MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County commissioners know electric aggregation works because they see the savings.
In 2012, they placed the county’s 32 buildings in an aggregation program through CCAO (County Commissioners Association of Ohio).
The program, administered by Palmer Energy Co., uses the strength of group buying to help counties save money on their electric bills at county-related facilities.
On Tuesday, Bob Snavely of Palmer Energy told the commissioners the estimated savings for October 2012 through September 2021 amount to $240,200. That averages $26,689 a year.
Currently, counties have different suppliers. Snavely and the CCAO are working to get an even better price by bringing all of the counties under one contract.
“This is something that we’ve talked about for a long time,” he told the commissioners. “We need to get as many counties on board as possible; it’s important to have a big group.”
The plan is to bring counties on board as their current contracts expire.
“Hopefully, by the end of 2026, all facilities will be on the same contract,” Snavely said. “The onboarding isn’t going to be all at once, but by the end of the 2025, ’26 time frame, we hope they will all be in one.”
CCAO solar
Knox County commissioners have explored the use of solar as a source of electricity for county buildings since 2010.
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In 2020, the county joined a statewide coalition of counties that pledged to buy a percentage of their electricity from a solar project through CCAO. However, that project has languished in the PJM queue for two years.
Looking to reduce costs, the commissioners are now considering installing solar panels at the county’s water treatment plant. The county has land available that cannot be used for other purposes.
“We’ve always thought the jail was the energy hog, but it isn’t,” said County Administrator Jason Booth. “Plus, we’ve done improvements out there, so we’ve taken all that load off [the electric usage].”
With the water treatment plant accounting for about half of the county’s electric use, the commissioners are exploring taking it off the grid.
“That makes sense. It’s one of those things you have to dive in and look at it,” Snavely said.
Ballot initiatives
The commissioners have placed county-wide natural gas and electric aggregation programs on the Nov. 7 ballot. Thirty-six other jurisdictions have done the same.
Under county-wide programs, residents in the unincorporated parts of the county can join together and get a lower rate.
Snavely that if the initiatives pass, it will be spring 2024 before something is in place.
Miscellaneous
The commissioners took the following actions between Aug. 10 and Aug. 24:
•Approved a contractor agreement with Midstate Contractors for the Knox County Courthouse cupola and exterior maintenance project
•Presented a proclamation to Dareth Wilson, children services administrator, and Cyndi Foor, children services supervisor, in honor of Child Support Awareness Month
•Approved a lease agreement with Howard Youth League for Howard Memorial Ball Fields on Pipesville Road
•Acknowledged Sherry Williams as the 2023 Outstanding Senior Citizen of Knox County
