Electric bill savings might be on the way for Plainsboro residents.
The township committee initiated a community aggregation program this past year and the projected electric supply savings for Plainsboro residents is 18.4 percent.
Under the program, the town sought bids and awarded a contract to Texas-based TriEagle Energy. The company will supply electricity to residents at a fixed rate of 10.413 cents per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, the weighted average rate from PSE&G is 12.76 cents.
According to an environmental disclosure on TriEagle’s website, 41 percent of the electricity supplied to New Jersey in 2014 to 2015 was from coal, 35 percent from nuclear, 20 percent from gas, and 3.13 percent from renewable sources.
The intent of the community aggregation program is to provide cost savings to township residents, and approximately 9,200 households in Plainsboro will automatically be switched to the cheaper third-party supplier. The switch to TriEagle Energy only applies to the supply portion of a resident’s electric bill. PSE&G will continue to charge for delivery. During outages, residents should still contact the utility.
The switch requires approval by the state Board of Public Utilities, and the third-party supply is expected to go online next March. The duration of the third-party supply contract is 21 months.
A notice to all eligible residents will be mailed out at the beginning of 2017. Households already purchasing electricity from third-party suppliers are not included, though they may opt in, and homeowners with solar systems are also excluded.
The aggregation program does not apply to commercial and industrial facilities.
Township Administrator Anthony Cancro said the town will hold a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6:15 p.m. to answer questions from the community.
Residents may opt out of the aggregation program penalty free, and energy consultant Gabel Associates will serve as the customer service representative.
No township money will go to Gabel, who is paid by TriEagle. Cancro said he did not know the fee collected by Gabel.
There was a bid providing an additional 1.3 percent in savings, but the committee decided on a slightly higher rate that provides certain protections. In the event of certain rate increases by PSE&G, the third-party supplier will bear the costs.
“If the law changes and PSE&G wants to pass on costs or if there’s a change in transmission, it cannot be passed on to the township,” Cancro said.
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