By Andrea Cordle
Grove City Editor
The city of Grove City will now move forward with its electric aggregation program.
This program was approved by voters in November of 2020 but at that time, according to City Administrator Chuck Boso, the rates were too high and there was no advantage for residents.
Now, city residents and small business owners will receive clean-energy electric beginning July 1.
The ballot issue in 2020 allowed the city to request quotes for competitive pricing from electric energy providers. According to Boso, three companies submitted bids. City leaders decided to award the contract to AEP Energy to provide program participants with an estimated 35 percent decrease in the expected July cost of the non-renewable electric generation rate.
A community aggregation allows local governments to use its buying power on behalf of the residents and small businesses to purchase energy with the goal of obtaining better rates, more unique products (local wind and solar power), and favorable contract terms.
This is an opt-out aggregation program, meaning that qualifying residents and small businesses will automatically be enrolled unless they opt-out of the program.
According to Boso, residents and small businesses that use less than 700,000 kilowatts an hour annually are eligible for the program.
This program was supported by the Grove City Sustainability Committee for using renewable energy.
“As a gold certified Sustainable2050 community, we are so pleased our residents and businesses will be provided with eco-friendly electric and realize reduced monthly electric generation charges,” said Grove City Mayor Richard “Ike” Stage.
The city’s aggregation rate is 7.021 cents per kilowatt hour, fixed for two years. A participating resident, using the average amount of 800 kilowatts, would see an estimated monthly savings of $31 compared to AEP’s non-aggregation rate of 10.95 cents per kilowatt hour, which is expected this summer if the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approves the AEP rate increase.
“This important achievement of providing our community with sustainably sourced electricity was precisely our goal,” Grove City council president Ted Berry wrote in a press release. “The projected monthly generation cost savings provides multiple wins for our community.”
Residents will receive an official notice in June about the program details. This notification will include opt-out information.
