RETAIL ELECTRIC COMPANIES COMPETE FOR COUNTY BUSINESS
For Immediate Release: February 11, 2009
Contacts: KEN SHUTTLEWORTH (609) 472-8837

Camden County has scheduled another round of competitive bidding on Feb. 19 to get the best fixed rate for electric service through a “reverse auction” in which proposals will be submitted via the Internet and in real time.

“Each bidder will be able to view the current lowest rate and decide on the spot whether to submit a lower number,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Edward T. McDonnell. In working with Dome-Tech, the County’s energy consulting firm, he said this is one of many strategies the freeholders have adopted in recent years to control costs and avoid an increase in property taxes.

Camden County is the lead agency of the South Jersey Power Cooperative (SJPC) that includes numerous local government entities in the counties of Camden, Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem, Atlantic and Cape May Counties. The last round of e-bidding took place in April of 2007 and resulted in savings of approximately $800,000 over the two year contract term, McDonnell said. Further, the County was able to secure a contract in which 5% of the energy was generated from renewable sources.

“We are on track to hold the line on property taxes for the third consecutive year and the savings from the ‘reverse auction’ is one of the many strategies in play that allowed us to achieve this goal,” McDonnell added. “It’s one of our most creative initiatives.”

In New Jersey, only the largest energy-consuming electric accounts are charged a penalty for not shopping for retail electricity. The entities within the SJPC that have accounts that fall into this category include Camden County (3 accounts), CCMUA (5 accounts), Gloucester County (1 account), GCUA (1 account), Camden County College (2 accounts), Gloucester County College (1 account), Gloucester County Vo-Tech School (1 account), and the Borough of Collingswood (1 account). Each entity that locks into a rate as a result of this process is responsible for its own bill.

The SJPC was established in 1999 as a legally registered New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing System. Since its inception, the SJPC has purchased both electric and natural gas on an aggregated basis for its participating members. Camden County first bid for retail electric power in 2000.

Camden County is also planning to participate this year in the State of New Jersey’s Local Government Energy Audit program, in which the County will be reimbursed for at least 75% of the cost of the study. The study will identify ways for the County to reduce its energy consumption and costs, improve infrastructure, and evaluate the feasibility of implementing renewable energy technologies in various County facilities.

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