I copied this from Facebook  it was posted by Council Member Glenn Otto:

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My understanding on Energy Aggregation in the City of Huber Heights

This seems to be the hottest talking issue in Huber Heights at the moment, and I believe that it should be with a public vote coming on the 15th of next month. After recently reading a lot of conversation on different social media posts, and talking about it at last night's Council session, I thought that I would share my thoughts and opinions on the subject.

First I would simply like to explain what your vote on March 15th means.

A yes vote will not establish a City program of energy aggregation, however a no vote will deny it. This vote simply gives or denies, the current and/or future members of your City Council, the permission to establish such a program. The actual details of the plan would be decided only after passage of the Issue.

Voting Yes on Issue One would mean that you would like the City Council of Huber Heights to have the ability to establish a program (on it's own, or through a third party), at any time in the future, to develop a program of Energy Aggregation, and negotiate the terms of the contract.

Voting No on Issue One would mean that you would not like the City Council of Huber Heights to have the ability to establish a program (on it's own, or through a third party), at any time in the future, to develop a program of Energy Aggregation, and negotiate the terms of the contract.

As to the terms that the City Council could include in any future contract, I cannot speak to what they will be, but there has been a lot of discussion on what could be in a potential contract, and what these things would mean to the citizens of Huber Heights.

How third party fees would be paid:
If the City uses a third party then there will likely be fees involved. There are generally two options on how those fees would be paid, either out of the City's general fund or directly by the residents who elect to use the service. If the fees are paid out of the City's funds, then all taxpayers are paying a small equal share whether they use the service or not. If the fees are split among only those who use the service, then the fees would more that likely be larger and placed directly on their bill. It is unknown at this time what those fees may be, but we have been told that Troy's fees to the negotiator of their program are $40,000 over three years (with the majority coming in the first year), and that the City of Troy pays for this fee directly out of their city's funds. It has also been mentioned that the fee, if placed on the purchasers bill, would be approximately $1 per month, or $15 per year. I believe that there should also be a mechanism to provide a â€cemaximum amount” to the third party, in order to maintain the best rate possible.

Opting Out:
If a program is established, then there would be an â€ceOpt Out” feature, and I believe that it would be important to insure that any resident of the city should have the option to opt out of the program at any time with no fee for doing so. However, the flip side of that coin is that there should only be certain times that those who opted out would be able to opt back in, if they choose to do so at a later date.

What if it passes, or fails:
Ultimately, if Issue One passes by a wide margin, then I believe that it will be the Council's responsibility to ensure that we create a program that is fully vetted to the public with the residents best interests in mind. If it passes by a slim margin, then I believe that we will have to take additional time to continue to poll the public on what is important to them, fully utilize the people in deciding what kind of program goes into place, and take our time to establish a plan that accounts for those in favor, and those against. If the issue fails, then there is no action but to move on to the continuance of doing what is best for the people of Huber Heights.

No matter what, The City should definitely continue to educate its people on different ways that they can save money, with or without the program, by using tools like the one provided on the State of Ohio's website found here: http://www.energychoice.ohio.gov/ .

I will finish by saying that I believe that anyone willing to research what you are currently paying per kilowatt hour (you can find this information on your bill), and price around by calling providers or researching them on the Ohio website, could possibly match or beat the price that is being used for The City's informational purposes (5.3 cents per kWh, as seen with Troy). The prices seem to fluctuate since my personal bill (directly through DP&L) showed 5.4 cents last month and 5.3 cents this month, The City's presentation shows a DP&L customer paying 9.4 cents, and last night Ms. Blankenship said she was paying 5.1 cents through her provider.

Ultimately, the choice is yours! Get to the polls on March 15th and place your vote whatever way you feel is best.

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Follow his Facebook post  

I copied and pasted this comment from Council Member Richard Shaw.

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After reviewing the comments above and on several other threads, I issue this brief statement. I have to agree with Ed Lyons on several points listed above. In the time given, I believe the information gathered has been properly distributed throughout the city.

1. Energy Aggregation meetings will be held on February 17th at 10 AM and again at 6 PM at city hall.
2. Information regarding Issue 1 is on Twitter & Facebook
3. The City’s website contains information and a PowerPoint presentation for Issue 1.
4. Documents on Issue 1 can be found at City Hall and by contacting â€ceANY” councilmember.
5. This presentation including Q&A has been presented at 2 public council meetings and a Chamber of Commerce meeting.
6. Information mailers will be sent out to residents regarding Issue 1.
7. The Ward 2 and Ward 1 community meetings open to all residents have and will address Issue 1.

In my opinion, at the ballot on March 15 the decision is pretty simple:
Vote â€ceYes”: If you want your elected officials at city hall to engage in further discussions regarding the details of an Energy Aggregation plan.
Vote â€ceNo”: If you can find a deal on your own and you don’t want your elected officials shopping for a premium energy price.
** YOU THE VOTER HAVE A VOICE **

Facts: Energy Aggregation is legal. Energy Aggregation is on the ballot in a surrounding community also. Energy Aggregation has been successful in â€cemost” every community that has approved it.

