Electric aggregation efforts in Athens County will soon begin to move forward as the Athens County Commissioners hired a consulting firm at a meeting Tuesday.
The commissioners voted 2-1 to hire Athens-based Energy Planning Associates to act as the county’s consultant during the aggregation process.
Commissioner Lenny Eliason said he voted against hiring the firm because he wasn’t in favor of hiring an inexperienced company.
“I don’t think we should go with a new start-up firm. It’s an extremely small company with a one-person shop,” Eliason said.
The commissioners had been considering Energy Planning Associates and Palmer Energy, which partners with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. Eliason said he would rather work with Palmer Energy because it is established
“I think Palmer Energy would be better. They have experience working with counties and aggregation,” he said, adding that Athens County already uses a gas aggregation program through Palmer Energy for county buildings.
But Commissioner Chris Chmiel, who voted in favor of hiring Energy Planning Associates, said he thinks the firm will benefit the county more than a larger company could.
“I think we’ll be able to come up with the best deal for our county,” Chmiel said. “We’re going to be able to do it better.”
The consulting firm will help the county find interested electric providers and decide the best program for the county depending on price, among other aspects.
Eliason said one of his main concerns was that the county could get a better deal on electric if it partnered with Palmer Energy because it would be entered into a large pool with other counties and municipalities.
But since the commissioners hired Energy Planning Associates, the pool will be smaller and comprise Athens residents and other participating county residents.
Both Eliason and Chmiel said they weren’t sure whether the price of aggregation would be less or more when working with Energy Planning Associates versus Palmer Energy.
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