Bright Idea to Save Morristown $65K on Electric Bill

Paul Miller of Morristown's Office of Sustainability was a bright spot at Tuesday’s meeting of the Morristown Mayor and Council as he brought with him news that due to some smart choices made at auction, the town will be saving approximately $65,000 in electric costs over the next year.

“Findings were directing us to a one year contract,” Miller said. “And we are splitting service which is why you see two proposals in front of you. We have one for street lights and one for general usage.”

Miller said that previously Morristown held a contract with Reliant Energy but would now be using Liberty Power for the street lights and Direct Energy for general usage. JCP&L will still provide billing and will handle the distribution and maintenance on all the lines and substations, Miller said.

“Over the last two years, other than the general problems with weather, we have seen no problem with the quality of the energy we’ve received,” Miller said.

Miller said that Morristown is continuing their aggressive pursuit of environmentally responsible energy procurement, as this new contract will increase their renewable energy totals from 50 percent to 75 percent. Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty said that he wanted to see if Morristown could pursue a contract that would encompass the entire town, including residents.

“We are one of a few states that allow that option,” Miller said.

Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman said that residents don’t need to wait for aggregation of energy supply from the town.

“They can purchase their own plans privately right now,” Feldman said.

Miller noted that flyers are in the mail practically daily for these services for individuals, but aggregation will take a little more research, research Dougherty is anxious to see.