With approximately 15 to 30 people turning out for the special borough commissioner’s meeting on Nov. 14, commissioner of public works John Moscatelli and Mayor Jeff Kasko introduced the audience to Commercial Utility Consultants, a company that could possibly help lower residents’ electric bills by way of municipal energy aggregation.
Moscatelli said Commercial Utility Consultants provided an in-depth explanation of how energy aggregation would work if brought to Haddonfield.
If the borough passed a resolution to allow it, Commercial Utility Consultants would utilize an online bidding platform, which would allow for electricity suppliers throughout the state to bid for a contract outlining a specific amount of energy for the borough for a specific amount of time, which can range from a 12-month to 24-month contract.
After all of the bids are submitted, Commercial Utility Consultants would then provide a report of the bids, which would then be submitted to the commissioners for a decision. Moscatelli said that, from there, commissioners would decide which energy provider they would contract. That typically would be the lowest bidder unless there was a reason the commissioners would not feel comfortable contracting with a particular provider.
Moscatelli explained if all the residents in the borough went with one electricity supplier, it could potentially provide a lower energy bill for each household, since a larger buying block would generate lower bids from energy suppliers.
“In theory, the more people you get, the lower rate you get,” Moscatelli said.
He explained that with other cases of municipal electricity aggregation, residents typically saw a reduction of 12 to 17 percent in their energy bills.
Moscatelli added that only the energy supplier would change on the residents’ bills, not the distributer, which he explained was recently decoupled after deregulation laws were passed by the state.
However, Moscatelli said there are two ways to look at municipal energy aggregation. One on hand, it can potentially lower energy bills, but on the other, the initiative gives the municipality the power to choose the energy supplier for the entire borough.
“That’s pretty much the biggest drawback to all of this,” Moscatelli said. “The commissioners would ultimately make the decision of who to go with.”
That same hesitation was also felt by some of the residents in attendance, according to Moscatelli.
“There’s definitely pros and cons to it,” he said.
Moscatelli added that if the resolution were passed, there would be a way for residents to opt-out if they do not want to be included in the program. After the contract is awarded, Commercial Utility Consultants would then conduct a public outreach process in which the firm would have a mechanism to complete the opt-out process.
Furthermore, residents can opt-out or opt-in at any time during the contracted period.
“People can join anytime,” Moscatelli said.
He added that municipal energy aggregation is strictly residential and would not apply to any businesses or municipal buildings located in Haddonfield.
Moving forward with feedback from the special meeting, Moscatelli said the commissioners will discuss the initiative further at the next scheduled work session meeting, before deciding whether to add a resolution to the next commissioners meeting that would allow Commercial Utility Consultants to go out for bid.
In addition to residents’ comments generated during the meeting, Moscatelli said he would like to see additional feedback from those who live within the borough.
“I would be very interested in hearing from residents,” he said.
Those residents who wish to submit their feedback or comments can do so by emailing Moscatelli at jmoscatelli@haddonfield-nj.gov or by emailing any of the commissioners listed on the borough’s website at www.haddonfieldnj.org.
