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Residents to save more on electric bills

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XENIA — Residents and small businesses in unincorporated areas of the county will save more on the electric supply portion of their utility bills after the Greene County commissioners authorized the signing of a new contract with AEP Energy Jan. 18.

Under governmental aggregation, the commissioners act on behalf of electric consumers in the community to negotiate an electric supply contract with an eligible supplier. Palmer Energy Company, as a consultant for the commissioners, recently led the search for a new supplier through a bidding process.

The existing contract with IGS Energy for a rate of 5.95 cents per kWh expires in May. The new contract with AEP Energy for a rate of 4.86 cents per kWh will be effective in June and last three years.

Palmer estimates a total of $791,354 annual savings to the community. Residential customers are estimated to save $54 annually while commercial customers are estimated to save $302 annually.

“So the way we look at that is not only are we providing savings for each individual, but that’s additional disposable income for folks in the unincorporated areas that they can use for other essentials or entertainment or whatever they like,” County Administrator Brandon Huddleson said.

Huddleson said eligible residents will automatically be enrolled. County officials will send out letters to residents in March or April giving them the opportunity to opt out of the program with zero fees. Residents who are enrolled in the program and decide later to choose a better deal can also opt out at no cost.

The commissioners will also enter into a three-year contract with MidAmerican for county facilities — facilities funded with taxpayers’ dollars like sanitary engineering. The estimated cost savings for these facilities on an annual basis is $221,000, according to Huddleson.

“Combined, what we’ve done today has saved a million dollars a year for residential, small businesses and then tax-payer, rate-payer dollars,” he said. “That’s a million dollars a year for three years — so we basically saved $3 million today for the community.”

By Anna Bolton

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Contact Anna Bolton at 937-502-4498.