Town saves on electric rates

Both The Day (by Ted Mann) and The Courant (by Mark Peters) are reporting that AG Blumenthal is investigating unfulfilled promises to towns & schools of electric rates lower than that of the standard service providers.

Supporters of increasing government regulation of Connecticut's electric market say Wethersfield, Cheshire, Farmington and other towns are getting a bad deal when they buy electricity. Consumer advocates and legislators who are trying to reignite interest in energy reform bills before the General Assembly on Tuesday accused power supplier Constellation NewEnergy of wooing town governments and school systems with promises of lower prices that didn't materialize....

But Baltimore-based Constellation rejected the allegations by Swan and others, which were based on an analysis done by state Rep. Vickie Nardello, D-Prospect, of select monthly electric bills for 12 towns or school systems. Constellation said it is providing savings, and more important, a stable price to towns, cities and school systems across the state. (Courant)

Reading that Cheshire was involved, I immediately considered the accuracy of this article and the related analysis. And while I recalled the town had recently inked an agreement with TransCanada, I was uncertain if that agreement covered all of the town. As well, I wasn't certain of the schools' electric supplier. And wanting to know if we were achieving the desired savings, I asked questions.

As it turns out, the schools are currently in a three year contract with Constellation, but the town buys its electricity from TransCanada. So from a town perspective, I'm confident that we are achieving the desired savings.

However, from a school perspective, I was still wondering if we were achieving savings or if we were paying more than necessary. I haven't yet been able to ascertain the accuracy of the analysis, but have been forwarded an email from the schools' energy purchasing consortium. The consortium notes that Rep. Nardello's study was "flawed" for several reasons, including:

The rates used by Vice Chairman Nardello are the rates that were in effect in January of 2006, not January of 2007. The January 2006 rates used are more than 2 cents/kw lower than the CL&P standard rates currently in effect, further skewing the analysis.

Is that true? I'm really not sure. I trust that this issue will receive a proper vetting in the public forum. In the meantime, I was just wondering if our recent town-side electric contract was saving us tax dollars. And it appears it is.

Tim White
Town Council, Energy Commission liaison