Greenfield to vote on electric and natural gas aggregation
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The City of Greenfield has placed questions about electric and natural gas aggregation on the Nov. 8, 2011 ballot. The questions will ask residents to authorize city council to begin the energy programs. The programs are expected to start in early 2012. Opt-out aggregation is a program that automatically enrolls all local residents, unless they individually opt-out of the program (choose not to be included). If a community chooses this form of aggregation, a number of steps are required:
• A majority of voters must authorize the aggregations in the November
8th election.
• If authorized by a majority of the voters, a plan of operation and management will be written and submitted to the Public Utilities Commission for certification. Two public hearings will be held on Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to allow residents to voice any concerns over the proposed plans.
• Once the council has adopted the plans, each customer to be aggregated must be notified that they will be automatically enrolled in the program unless they specifically elect not to participate. This notification must also state the rates, charges, and other terms and conditions of enrollment in the program. The opt-out notice is usually a letter accompanied by a post card to be mailed back if you do not want to participate or sometimes, a phone number to call or web site to visit to opt-out.
• The program must allow anyone enrolled in the program an opportunity to opt-out every three years without paying a switching fee.
• If approved, savings will be announced in the letter sent to every eligible resident, but is expected to be up to 31% off the Dayton Power and Light price to compare for residents. Small commercial customers will receive significant savings. Savings for natural gas is yet to be determined.
Residents may opt-out of the aggregation programs if they don’t want to
participate, but an affirmative vote on November 8th is needed for residents to realize a savings. Aggregation allows consumers to combine their electric usage and form buying groups. Group purchasing, or aggregation, may allow consumers to secure greater buying power in a competitive market. The program leverages the combined buying power of homeowners to deliver lower cost electricity.
Greenfield has placed questions about electric and natural gas aggregation on the Nov. 8, 2011 ballot. The questions will ask residents to authorize city council to begin the energy programs. The programs are expected to start in early 2012. Opt-out aggregation is a program that automatically enrolls all local residents, unless they individually opt-out of the program (choose not to be included). If a community chooses this form of aggregation, a number of steps are required:
• A majority of voters must authorize the aggregations in the November
8th election.
• If authorized by a majority of the voters, a plan of operation and management will be written and submitted to the Public Utilities Commission for certification. Two public hearings will be held on Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to allow residents to voice any concerns over the proposed plans.
• Once the council has adopted the plans, each customer to be aggregated must be notified that they will be automatically enrolled in the program unless they specifically elect not to participate. This notification must also state the rates, charges, and other terms and conditions of enrollment in the program. The opt-out notice is usually a letter accompanied by a post card to be mailed back if you do not want to participate or sometimes, a phone number to call or web site to visit to opt-out.
• The program must allow anyone enrolled in the program an opportunity to opt-out every three years without paying a switching fee.
• If approved, savings will be announced in the letter sent to every eligible resident, but is expected to be up to 31 percent off the Dayton Power and Light price to compare for residents. Small commercial customers will receive significant savings. Savings for natural gas is yet to be determined.
Residents may opt-out of the aggregation programs if they don’t want to participate, but an affirmative vote on November 8th is needed for residents to realize a savings. Aggregation allows consumers to combine their electric usage and form buying groups. Group purchasing, or aggregation, may allow consumers to secure greater buying power in a competitive market. The program leverages the combined buying power of homeowners to deliver lower cost electricity.
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