Recordpub.com - Electricity rates to decrease 20 percent Savings to consumers will begin in August

Electricity consumers served by the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council will see a substantial reduction in their electric rates beginning this summer.

NOPEC — a non-profit governmental utility aggregation — is partnering with its chosen supplier, Gexa Energy Ohio LLC, to bring competitively-priced electric power to Northeastern Ohio. Residents served by NOPEC can expect a reduction in the electric generation part of their bills of 12 percent this year and 8 percent in the first six months of 2010. Small businesses can expect a reduction of 9 percent this year and 5.5 percent in the first six months of 2010.

“These are the most favorable rates we have been able to negotiate in the nine years NOPEC has been in existence,” said Leigh Herington, NOPEC’s executive director. “This rate reduction will mean a total estimated savings of about $28 million for northeast Ohio electric consumers over the next year. To our knowledge, this is the best electricity program being offered now by any governmental aggregation in the state.”

Portage County Commissioner Chuck Keiper, who represents Portage County on NOPEC’s board of directors, said the reduced rates will begin in August.

“These reduced electric rates will put more money in the pockets of NOPEC customers in Portage County at a time when they need it the most,” Keiper said. “During these tough economic times, it’s good to get a dose of good news like this. NOPEC and its directors have worked very, very hard for this agreement.”

Joseph Migliorini, chairman of NOPEC’s governing board, said NOPEC works every day to bring lower-cost energy to northeast Ohio.

“We have worked hard to chip away at non-competitive roadblocks,” Migliorini said. “And we have also negotiated an attractive agreement with Gexa Energy to bring competitively-priced power to our northeast Ohio customers. Importantly, NOPEC also has made it possible for others in northeast Ohio to save money on their electric bills as well. It’s a fact that NOPEC is good for northeast Ohio.“

NOPEC was able to capitalize on depressed electricity prices and achieved further savings by contracting with Gexa Energy, an affiliate of Juno Beach, Florida-based FPL Group Inc. and its NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary, the nation’s leading provider of renewable energy. NOPEC is continuing to negotiate lower electricity prices for the period from July 2010 until June 2011. These prices will be set at a later date but will in no event cause NOPEC’s customers to pay more than their local utilities’ generation charges.

Herington and Migliorini were quick to credit Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio Legislature for supporting governmental aggregation – where non-profit governmental aggregators such as NOPEC aggressively shop for bulk purchases of energy and then pass the resulting savings along – in the “hybrid” electricity bill passed by the Ohio Legislature in 2008. Herington and Migliorini also noted the support NOPEC has received from Janine Migden-Ostrander, Ohio’s Consumers Counsel, who has been a strong supporter of governmental utility aggregations such as NOPEC and the cost savings they bring to the public. NOPEC serves an electric customer base of about 535,000 residents and businesses in its 126 member communities located across 9 northeast Ohio counties. It is the largest public energy aggregator in the nation.