Brick Moving Forward With Energy Aggregation Program

The Brick Township council on Tuesday night voted in favor of soliciting bids for a broker to handle a potential energy aggregation program in Brick.

The broker's services, if a contract is awarded, would not be paid for by township taxpayers.

In Sept. 2012, the township first began exploring the potential of entering into an energy aggregation program. Under such a program, the township would give a company permission to be the energy supplier for all of the township's households. Each electrical customer would still receive a bill from Jersey Central Power and Light, call JCP&L regarding outages or problems and, in most respects, never notice a change. But one line on the monthly bill – the supplier of energy – would change from JCP&L's "Basic Generation Service" to another company.

Residents would have retain the ability to opt out or choose their own energy supplier.

Since the program was first discussed last year, several brokers have approached the township offering their services, said Assistant Business Administrator Juan Bellu.

The brokers shop around for the lowest rates for energy, and are paid a commission by the selected energy supplier. Their services are not funded through taxpayer dollars.

"The consultant ends up being compensated by the successful aggregating company," said Jean Cipriani, the township attorney. "It's not anticipated to be a cost directly to the municipality."

Choosing an energy supplier other than JCP&L could save residents as much as 10 to 20 percent on their energy bills, said Bellu.