Granville village, township send natural gas aggregation to May ballot
Granville residents will decide this spring whether their community will partake in group purchasing for gas as energy prices continue to climb.
The Village of Granville and Granville Township have each placed gas aggregation on the May 2 primary election ballot. The village council approved the measure at its Jan. 18 meeting, and the township trustee passed it at their Jan. 11 meeting.
Voting in favor of the measure allows the village and township to buy natural gas in bulk and pass the savings to retail consumers on their utility bills.
Granville Village Manager Herb Koehler said the village and township have had electric aggregation since 2013 when it was approved by the voters. Based on the economy and increasing costs, Koehler said officials knew that despite aggregating, electricity costs were going to rise. Starting gas aggregation is one way to offset the costs for residents, he said.
"We believe that there could be as much as 10 to 15% cheaper rates for gas," Koehler said.
Granville Township Trustee Dan VanNess said with the electric aggregation program saving residents' money, he said Granville officials felt they were "leaving money on the table" if they didn't do it for natural gas as well.
Koehler said the village and township will schedule and host joint public hearings regarding aggregation, one before the election and two more after depending on if the issue passes.
The village and township are in the process of renewing an electric aggregation contract with Aspen Energy, which was set to expire May 31. The term of the new agreement would likely be between one to three years, Koehler said. But he added that it would depend on the rates to ensure residents get the best value.
If voters approve the natural gas program, all eligible residents are automatically enrolled, but those who do not want to participate can opt out at any time. The same is also the case for the electric program as well, Koehler said.
"If a resident believes they can get better rates on the open market with another company, they're welcome to do that," he said. "And they can always opt back in if they're not seeing the rates they would like to see. There's a lot of freedom in that."
But Koehler added that currently if residents opted out of Granville's electric aggregation program, their rates would almost double.
Although Heath, Johnstown, Hanover, Alexandria, Saint Louisville and Newark voters approved gas and electric aggregation programs last spring, the Granville village and township will not join their aggregation program being facilitated by the Licking County Commissioners, Koehler said.
Granville and county officials discussed Granville joining the larger program, but Koehler said there was not a appreciable difference in the rates.
"There really wasn't a tangible financial benefit that we could hang our hat on, and because it was such a larger collective, our voice in the Granville community was potentially diminished when it comes to administering the program," he said. "It has worked with for us for now going on 10 years and we want to continue on kind of as a smaller collective to ensure that we can be more nimble to the needs of our residents."
mdevito@gannett.com
740-607-2175
Twitter: @MariaDeVito13
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville village, township send natural gas aggregation to May ballot
