9 townships to be offered electricity deal

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning County commissioners have unanimously approved a nine-year electric- aggregation agreement with First Energy Solutions Corp. of Akron that will enable residents of nine of the county’s townships to receive discounts on their electric bills.

Mark Burns, president of Independent Energy Consultants, the county’s electric-aggregation consultant, said that, beginning this summer, most residents should see a 6 percent discount, with commercial accounts realizing a 4 percent savings on the generation portion of their bills.

People with all-electric homes will see 4 percent savings in the first two years and 6 percent savings in the remaining seven years, he told the commissioners Thursday.

First Energy will make a one-time $66,000 civic donation to each participating township government in mid-May with no restrictions as to how the money is to be spent, he added.

Voters in the nine participating townships approved the aggregation plan at the polls last November.

Individual customers may opt out of the program by responding to a letter they’ll likely receive in mid-May, Burns said.

“Any time you can save the residents money, it’s a great thing,” said county Commissioner David N. Ludt.

The participating townships are Beaver, Berlin, Coitsville, Ellsworth, Goshen, Green, Jackson, Milton and Springfield.