets may be purchased at the door, if seating is available. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the recital. Harbour House Inn B&B, at 725 North State Road (Route 8), is owned by Eva and Sam Amuso. Jazz concert PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Community College will hold its third annual Spring Jazz Concert on Saturday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the small auditorium of Koussevitzky Arts Center. The first half of the free public show will feature the college’s Jazz Ensemble performing some of the greatest hits of Duke Ellington, including "Caravan," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Sophisticated Lady." Allen Livermore, who directs the ensemble, teaches "Fundamentals of Jazz Improvisation." The second half of the show will feature a performance of original and standard jazz compositions by the Allen Livermore Quartet, with Livermore on saxophones, Ed Mann on the vibraphone, Pete Toigo on the double bass and Randy Kaye on drums. MCLA concert NORTH ADAMS — The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Community Band will hold its spring concert, with guest appearances by the 78 Street Jazz Band and the Dixie Cats, on Friday, May 7, at 8 p.m. at the Church Street Center. The band will feature composers of the British Isles, including Gordon Jacob's "Original Suite," which was his first work for band and was completed in 1928, and Raulph Vaughan Williams' "Flourish for Band." “Military Songs of the British Isles,” a medley that consists of "A Hundred Pipers," "The Boys of Wexford" and "Men of Harlech" will also be featured. The band will also perform one piece by American composer Morton Gould, "Folk Suite Overture.” The band is under the direction of Christopher Caproni and consists of students, alumni and community members of all ages. The 78 Street Jazz Band is made up of seventh-and eighth-graders from the North Adams Public Schools. The group is part of the 21st Century After School Program and is under the direction of Roger LaRocca. The Dixie Cats is a local Dixieland band that plays New Orleans style jazz. It will feature the arrangements of alumnus Michael Hutchinson. The Dixie Cats will release an album in mid-June. Information: 662-5205. Final concert PITTSFIELD — Maureen O’Flynn, internationally acclaimed soprano, will be featured soloist in the Berkshire Lyric Theatre’s final concert of its 2004 season. Performances will be held Saturday, May 15, in St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Park Square, Pittsfield, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 16, in St. James Episcopal Church, Route 7, Great Barrington, at 3 p.m. O’Flynn has sung with the world’s finest opera houses, among them the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, La Scala, La Fenice, Arena di Verona, Bologna’s Teatro Comunale, the Satander Festival, Covent Garden, New Israeli Opera and the Vienna Staatsoper. Considered to be one of the finest interpreters of Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” she was granted the Callas Award for Outstanding New Artist of the year for her signature role by the Dallas Opera. “Mozart’s Grand Mass in C minor”, will be performed by The Berkshire Lyric Theatre chorus and orchestra, under the direction of Artistic Director Robert Blafield. Other soloists will be Gisella Montanez, mezzo soprano, Rand Reeves, tenor, and Jack Brown, bass baritone. Organ accompanist will be Ann Marcure. This concert will be dedicated to the memory of Berkshires musician and composer Paul Hamill, who died last spring. The program prelude will include one of his compositions. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Children 12 and under are free. Reservations and information: 499-0258. ‘Seeds of Hope’ LENOX — The Eastern Native Seed Conservancy will present "Seeds of Hope,” a concert with the Paul Winter Consort and the Berkshire Children's Chorus, May 23, at the Tanglewood Music Center at Ozawa Hall. The concert is a benefit for the conservancy, a local organization dedicated to protecting the food supply through heirloom plant preservation. "So far all of our events, while fundraising, have been strictly in alignment with our mission of hands-on preservation of rare plants, but Paul Winter has been a dedicated environmentalist for over 30 years, and that makes him a good match for the organization," Conservancy Director Lawrence Davis-Hollander said in a news release. Winter’s concert tours and recording expeditions have taken him to 37 countries and to wilderness areas on six continents, into which he has traveled on rafts, mules, dog sleds, horses, kayaks, sailboats, steamers, tug-boats and Land Rovers. The conservancy's mission is to promote and foster the essential connection between people and useful plants through education, seed conservation and the advocacy of genetic diversity. It works with farmers, chefs and the public to further that aim through the distribution and propagation of endangered historic varieties of all types, especially eastern Native American plants. It is often one of the only sources in the world for many varieties. Tickets are $45, $38 and $34 and are available at the Berkshire Coop Market, the Northampton Box Office 1-800-THE-TICK or the conservancy, PO Box 451, Great Barrington MA 01230. Information: 229-8316 or 229-3946. Hubbard premiere CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. — The world premiere of a musical stage adaptation of the classic Russian melodrama “He Who Gets Slapped” will be presented by The Theatre Company at Hubbard Hall May 13 through May 30. The adaptation of Leonid Andreyev’s 1915 classic is by Ray Sipherd, the music is by Arthur B. Rubinstein and lyrics are by both men. The “serious slapstick” story of love and revenge, set in a flea-bitten 1930s French circus, has a cast of 15. Kirk Mouser will play the title role, and the supporting cast includes Dan Sharkey, Mariah Sanford-White, Adam Jansson, Sandra Bargman and Kevin McGuire. Set and costumes are by Karen Koziol, with choreography by Alla Youdina, former creative director of Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. Librettist Sipherd, winner of three Emmy Awards, was one of the four original writers of “Sesame Street.” Rubinstein has composed music for motion picture and television productions, as well as television movies-of-the-week and mini-series. He won an Emmy for his music for the CBS series “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and in 1991 won a Drama Critics Award for musical direction of the Broadway production of “A Little Night Music.” Performances on Thursdays and Fridays will be at 8 p.m. Saturday performances will be at 2 and 8, and Sundays at 2. Tickets are $18 for Hubbard Hall members, $22 for general admission and $12 for students. The company has scheduled a “pay what you wish” matinee, for Saturday, May 15, at 2 p.m. It instituted the reduced-cost performance policy earlier this year, in hopes of expanding its audience and making a theater outing affordable for families. Hubbard Hall, an 1878 rural opera house, is at 25 E. Main St. Information: 518-677-2495 or www.hubbardhall.org . Community orchestra STOCKBRIDGE — The Stockbridge Sinfonia, a community orchestra of some 50 musicians who enjoy playing classical music, will begin its 2004 season rehearsals in the Music Room of Berkshire Country Day School on Route 183 (just south of Tanglewood), Saturday, May 15, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The orchestra has been in operation for over 30 years and welcomes players of all ages. It encourages the participation of young musicians, and provides financial assistance to students demonstrating ability and commitment. Conductor Simeon Loring said he would like more violinists, violists and brass players. Those interested in participating must have their own instruments and music stands, be able to read the standard orchestral repertoire and attend rehearsals Saturday mornings through October. The orchestra will perform a minimum of two free concerts, one at the Rockwell Museum on Aug. 28. Information: Jerry Mundel, 528-4656, Betsy Strauch 637-4059, or Michael Dunnell 518-572-5427.
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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program

DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.
 
Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.
 
For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an
average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates
will change on Feb. 1, 2026.
 
Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.
 
It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.
 
The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.
 
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