The Problem in One Sentence

The best offer you'll see is often gone before your next meeting.

Electricity offers for larger accounts are priced off the wholesale market on the day they're issued. Many are good for a short window, sometimes only the same day. A council or board that meets once a month can't approve an offer that expired three weeks earlier, so public bodies end up either rolling onto whatever rate the utility or current supplier sets, or approving a price that's already stale.

What the Law Says (Pennsylvania Boroughs)

Pennsylvania's Borough Code exempts utility service, expressly including electricity and natural gas, from its advertising, bidding, and price-quotation requirements (8 Pa.C.S. § 1402(d)(4)(ii)). A borough can buy electricity supply without a formal bid.

That doesn't mean it should buy without competition. The exemption removes the paperwork, not the responsibility to taxpayers. The simplest way to show you got a fair price is to get competing offers and keep the comparison on file.

Townships and school districts: your codes have their own rules. Confirm what applies to you with your solicitor before you set up a process. We'll work within whatever they tell you.

A Process That Works With a Monthly Meeting

  1. Approve the rules in advance. At a regular meeting, the council or board adopts a resolution setting the terms it will accept: fixed rate only, a maximum price per kWh (a "not to exceed" rate), the contract length, licensed suppliers only, and which official may sign. Ask your solicitor to review the wording.
  2. Collect offers on a set day. On the chosen day, offers come in from competing licensed suppliers for all of your accounts.
  3. Sign the same day if an offer meets the rules. The authorized official signs the best offer that meets every term in the resolution. If nothing does, nothing is signed, and nothing is lost.
  4. Report at the next meeting. Put the side-by-side comparison and the signed contract in the record.

The result: the board keeps control of the decision, and the price doesn't expire while waiting for a meeting.

What Belongs in Front of Your Board

A one-page comparison that shows, for every offer:

  • Supplier name, and that it's licensed in your state
  • Price per kWh, and whether it's fixed or variable
  • Contract length and start and end dates
  • What's included in the price (for larger accounts: capacity and transmission charges, or whether they pass through separately)
  • Estimated annual cost compared with what you pay now
  • Any cancellation fee, and what happens when the contract ends

If a board member can't answer "what happens at the end of this contract?" from the page, the page isn't finished.

Four Things Public Bodies Get Wrong

  1. Letting the contract lapse. When a fixed contract ends, many roll onto a month-to-month rate. Put the end date in the minutes and on a calendar, and start the next purchase months ahead.
  2. Buying account by account. Buildings, pump stations, parks, and other accounts can often be combined into one purchase with one end date, which is easier to manage and budget.
  3. Ignoring the capacity charge. Larger demand-metered accounts, like school buildings, carry a capacity charge set during a few peak hours each summer. See capacity charges.
  4. Choosing a term that fights the budget. Match the contract term to your budget cycle, and set the end date so the next decision lands with time to spare, not during a scramble.

If You Already Buy Through a Cooperative Program

Some public bodies buy through a consortium or cooperative program. That's allowed, and it can work. It's still worth knowing what the open market offers for the same accounts. We'll compare the two side by side so your board can see the difference.

How We Help Public Bodies

  • We gather competing offers from licensed suppliers for all of your accounts.
  • We prepare the board-ready comparison described above, in plain English.
  • We time the offers around your process, including a pre-approved "not to exceed" resolution if your solicitor approves one.
  • We read every contract term and flag cancellation fees, pass-through charges, and renewal language.
  • We track your end date and start the next purchase well ahead.
  • It's free to you. The supplier you choose pays us.

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FAQ

Does a Pennsylvania borough have to bid its electricity supply?

The Borough Code exempts utility service, including electricity and natural gas, from advertising, bidding, and price-quotation requirements (8 Pa.C.S. § 1402(d)(4)(ii)). Getting competing offers is still the best way to show taxpayers you got a fair price.

What about townships and school districts?

Their codes have their own rules. Confirm with your solicitor; we'll work within them.

How can our board approve a price that expires so quickly?

Approve the terms in advance (a maximum price, a fixed rate, the term, and who may sign), then sign any offer that meets them. The full comparison goes into the record at the next meeting.

Is using a broker allowed?

Using an adviser to gather offers doesn't change who decides. The council or board sets the rules and approves the contract.

Can you handle all of our accounts?

Yes. Send us your bills or an account list, and we'll gather offers for every account.