WEST WINDSOR: Township hires energy agent

By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — The township has hired an energy agent in an attempt to save money on electricity.
Gabel Associates Inc., an energy, environmental and public utility consulting firm based in Highland Park, has been charged with collecting and analyzing data, contacting licensed electric power suppliers, developing bid specifications and contracts, administering a bid for electric power supply, implementing a contract to purchase electric power, and providing energy advisory services for the municipal government electric supply service.
The company will receive an energy agent fee of .0015 cents per kilowatt hour, which will be included in the rate bid by the electric energy supplier and will not be paid by the township.
Gabel Associates will help the township procure electricity for its municipal buildings from a third-party supplier in hopes of getting it at a price lower than the average utility price with the possibility of added benefits such as higher renewable energy content.
"If we don’t accept the bid, we just walk away," Council President Bryan Maher said.
"This is only for electricity and only for municipal buildings," Council Vice President Linda Geevers said.
The township has been considering entering into an energy aggregation program for its residents and businesses but wants to try it at the municipal level first.
The township wants to put two bid packages out, the first a bid for standard electricity and the second with a renewable energy component, to see the price difference.
The council also wants Gabel Associates to provide it with several columns of information monthly if it does accept one of the bids to measure how much the township is saving.