Moorestown residents could see a change in energy costs in the near future.
Moorestown Township Council unanimously approved an ordinance on first reading at the Monday, Feb. 23 meeting authorizing Moorestown to join the Burlington County Energy Aggregation Program.
At the Feb. 9 town council meeting, representatives from Commercial Utility Consultants came before council to present an energy aggregation proposal. Having been to other townships throughout Burlington County, they talked about the advantages of a bigger group buy-in that would benefit the county as a whole.
According to the CUC representatives, residents should see a minimum of a 5 percent savings. Other counties have seen savings from 5 percent to 13 percent.
PSE&G provides Moorestown residents with power as supplier and delivery agent. Under the proposal, a third party supplier would provide the energy to commercial, business and residential buyers, and PSE&G would still act as the supplier.
Residents who are with PSE&G would automatically be enrolled in the program. They have 30 days to opt out of the plan, but residents can opt in or opt out at no charge at any time, depending on their meter reading cycle, according to the CUC representatives.
Residents who currently have a third-party supplier would not be considered as part of the program, but they can opt-in at any point once their current contract expires.
The second reading and public hearing is scheduled for the next town council meeting on March 9.
Information sessions will be planned to explain more to residents if the ordinance is passed.
In other news:
• There was discussion of Moorestown acquiring a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle for the police department. The military is essentially giving them away, and Moorestown has the potential to get one for little to no cost, according to Township Manager D. Scott Carew. It is used primarily as a recovery vehicle in the event of an active shooter and weather-related rescue and emergency situations.
Some concerns are long-term maintenance, which is currently not known, and that there might be negative publicity with the vehicle, as it is quite intimidating. However, Carew said it is something that would only be used in emergency situations.
Council seemed to be in favor of getting one, though some residents did express concerns with the long-term costs.
• According to Carew, there has been a problem with open space encroachment in some parts of Moorestown, specifically those near Swedes Run. Something as minor as mowing the open space’s grass could be considered encroachment. A potential solution to the problem could be to put up a chain-link fence along the property line, but council wouldn’t like to go that far as of now.
Council is considering writing an ordinance to enforce the encroachment beyond the state regulations. It is looking for an ordinance that would recoup damage that the encroacher(s) has done. Currently, Moorestown is responsible for the costs and could lose state money if it is found to be in violation of the open space policies. If an ordinance were passed, residents who would be affected would receive letters about the encroachments and ordinance.
• The next Township Council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9 at Town Hall, with a workshop starting at 7 p.m.
