MANCHESTER – Property owners will be going back to Jersey Central Power and Light while the energy aggregation program is rebid, officials said.
There was a special meeting held that focused on this program. At a Township Council meeting after it, Councilman James Vaccaro reported that “no contract was awarded. The bidding process will be kept open for 90 days.”
“Everyone who was under the old energy aggregation program will be going back to JCP&L who has the lower cost per kilowatt hour, a little over 10 cents per kilowatt hour versus the bidder’s rate of 11.59 cents per kilowatt hour,” he added.
Vaccaro said, “we anticipate going back into the market place to solicit bids for energy aggregation sometime in March of 2024.”
Council President Roxie Conniff said “residents don’t have to do anything; it will automatically happen. We will probably go back out to bid in the spring just to make sure we are getting the lowest rates possible.”
Residents had other concerns about utilities, such as high water bills. “There are some things that have affected many villages (within the township). It has to do with the water company and the bills,” said resident Donna McGlashan.
“When my friend got a notice this week in a tiny little green piece of paper about the size of an envelope – it said they were going to put his house on the market if he didn’t bring in a certified check, which he did, and then they asked for an addition of $200 and something dollars,” McGlashan added.
McGlashan also noted the advertisements that residents receive concerning insuring their pipes. “We need help. If you live in a house and you are only one or two people, you can only use so many gallons of water. Anything above that is astronomical and wrong and yet the problem just continues.”
The Council also passed a resolution that opposed recent actions taken by the New Jersey Bureau of Public Utilities (BPU) and Senate Bill 3672/Assembly Bill 5591 that requires the BPU to establish beneficial building electrification “of appliances including stoves, furnaces, hot water heaters, heating systems etc.,” Vaccaro said.
The legislation mandates the establishment of a program that requires electric public utilities to prepare and implement beneficial building electrification plans.
In other news, Mayor Robert Arace presented a proclamation for National POW-MIA Recognition Day to resident Robert Grenier who was joined by two fellow veterans from Manchester.
The day honoring prisoners of war and those missing in action is observed on the third Friday of September across the nation. It notes the sacrifices made by those in service during times of war and noted those whose treatment violated standards of morality and international codes of conduct.
“We honor those prisoners of war and those missing in action and we should not forget the pain and suffering of war. We demonstrate our deep gratitude and admiration in our actions to bring them home,” the resolution stated.
