OC’s Reverse Auction Results In Money Savings, Green Energy Goal

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City officials this week approved a contract for the resort’s electricity supply, accomplishing the dual goals of moving closer to its “green” energy objectives while saving money.

Ocean City’s current contract for electricity supply expires next June and the town’s consultant recommended going to the bid process early to take advantage of competitive pricing. City Engineer Terry McGean and his staff conducted a reverse auction on Tuesday, soliciting bids from contractors on various lengths of contracts, multiple options with green energy components and, of course, varying price tags.

Under the current contract, Ocean City pays $.072 per kilowatt hour. The reverse auction for the new electricity supply contract was held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, and shortly after 1 p.m., McGean presented the outcome to the Mayor and Council.

“This is very good news,” he said. “The reverse auction was conducted this morning and we received several bids. It turns out we can actually move closer to our green energy goals and save money in the process.”

Ocean City solicited bids in various tiers from a standard 12-month contract, a standard 24-month contract and a standard 36-month contract. The town also solicited bids in the same time increments, but with the goal of achieving 25-percent of its electricity usage from green, or sustainable, renewable sources.

During the bidding process on Tuesday, it turned out the bids that included a 25-percent green component were competitive with the standard contracts and even lower in some cases.

“The green component was slightly cheaper,” he said. “That is great news. We were surprised. There is actually a slight savings.”

In the end, staff recommended accepting a 36-month contract from Constellation at $.0646 per kilowatt hour that included a 25-percent green energy component. The contract represents a savings to the town of $189,645 over the current contract. By comparison, the 36-month standard contract without any green energy components also came in at $.0646 per kilowatt hour, and came with a savings of $188,000. In a nut shell, the approved contract results in essentially the same kilowatt/hour costs and actually increases the savings while moving closer to the 25-percent green energy goal.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.