Caroline Fassett reports for NJ.com
Beginning Oct. 1, an electric service contract will require up to 48% of electric power used by Hunterdon County government to come from renewable energy sources.
In place of the current state standard JCP&L rate of 8.929 cents per kilowatt-hour, through the contract, the county will pay an electric service enhanced renewable rate of 8.103 cents per kilowatt-hour.
This could bring nearly $123,000 in electric cost savings for the county over the next two years, or between 9% and 10% of what the county spent on electricity in 2018.
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According to County Administrator Kevin P. Davis, in October, up to 43% of the electricity used by the county will be drawn from renewable sources — 23% higher than the state standard requirement.
Next year, when the state standard requirement increases from 20% to 28%, the county will receive up to 48% of its electricity from renewable sources in alignment with the electric service contract.
The contract, approved by Hunterdon County Freeholders on Aug. 20, continues to Sept. 30, 2021.
Of the 26 municipalities in Hunterdon County, nine agreed to also participate in the contract: Alexandria, Bloomsbury, Califon, Delaware, East Amwell, Flemington, Frenchtown, Kingwood and Raritan.
These municipalities will elect to either imitate the county and seek to have up to 48% of its electricity drawn from renewable sources, or purchase electricity through a provider that adheres to state renewable energy requirements.
Davis said if any of the municipalities fail to elect an option by Sept. 12, that municipality will automatically receive electricity that aligns with state renewable energy standards.
If all nine municipalities elect the “green” option, they will cumulatively save approximately $30,000 in electric costs over the course of two years, Davis said.
“The whole reason behind doing everything that we did was in an attempt to save money for the county and for the municipalities as well,” Lanza said. “If this reverse auction did not yield a satisfactory result, we were free to reject the bid. Since it worked for us and for everybody else, we accepted the bid.”
Concord Energy Services, along with the county’s Purchasing Division, organized the online reverse auction bidding process and coordinated the participation of the Hunterdon municipal governments in the shared service program at no direct cost to the county.
Davis said that he hopes more municipalities in the county will participate in the contract in 2021.
“We anticipate, in two years – if we do this again, which I think we would because shared services is a big deal in Hunterdon County – more towns will join in,” Davis said.
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