17414_Authority_April_2024

6 The Authority | APRIL 2024 Seeing the Light on Power By Ted Onufrak, Executive Director, Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority At one time or another, we have all experienced one of those “what would you do” moments. Whether your doctor, lawyer or financial advisor is giving you advice, we always seem to have a keen interest in what that supposed expert would do if it were they who needed the advice. Moreover, we have all heard the saying that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. On a regular basis, my staff and I get complaints about the costs of either refuse removal or recycling services. If it is a local business or industry, we offer to perform a waste audit, at no charge. We will look at what they are throwing away and offer suggestions on how they can reduce their waste. In addition, we will look at what they are recycling and often times what they are not recycling. We are amazed at how some of these businesses are so accustomed to paying that “utility” bill, they rarely give it a second thought as they cut the check. Often times we can reduce their waste to the extent that they can lower their costs through reduced collections as well as reduced volumes. Little did I think I would find myself in the same situation! A few years ago, we became aware of the Penn State Facilities Engineering Institute. One of the services it provides to local governments is an energy audit. For example, send them your monthly electric bill – they will review it and they will visit your facility and see if they can help reduce your costs and/or improve your efficiency. One of the first things they pointed out to us – buried in the fine print of the multiple electricity charges – was a cost for Pennsylvania sales tax. Talk about embarrassing. My staff and I have known for decades that we are tax exempt. We were now guilty of the same acts of ignorance of all those customers we did waste audits for. We paid that “utility” bill just like everyone else. The Institute provided us with a reimbursement claim form, which we submitted. Unfortunately, our electricity provider only allows for reimbursements for up to three prior years. We were certainly pleased to find out we were getting some money back, but more importantly, the Institute made us aware that we qualified to participate in the COSTARS program. They (the Institute) solicit bids for electricity for local governments. We enrolled as a participant and currently enjoy a fee of 4 cents/kilowatt. Concurrently, a conglomerate of twelve entities (authorities, municipalities, school districts) were working to secure electricity at a fixed long-term rate through a solar power purchase agreement. We were invited to participate in that venture and joined in. Motivating all of us is the expectation of increasing electricity rates. We have been advised to expect a doubling of rates (8 cents/kilowatt) in the next bidding cycle (2025-2027). Two of our neighboring private sector businesses are currently paying 9 cents/kilowatt. All of us know the pain of having to increase rates and we strive every day for rate stability. Our involvement with these groups led us to inquire about installing our own solar panel system and the Facilities Institute referred us to a private consultant that could evaluate the merit in pursuing such a venture. One of the municipal planners working on the cooperative also referred us to the Pennsylvania Solar Center (PASC). Located in Pittsburgh, the PASC is a nonprofit organization that assists government entities and commercial enterprises as well, in evaluating their electricity needs and the potential for development of a solar array. Since both the consultant and the PASC determined it to be a financially viable alternative for us to utilize our roof space for solar arrays, we pulled out of the cooperative and pursued our own solar array. The PASC developed a request for proposals, advertised and solicited for potential providers, and then assisted in evaluating the proposals and recommending the respondent that best fit our needs. That was done at no charge to our authority. The successful respondent reimburses the PASC for its efforts. A win/win situation all the way around. Although our solar project will cost $1.2 million, it is estimated to take a mere seven years to recover