I appreciate the discussion from my colleagues Glenn, Tyler and Janell. I welcome everyone to the Ward 1 Community Meeting on March 1st at Sweet Home Restaurant where this will be a topic.

I stated in the original version of the article above I wrote:

 "In every discussion leading up to the passing of the ordinance council made it clear that this cost would not be passed on to the specific residents that signed up for program.  Instead this cost would be paid directly by the City through tax revenue.  Although, I thought it would be better to split this fee and ask the specific residents that took part in the program to pay it, most council members were concerned that by doing this there would be criticism that the City was collecting extra fees and looking to make a profit.  To avoid having to explain to voters why there was an extra fee, the decision was made to just pay the negotiating fees from the General Fund. 
 
There are two reasons why this is a decision point for me as to whether to vote no or yes.  First paying from the tax revenues means there will be less money in the General Fund to do things like build a skate park or pay the salaries of our employees (including police and fire but also city hall staff).  Second even if the deal they negotiate stinks and no one signs up for it the City will still pay the negotiating fee. "  

I removed this section because there were two choices mentioned in the December meeting.  I reference how you can listen to this statement below.  I also reference an instance after that makes it appear that council would be paying for the fees out of the general fund.
 

The January 19th work session had a very long discussion on the Energy Aggregation ballot measure.  If you go to 1:48 minutes into the video you will hear the City Manager confirm this.  After this meeting the Secretary of State rejected the ballot language that was suppose to ensure residents there wouldn't be extra fees added to their bill to cover these costs.  That doesn't change the fact that council committed to pay the fees from tax revenues.  

mms://agendaquick.hhoh.org/dcr2/WS011916.wmv


To show that I don't always register/hear everything that is said, you can go to the Dec 14th Council Meeting video and  listen to the City Manager speak at 1 hour 41 minutes.  At that time he does say there are two options with one of them applying the negotiating fees (administration costs) to those in the program.

mms://agendaquick.hhoh.org/dcr2/CC121415.wmv


 

This vote on energy aggregation had me looking more into my rates.  AEP has a much better  rate than mine and since I am in a month to month continuation of my previous contract I read the agreement.  I'll copy and paste the pricing section and then I will highlight the sections that tell me that no matter what the KWpH charge is this agreement allows for unlimited additional costs.  With no bounds on the costs I could end up paying I can't commit to a 24 month contract with a $240 cancellation fee.  As weird as it might seem I am very leery that a company might try and inflate additional charges.   

Agreement:
2. Price. Starting with the first billing cycle of this Agreement through the last billing cycle of the initial Term, the price will be as stated above under the heading “Generation Service Charges." You are responsible for, and your price does not include, applicable state and local taxes and/or EDU charges, which will be billed by the EDU. During the term of this Agreement, you agree to pay AEP Energy a price for all applicable combined Transmission Services Generation Service and Generation-Related Charges as specified in “Generation Service Charges” listed above including any applicable taxes, if any. For the “Term” listed above, all kilowatt- hours (“kWh”) of electric energy metered by the EDU shall be billed at the rate per kWh specified above. In addition to AEP Energy’s charges, you will be charged by your EDU for Distribution Service and other EDU charges and fees. An average residential customer, using 750 kWh of electricity on a monthly basis, would incur approximately $35 to $40 per month in such EDU charges and fees. Also, AEP Energy will charge you for any and all fees, costs, and obligations for transmission or ancillary services imposed by a Regional Transmission Organization (“RTO”), such as PJM Interconnection, LLC, or an Independent System Operator (ISO), such as the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) or any successor organizations (collectively, referred to as the RTO), that are not otherwise reimbursed to AEP Energy, regardless of whether such charges are greater than, less than, or equal to the charges you currently pay for these services (“RTO/Transmission and Ancillary Services Charges”). Note that if, due to a change in market conditions, we wish to lower the price per kilowatt hour charged to you under this Agreement, we may do so without your consent, provided there are no other changes to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. AEP Energy will pass through to you any RTO/Transmission and Ancillary Services Charges, which may be variable, related to AEP Energy’s providing electricity to you and any additional or increased fees or charges that are beyond AEP Energy’s reasonable control. These fees and charges could include, but not be limited to, fees for switching, disconnecting, reconnecting or maintaining electric service or equipment, changes to capacity related charges, transmission or transmission-related charges, or changes to retail electric customer access programs that are imposed or changed by any statute, rule, regulation, order or other law, or procedure, tariff, rate class or other process or charge, promulgated by any governmental authority or EDU or other regulated service provider. These fees and charges will be passed through to you and added to your price.