Special to 1808Delaware
Voters in the City of Delaware will decide November 8 whether to let city officials negotiate for electricity on their behalf.
City Council on Monday night voted to place the following question before City voters:
Shall the City of Delaware have the authority to aggregate the retail electric loads located in the City of Delaware and, for that purpose, enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electricity, such aggregation to occur automatically except where any person elects to opt out?
If the ballot initiative passes and the City contracts with a provider, residents would receive a letter asking if they want to be included. If they don’t, they can opt out with no penalties or fees.
The state of Ohio, through the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, requires that voters give the city permission to negotiate for energy prices on their behalf through passing a ballot initiative. A “Yes” vote in November would allow the City of Delaware to negotiate with a utility to obtain bulk purchase rates for electricity on behalf of its residents and businesses through a municipal aggregation program.
Ohio law has let local governments muster bulk purchasing power for their residents (referred to as “aggregation”) since 2000. Aggregation is used by about one-third of Ohio residents.
For more information, phone the City Manager’s Office at 740-203-1010 or email cmo@delawareohio.net.
