Parsippany's Energy Aggregation Decision Prompts Group's Response

A controversial electricity aggregation proposal was shut down by the Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Council last month after no one on the council would second the motion. Many residents spoke out against the proposal, which would have gotten a third-party supplier to provide power supply to Parsippany residents, but it would not serve residents who already have a third-party supplier and small businesses would have the option to opt into the contract, unlike the residential policy that would require townspeople to opt-out.

Since then, a group called ‘Citizens Against Municipal Aggregation’ has contacted the township. This Ocean Grove-based group, CAMA, seeks to shed light on municipal aggregation, “which is a throwback to the old way of paying too much for our energy,” according to CAMA.

“The governing bodies of municipalities such as (Parsippany) are being approached by so-called energy consulting firms claiming that they can lower the energy rates for your entire town. Their claims are dubious and their results could be detrimental to your constituents and ultimately to you,” said Michael Strugatz, president of CAMA, in his letter to the township. “Homeowners and businesses in New Jersey were given the right to choose their energy provider more than a decade ago as state lawmakers sought to break up the energy monopoly and give consumers a choice of energy providers. This recent effort to push you into municipal aggregation is a throwback to the power utility monopoly that the state sought to end.”

Strugatz gave the example of Dominion Energy Solutions, the company that recently won the aggregation contract for Toms River.

Toms River users can expect a 12.7 percent cost savings under the Dominion Energy Solutions rate when compared to JCP&L, according to Toms River township attorney Kenneth Fitzsimmons, adding that that amounts to an average savings of $9.50 each month, or $114 annually.

Dominion Energy Solutions “is owned by Dominion Resources, Inc, a public utility holding company that owns several utilities in Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.  The bottom line is that monopolies hurt the consumer – and when companies compete for business, the consumers win,” said Strugatz.