City of Poughkeepsie N.Y., Selects JouleCommunity as Administrator to Drive Cost-Savings and Local Clean Energy Development on an Historic Scale
BEDFORD HILLS, N.Y., Dec. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday December 3rd, by a 7 to 2 vote, Poughkeepsie City Council authorized JouleCommunity to act as their program administrator for Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), in a precedent-setting Request for Proposal (RFP) review. Of the 70+ New York State municipalities that have passed local laws authorizing them to establish CCA, Poughkeepsie is the first to deploy a competitive, two-round process including a cross-departmental review, to select its CCA administrator. The RFP was issued in May.
As a result of this ground-breaking RFP, municipalities that want to proceed quickly but also value the prudence of a rigorous RFP approach, can now expedite CCA deployment by "piggybacking" on Poughkeepsie's process for selecting an administrator.
CCA is a program that empowers local municipalities, rather than the state, to select the default energy supply for residents and small businesses. Through CCA, municipalities can leverage aggregated purchasing power to secure less expensive energy, gain price stability, and source clean energy. The program is most commonly implemented by a third-party administrator designated by the local authority.
CCA was codified by regulation issued by the New York State Public Service Commission and was piloted by twenty communities in Westchester County in 2016. The Westchester pilot has since grown to twenty-five participating municipalities, and Westchester residents have saved more than $15 million on their energy bills to date.
City Administrator, Marc Nelson, said, "Joule was the successful respondent to a very well-crafted Request for Proposal which the City released earlier this year, and has won the right to take the next important step in this process, which is public outreach and education, and rate negotiations with suppliers. The Common Council's action assures that residents and stakeholders will be integral to the decision-making process, and the competitive request for proposal which we designed will no doubt become the gold standard for the selection of CCA Administrators around the country."
Sarah Salem, the Common Council member who introduced the initial enabling legislation and facilitated the process within the Selection Committee, noted, "Residents of Poughkeepsie could soon be able to benefit from fixed energy prices in the short term and deep savings over a long period of time. We're intending to build a clean energy future from local renewable sources that help to drive our economy."
Authorizing Joule means that the firm initiates a robust local outreach process that aims to orient and listen to residents' concerns and ideas. Joule builds on a foundation of strong local leadership. This outreach is led by Hudson Valley Energy, whose Program Director Jeff Domanski continues to present at events in Poughkeepsie and throughout the Hudson Valley.
Mike Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of Joule Assets, stated, "Thanks to the Council's decision, local leaders may soon find themselves in a position to deliver not just near-term savings, but they could be distributing significant economic development dollars to constituencies deeply committed to vibrant sustainability infrastructure upgrades."
About JouleCommunity Power
JouleCommunity Power (JouleCommunity) works with municipalities and local partners to reduce or cap residential energy costs while advancing energy reduction, energy management, and clean energy goals amidst an evolving regulatory environment. With no upfront cost to a municipality or its residents, JouleCommunity helps consumers save money and energy by pooling local demand to broker less expensive energy supply contracts for residents and small businesses while creating new revenue opportunities enabled by participation in energy markets. JouleCommunity's distinctive expertise in designing and implementing new consumer-protective energy supply contracts was instrumental in the creation of New York State's first (and to-date only) CCA program. Having created the blueprint to guide communities through a smooth and empowering decision process, JouleCommunity aims to scale its successful CCA model across NY State and beyond. JouleCommunity Power is a division of Joule Assets. Learn more about Joule Community at: www.joulecommunity.com.
Contact
Glenn Weinberg
Vice President
[email protected]
SOURCE JouleCommunity Power
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