Glen Rock Energy Aggregation

The Borough of Glen Rock is a member of the Sustainable Essex Alliance Energy Procurement Cooperative (“SEAEPC or SEA”) in which the following seven member municipalities collectively procure energy on behalf of their residents:  Maplewood, Glen Ridge, Montclair, Verona, Livingston, South Orange and Glen Rock.  The SEA launched its second-round program in 2020, under which it signed a contract with Energy Harbor, LLC.  This 17-month contract, from April 2021 through September 2022, provided participating residents with power supply that contained enhanced renewable energy content, while also providing some savings on monthly electric bills.
The SEA sought bids in Spring 2022 to procure an additional contract for a Round III program.  Unfortunately, due to skyrocketing energy market prices, we were unable to obtain favorable pricing at that time to procure a new supply contract.  All SEA participants were returned to PSE&G basic generation service supply, the current lowest cost option, effective September 2022. The SEA and its energy agent, Gabel Associates, Inc., have been closely monitoring the energy market for savings opportunities since last spring.  The SEA will go back out to market as soon conditions warrant and will notify residents if and when a new contract is signed, and the program is again active.  For additional details about the future Round III program can be found here.
Please monitor this website for any future updates.  See below for highlights of the 2021-2022 program.

Glen Rock “SEA” renewable energy program highlights – a win-win for Glen Rock residents!

• The 17-month contract with Energy Harbor successfully concluded in September 2022
• 62% of residents participated as of the program mid-point
• A typical resident saved $30 over the course of the 17-month contract
• 2,768 tons of CO2 emissions were avoided by the town as a result of this program

SEA program inception
In 2019, the Borough of Glen Rock formed the Discounted Energy Aggregation Plan (“DEAL”) with the goal of using bulk purchasing power to procure an electric power supply on behalf of Borough residents with a higher renewable content, and at a lower price than the power supply provided by PSE&G. That contract expired in December 2020.

In 2021, Glen Rock joined with the towns of the Sustainable Essex Alliance (SEA) including Montclair, Maplewood, South Orange, Livingston, Glen Ridge, and Verona, to put our collective purchasing power to work to provide cleaner, greener electricity to our residents at competitive prices. The SEA contract, with Energy Harbor as the supplier, had two options: the default option that everyone automatically received or a 100% renewable energy option that residents needed to choose.

Energy Harbor Default Option

• $.12696/kWh
• 40% renewable energy content (the renewable energy content required of PSE&G is currently only 23.5%)

Energy Harbor 100% Renewable Option

• $.13437/kWh
• Opt-up to a 100% renewable energy product

SEA $avings
At the start of the program, the price of the default option was below the average PSE&G Basic Generation Service tariff price for power supply. While the PSE&G price-to-compare does fluctuate on a monthly basis (as compared to the steady and predictable price for the SEA program contract), the typical resident in Glen Rock saved about $30 over the full contract as compared to the average PSE&G tariff price-to-compare over the same period. This savings is slightly greater than what was predicted at the beginning of the contract.

Those residents who participated in the 100% renewable energy plan paid approximately $80 additional compared to PSE&G basic services for the duration of the contact.

Fossil fuel emissions avoided
I total of 2,768 tons of CO2 emissions were avoided as a result of Glen Rock’s participation in SEA renewable energy program. This represents a 13% reduction in total residential CO2 emissions which are estimated to be 20,827 tons if we did not have the program. Looking at it another way, this is equivalent to removing 546 gas-consuming cars from the streets of Glen Rock.

What’s next?
SEA participants evaluated pricing for a 3^rd contract in June 2022, however, the high volatility of current energy markets did not yield an acceptable bid. An additional round of bidding will occur once our energy consultant believes market conditions are more favorable, but this may not occur until early 2023. 

If you are want more information about the SEA renewable energy program that ran from April 2021 through September 2022, the introductory presentation can be viewed here.