Point Beach Moves Towards Energy Aggregation

Point Beach Council is moving towards energy aggregation, which means shopping around for a third-party electrical provider so the town and residents pay lower electrical bills.

The council, at its Tuesday night meeting, voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance to participate in energy aggregation, entered into a cooperative pricing agreement with Howell Township and appointed Commercial Utility Consultants as the town's "energy agent."

John J. Dunn III, aggregation coordinator for Commercial Utility Consultants, said at the meeting that if residents do not wish to be in the energy aggregation program, they can opt out.

Council Bret Gordon asked Dunn a number of questions about how the process works, what makes his firm the best to handle energy aggregation for the town, what the rate would be and how long a rate would stay in place.

Gordon said that he entered into a third party energy aggregation agreement in his own home and paid a lower rate for a while, but then the rate was increased, prompting him to look for a different provider.

Dunn said the rate would depend on what the town can find through an auction process and that the rate may stay in place for 18 months.

Gordon asked Dunn, "Why should we pick your company and not any other?" Dunn, who was recommended by Reid, said he is confident he can do the best job for the town finding the best rate.

After the meeting, Reid said that because the general cost of electricity has come down recently, the town may not be able to get a rate as low as some other towns that had earlier entered into a program.

"But even if it's only 10 percent, that could save each resident $100 or $200 a year," he said.

A number of other area towns have already been participating in energy aggregation or are very seriously considering it.

For example, in Manchester, the township governing body also adopted an ordinance allowing them to proceed with energy aggregation.

Manchester Councilman Brendan Weiner, who has been researching municipal energy aggregation, said at a meeting last month that the ordinance allows the town to see if it can get better electrical rates than what JCP&L is getting for residents. 

And, he added, a number of nearby towns are doing just that. For example, he said, Jackson is saving 15 to 18 percent, Plumsted 14 percent; Toms River 12 percent and Brick 10 to 20 percent.

JCP&L is still delivering the electricity, even when towns are in energy aggregation programs, and JCP&L still mails out the bills. Also, JCP&L is still the place to call with any customer questions or complaints.

Energy Aggregation programs, which were established a decade ago, potentially create savings by allowing municipal governments to first aggregate the energy needs of residential, commercial and government accounts, then buy energy supply from third-party suppliers at prices below the average utility rate, according to the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

The savings comes on the supply portion of the bill, with transmission and other fees unaffected by the move to aggregation. The ordinance that towns pass enabling aggregation then require a bidding process for third-party suppliers, according to BPU guidelines, and the BPU would have to approve the plan.