MAHONING COUNTY Subject of home heat cost cools off

Energy costs for home heating have gone down, decreasing the need for emergency alternatives.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Saying they believe the heat is off residents when it comes to home-energy costs, Mahoning County commissioners have decided against joining an energy-buying consortium.
Commissioners were planning to join the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council in 2003. It's a group of more than 100 communities, mostly in the Cleveland area, that formed a utilities aggregate buying group.
The benefit
Public aggregation allows local governments to shop for electricity and natural gas on behalf of their residents and businesses, usually resulting in lower costs.
Under Ohio law, commissioners can provide the low-cost energy only to unincorporated areas of the county, such as townships. Cities and villages would have to agree to link up with the county.
Commissioners spent much of last year talking about joining a public aggregation system but took no action. They met with township trustees in September 2001 to gauge whether there was support for such a move, but they got little reaction.
That was at a time when home heating bills had skyrocketed because of the rising natural-gas costs. Commissioners were looking for alternatives to help bring relief to county residents.
Decided to wait
They held off immediately joining an aggregate buying group, opting instead to wait and see whether an anticipated drop in energy costs materialized.
Since then, the energy market has stabilized, and there's no longer a benefit to joining a consortium, commissioners said.
"At one time, it would have been a good idea, but not now," said Commissioner David Ludt. "It's not worth it."
Ludt and Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock said the difference between the bulk price available to the county and prices that individual consumers can now negotiate for themselves is negligible.
"In order for it to be really beneficial, you have to be able to show that there is going to be a large savings," Sherlock said. "When you're controlling someone's utility costs, you need to be sure about all that."
Commissioner Ed Reese said heating costs no longer seem to be on the minds of county residents.
"I haven't heard a word about it," he said. "It seems like a dead issue."
That's apparently the case all over the state, says Larry Long, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio.
"We're not hearing any grave concerns about it," Long said. "I think the gas issue has settled down and prices are staying under control."
County buildings
Sherlock said the county is looking into ways to reduce energy costs for county buildings. That would result in an indirect savings to taxpayers, who would not have to foot the bill for higher energy costs in public buildings.
She said the county also is looking into joining with other counties that already have formed a buying group, which could result in lower heating costs for county buildings.
Long said the state association bought a 10-year supply of natural gas last year on behalf of a 31-county group. The deal resulted in a total savings of nearly $385,000 for those counties in 2001, he said.
bjackson@vindy.com