MOUNT GILEAD — Jay Sell from Aspen Energy spoke to Village Council Monday night about its future electric aggregation needs.

Sell gave a brief presentation at the request of the village.

“It seems pretty inevitable that FirstEnergy Solutions will be exiting the market as a retail supplier. FirstEnergy Corp. is still strong. The deregulated area is not working out great for them,” Sell said.

“We’re going around the state helping communities get ahead of that and to be proactive, not reactive.”

The village’s contract with FirstEnergy Solutions extends until July 2019.

“What I’m talking about is setting up an option for the next term after that,” Sell said.

He has been working with Village Administrator Dan Rogers on the proposal.

A letter dated March 13 states: “We are very excited to present the Dynegy Energy Services/Aspen Energy joint proposal … to provide electric aggregation supply for 30 months.”

The letter further states, “Dynegy and Aspen Energy have administered many aggregation programs in Ohio offering notable savings to customers. Primary goals of the program are providing lower electricity costs for citizens and ensuring the supplier provides quality, reliable service and first-rate customer service.”

Sell said current customers include Cardington Township, Ashland, Bucyrus and Shelby.

He said the cost would be “at a low, fixed rate.”

In Ohio, local communities are allowed, by law, to join their citizens together to buy natural gas and/or electricity as a group and thereby gain “buying power” to solicit the lowest price for the group’s natural gas and/or electricity needs. This is called governmental aggregation.

Rogers and Mayor Mike Porter said the village would study the proposal.

In other business:

• Safety Committee Chair Kay Hines said research continues into possibly hiring a resource officer to work with the Mount Gilead School District.

“We’ve been talking. We believe this position helps keep peace at school, and support for a safe environment for students and those working in our schools,” she said.

“This also builds a bond between the village and the school system.”

By Anthony Conchel

The Sentinel