The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
City locks price on electrical services
CT Conference of Municipalities brokers ‘bulk’ power for towns
TORRINGTON — The bundling of electrical service contracts through a consortium of municipalities is saving the city money.
The city is in its first year of a five-year contract brokered through the Connecticut Council of Municipalities. Much like buying in bulk, by joining with a number of other towns and cities represented by the municipalities council, Torrington is guaranteed a locked-in price until 2023, Mayor Elinor Carbone said.
The city’s new rate until 2023 is 7 cents per kilowatt hour, according the municipalities council’s contract. The decreased rate will save the city $130,000 over last year’s cost, Purchasing Agent Pennie Zucco said in an email.
“We believe it’s the lowest price we could have found,” she said. “The bid process makes it clear what the price will be.”
The city’s contract also includes the Board of Education for the first time.
“It’s unique in being able to bring in (the school district),” Carbone said.
The agreement offers a percentage of the purchased electricity to be provided by clean energy, Carbone said. Constellation of New Jersey provides the electrical supply for the contract.
Towns seeking the best price when they renegotiate their energy contracts will find a new company is ready to bid on their contract.
Carbone met with an executive from PowerOptions of Massachusetts, who is working to bring the company’s business to Connecticut. She invited company President Derek Howell to a recent Northwest Hills Council of Government meeting, where he shared details of the company’s operations.
Barkhamsted First Selectman Don Stein said his town’s contract expires next year, and asked Howell how the company’s contracts differ from that of the municipalities council.
Stein said the town usually signs an electrical contract for 18 months to two years. He said the shorter contract time allows Barkhamsted to get better rates if they’re not locked in for a longer period.
“It’s too variable. You have to consider world events and the price of oil and gas,” Stein said. When told that Torrington has a seven-cent rate for five years, he said
“That’s phenomenal. If they (Torrington) can get it, and we could get seven cents, I might lock it in for five years.”
Barhamsted pays up to 11 cents per kilowatt hour, Stein noted.
According to Howell, contracts through PowerOptions allow members to choose the length of the contract from five years or less, and to lock in a price, or purchase 25 percent of their energy needs at a time.
Spokesman Liam Sullivan of Power Options said Friday that the nonprofit company is the largest energy consortium in New England, with more than 400 members. Power Options has provided solar energy as an energy option since 2011, he said.
“We have an innovative purchase agreement,” Sullivan said. “One member last year chose to have 100 percent of their electrical supply come from green energy (for Earth Day).”