HILLSBOROUGH: Democrats talk about energy cost savings

Democrats running for Township Committee say the township should investigate a money-saving mass purchase of electricity for all households.
Thuy Anh Le, who is running with John Beggiato for two seats on the governing body, point to other municipalities that have initiated an "energy aggregation" to the benefit of all their residents.
In such a deal, the township would negotiate directly, using mass purchasing power, to arrange for everyone to receive power from the same company. In return, the provider would give a lower rate. The program would be "opt out," meaning everyone would automatically be included unless they specifically choose not to participate.
"It’s important to get the best deal on energy costs," said Ms. Le. "To do that, we need purchasing power."
Residents already get phone calls and mailings from different energy providers trying to entice them to do the same thing individually, she said.
The Democrats said they have years of focused interest on how to reduce energy costs for the school district and individual homes.
As a Hillsborough Board of Education member, Ms. Le said she worked with her fellow members and the superintendent to provide a vision for the district. As the chair of the Facilities Committee, she said she attended a workshop on strategies for funding energy-related improvements in 2010.
At school board meetings, she reported that the Facilities Committee was researching eligibility for energy reduction grants. Pursuing the grant met a district goal to explore alternative funding opportunities to reduce the school tax levy.
Over several months in 2011, the committee reviewed the Energy for America program, invited Siemens Inc. to explain power-purchasing agreements, and suggested that the district set a goal of a 10 percent reduction in energy costs.
She said this was the "the level of persistence" that she would bring to the Township Committee.
As a member of Sustainable Hillsborough, Ms. Le said three workshops were conducted at Hillsborough Public Library on how to reduce energy bills for homeowners. Different vendors presented information to help residents learn about saving money through home weatherization and using renewable energy.
The Democrats say they were key planners for a Central Jersey Green Teams Best Practices conference at Duke Farms in November 2011. Energy was one of three main themes of the conference and a representative of the Board of Public Utilities talked about rebates and incentives.
Not only could Hillsborough pass energy aggregation in the township, it could explore expanding this concept with other towns to make the bulk purchase even larger, Ms. Le said.
Ms. Le said $16,500 was awarded in October 2013 to Hillsborough Township to be administered by the Somerset County Energy Council to establish a Somerset County-wide Energy Savings Incentive Program (ESIP). She said this could be an initiative under that program.
"The role of government is to provide for the common good," said Mr. Beggiato. "Energy aggregation partnerships with neighboring communities can benefit our town.