Carl recently
emailed to inquire about how the City of Elyria is addressing energy
costs. Here is what I explained to him. The
City of Elyria has entered into two cooperative purchasing agreements with
North Shore Energy. The first agreement was entered into in 2012 to
purchase electricity for our larger consumers like wastewater treatment
and the water plant. This agreement saved the City $36,000 in 2012 and is
expected to save the City $903,935 through 2015.
I signed a
second agreement last month with North Shore Energy for cooperative purchasing
of natural gas. The intent of this agreement is to lock in a cost for the
City for three years, as the price of natural gas is expected to rise. Forecasters are expecting natural gas prices
to increase as Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is exported and Compressed Natural
gas (CNG) is used for truck fleets and other purposes. In addition, new electric power plants are
being constructed that run on natural gas.
This will create a huge demand.
By the City fixing the price for an extended period, we can remove the
risk of volatility and allow for better budget planning. While an analysis found that the City is
likely to save $5,650 over the next three years – which is not much, without
price-fixing we could see a much greater risk of escalating costs based on a
historic look back at Natural Gas Commodity bare prices.
More Summer Fun in Downtown Elyria
While the
summer is winding down, the fun in Elyria Square continues in downtown
Elyria. Mark your calendars for the
following upcoming events:
-
August 15: Summer Concert from 11:30am – 1:00pm featuring Rich Gallo
- August 30: An Evening of Bluegrass Music featuring local bands – 5:00pm - dusk
- August 31: Warm-Up Music followed by the Cleveland Pops Orchestra – 5:00pm - dusk
- September 1: St. Andrews Jazz & Blues festival – 1:00 – 7:00pm
- September 20 – 22: Elyria Apple Festival
