Renew Delaware: Renewable Community Electric Aggregation on Ballot

Renewable Community Electric Aggregation

What is the ‘Renew Delaware’ ballot issue?

Sustainable Delaware Ohio (SDO) is advocating for the placement of a renewable electricity aggregation issue on the fall 2021 ballot. This ballot would give the City the power to negotiate a bulk price for purchasing electricity on behalf of you, its residents, and small businesses. The goal of the ballot is to lower household electric bills and increase the use of renewable (green) energy.

This is NOT A LEVY, meaning there will be no taxes on any resident, business, or other entity within the city limits.

We propose an Opt-Out solution, which automatically enrolls all local residents, unless they individually opt-out of the program and choose not to be included.

What needs to happen?

SDO urges the City of Delaware to make RENEWABLE a part of the proposed community electricity aggregation by seeking the maximum “green” content in proposals from suppliers.

The Delaware City Council needs to be informed on what OPTIONS are available for electricity regarding opt-in/opt-out, net-metering, duration of the program, green energy, and compensation of energy consultants.
Council requests proposals from a half-dozen energy consultants and selects one that meets the criteria.
November Ballot: The Council will vote to put this issue on the ballot and submit it to the Delaware County Board of Elections prior to August 4 (at 4 p.m.).
Informing all Delaware residents: by providing clear and transparent information. SDO offers the City of Delaware its assistance with that, as well as the Ohio Energy Council (OEC) and Councilman David Robinson from Worthington.
Call your Council Member to tell them you support this issue.
YOUR VOTE in November (it matters!)
After this ballot measure gets approved by Delaware residents (November elections), the City can negotiate the most favorable contract for its residents based on cost and amount of green energy.

ReNew Delaware Benefits You

No Change in Service: Under this program, you would experience no change in their electric service. AEP would continue to carry, service, and bill for the electricity service. The only change would be in the source of the electricity which will be identified on the AEP bill.
COST SAVINGS: Worthington implemented a similar program and it saved their residents $46,024.62 in the first five months alone. (see this PDF)
OPT-OUT: SDO advocates for a no-cost opt-out option for residents who do not wish to participate in the program, otherwise you are automatically enrolled.
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Choosing this means you are part of a cleaner energy solution, and you can be proud of that! Renewable energy puts less greenhouse gasses in the air, and reduces our carbon footprint, especially if we use local resources.

Renew Delaware Benefits City and State

Delaware would join a number of other communities in the State of Ohio to choose renewable electricity aggregation. However, not all aggregation is the same. SDO finds the following important:

REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT: (needs estimate)
JOBS CREATED IN OHIO: For example, AEP’s Integrative Renewable Energy program uses OHIO WIND & SOLAR assets which supports job growth in Ohio.
KEEP OUR TAXES IN OHIO: AEP is building renewable energy projects in Ohio, while other programs purchase credits from companies in other States and our taxes leave the state.
NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET: This does not cost the City of Delaware any money.
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT GRANTS: AEP has community investment grants available that can be used toward any project within the city, though we would like them to be sustainable.

How Green Energy Saves

The renewable energy will be purchased by way of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Based on other communities’ experiences, it is expected that bulk pricing will make green energy feasible.

The current market rate in an aggregation program is no more than 4.75 cents/kWh fixed, while the five-year utility average has been roughly 6 Cents/kWh. As the typical household uses 12,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, the projected estimated savings per household would be: .06000-.04750)x12,000 = $150.00

The City of Delaware has approximately 17,000 households. At 70% participation, the estimated annual savings for the community would be: 17,000x.70x$150.00 = $1,785,000

Questions?

For questions about this initiative, you can email us, or you can contact your Council representative for your ward.