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LISBON -- With costs for Ohio Edison customers rising, village council is looking again at the idea of an electric aggregation plan.
No action was taken, but Larry Taylor of Trebel Aggregation spoke to council members about the company's program, noting that Trebel represents some of the townships in the southern part of the county, along with Carrollton Village and well over 100 different programs in the state of Ohio.
With an opt-out aggregation program, the village would select a company to make a deal on behalf of village residents for one fixed rate for a set number of years, usually 24 months at this point.
"Ultimately, our goal is to help you guys help the residents," Taylor said.
Mayor Peter Wilson asked what the best rate would be that Trebel could offer. Taylor said he couldn't do that at this time since the rates are constantly changing, but said the current going rate was .065 per kilowatt hour, which is cheaper than Ohio Edison which just increased to .1239 per kilowatt hour.
He explained the process for notifying potential customers, noting that only residents who haven't already chosen a supplier would get a letter telling them about becoming part of the program. Any resident who would receive a letter would be enrolled in the aggregation program unless they decide to opt out, which would be their option.
The village previously had an aggregation program, but Fiscal Officer Tracey Wonner said residents were getting better prices elsewhere so the program was stopped. Since this would be an opt out program, it would not have to be placed on the ballot.
In another electric bill matter, Councilwoman Dawn Thomas asked if council members wanted to move forward on the Scout Solar proposal for the village. Scout Solar gave a recent presentation about a potential electric bill savings from solar shade structures built over village parking lots.
Matt Brophey of Scout Solar estimated the potential savings at $157,711 over the life of the 25-year contract, with the savings per year estimated at $6,308.
Besides generating electricity for the village government, the structures would also double as shelter for village vehicles, such as police cruisers at village hall, and utility department vehicles at the water plant on state Route 154 and the Miller Road well field site.
The consensus from council members was to have Brophey meet with them again.