Issue 39

Issue 39 Electric Aggregation for Worthington will be on our November 6 ballot

What you need to know:

The Goal To use community buying power to:

1) save households money on their electric bills, and

2) purchase renewable energy.

o If Issue 39 passes, Council will be able to solicit and review actual competitive bids. According to the consultant selected by City Council to guide the City through the process, the average savings will have the possibility to be approximately 6-8% of the customer’s electric bill. This is based on figures from electric suppliers who currently have aggregations in AEP.

o Sourcing renewable energy is the second component of the electric aggregation contract. Electricity from all sources goes into the grid, so the electricity received in Worthington will not come directly from renewables. However, Worthington’s supplier would have to certify that there is supply to meet our usage, so we would be contributing to the demand for renewables.

o Electric Aggregation in Worthington will be an Opt-Out program. Any resident or small business can leave or join the program at any time with no cost or penalty.

o If Issue 39 passes, the City of Worthington will be eligible to be certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to aggregate. PUCO has strict requirements which Worthington must follow. https://www.puco.ohio.gov/be-informed/consumer-topics/governmental-energy-aggregation-local-community-buying-power/

o Electric Aggregation has been available in Ohio since 2000 and nearly one-third of Ohio residents are in an aggregation program. https://www.puco.ohio.gov/emplibrary/files/Util/GIS/Electric_Maps/Electric_Govt_Aggregators_ANSI_A.pdf

o ThisWeek article on Issue 39 http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20181009/power-play-issue-39-would-let-worthington-buy-electricity-in-bulk

o This is the language you will see on the ballot:

“Shall the City of Worthington, County of Franklin, Ohio have the authority to aggregate the retail electric loads located in the City and enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electric, such aggregation to occur automatically except where any person elects to opt-out?”

o City of Worthington FAQs https://www.worthington.org/DocumentCenter/View/5039/ElecAggFlyer-FAQ-for-web?bidId=