MOUNT VERNON – Beginning July 2021, electric rates for the city of Mount Vernon will be locked in at 4.69 cents per kilowatt-hour through December 2025, thanks to a new agreement between the City and Energy Harbor.
This deal replaces the current contract with AEP Energy, which was priced at 4.598 cents/kWh; Tanya Newell, administrative assistant to Mayor Matt Starr, told the Mount Vernon News.
An independent consultant, Buckeye Energy Brokers, oversaw a competitive bid process the City undertakes every three to four years, a press release from Starr’s office said.
Star told the Mount Vernon News that AEP Energy, the previous provider, could only guarantee a 36-month rate of 5.043 cents/kWh. Thus, Buckeye Energy Brokers recommended the Energy Harbor contract of 4.69 cents/kWh, guaranteed for 48 months. The City signed the agreement with Energy Harbor, effective in July 2021, last October.
"We felt that as the economy improved following the eventual end of the pandemic, energy costs, too, could rise rather than fall over the four-year period of time," Starr said. "Examining historical data, the Energy Harbor contract seemed to us to be prudent to avoid the fluctuation in market pricing and allow residents to better manage expectations while expecting that this rate would prove to be the best choice for the entire contract period."
The bid process, in place since a 2011 community vote to implement government aggregation, guided the City’s selection of the new energy provider. The press release explained government aggregation works when a municipality leverages the combined buying capacity of the entire community to buy power from a retail electric generation supplier certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).
Newell noted that customers can opt out of the City’s new deal with AEP Energy if they wish to retain the current provider, AEP Ohio.
“The rate that customers will pay if they choose not to participate in the aggregation program will depend on the current rate offered by AEP Ohio,” she said.
The City and Energy Harbor will send a letter approximately May 19 informing Mount Vernon residents and small businesses of the terms and conditions of the new aggregation contract, the press release said. Customers can leave the program at any time without penalty.
Akron-based Energy Harbor serves nearly 1 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois and Michigan through 200 aggregation agreements.
To join or remain in the aggregation program, no action is required. If you do not wish to participate, the Energy Harbor letter provides three easy ways to opt out: by phone, mail or web. To learn more, call Energy Harbor at 866-636-3749, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
