Sunday, December 6, 2009

Aggregation

FirstEnergy and NOPEC make money-saving deal
Saturday, December 05, 2009 3:53 PM
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(Source: Star Beacon)By Mark Todd, Star Beacon, Ashtabula, Ohio
Dec. 5--Consumers in Ashtabula County and northeast Ohio will enjoy discounts on their electric bills beginning in 2011, thanks to a nine-year agreement announced this week.
A pact between the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) and FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, will provide rate discounts of 6 percent to residential customers and 4 percent to small-business customers. The discounts start in 2011 and stretch through 2019, officials said. NOPEC estimates the deal will save eligible customers $19 million annually.
"Things really came together on the consumers' behalf," said Ron McVoy, who represents Ashtabula County on the NOPEC board.
Under the arrangement, FES will supply electricity exclusively to NOPEC's 126 member communities starting in 2011. FES will also start supplying power to members next year, thanks to an understanding with GEXA Energy, NOPEC's current provider.
The agreement also obliges FES to make a $12 million grant to NOPEC, which in turn will be distributed among its members for energy-related projects and programs. The money will be paid before the end of next month and will be disbursed via an application process. Funding will be based on the number of customers in each community who participate, according to a statement.
Charter members of NOPEC will receive a full amount of funding, McVoy said. "It will be a nice program," he said.
The pending discount will be based on the price-to-compare (PTC), which is the generation price customers would have paid had they purchased electricity from their local utility, said Diane Francis, a FirstEnergy spokeswoman. As a result, no matter how the PTC fluctuates, the residential rate will always be 6 percent less, she said.
"It's a long-term discount," Francis said.
The agreement was reached quickly, McVoy said.
"We started talking about three or four months ago," he said.
The organization serves 126 communities, including every city, village and township in Ashtabula County. NOPEC was founded several years ago to help communities receive the best utility rates possible. By banding together and promising their business to one provider, member communities can leverage a volume discount.
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