Monaca, a borough of 5,700 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania is situated 25 miles north of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River. It is two square miles. Originally incorporated in 1840 as Phillipsburg,
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its name was changed in 1892 to honor Monacatootha, an Iroquois chief that met then Colonel George Washington in 1753 and supervised the Delaware and Shawnee’s as a representative of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a strong advocate for the British and against the French during the French and Indian Wars. Mario Leone, a smart and progressive borough manager, thought he was on top of this energy bills. He had purchased the power for his borough buildings and the water treatment plant to borough runs via a broker, and thought his rate was a good deal.
“We had Johnson Controls come in to analyze our HVAC, lighting, ballasts and other energy reduction strategies, which have been helpful,” Leone went on. “As a subscriber to the Empowered Municipality newsletters, he read articles on others saving money that looked significant and thought he would find out more.” “The people at National Energy were not only friendly and professional, but they went above and beyond what anyone else had done,” commented Leone.
“They were able to negotiate and lock in a rate that is saving the borough $100,000/year on our electricity costs. Upon receiving our first new bill, the cost savings were confirmed, so we have budget certainty going forward.” “What was as impressive is the thoroughness and professional attitude that the National Energy representatives Dave Rettig and Anne Gamble had,” Leone continued.
“They were able to reduce the tariff on our street lights, which I was sure was not possible and noticed that we were paying sales tax on our bills as well,” he added. “They researched this issue, found the correct forms and because of this we will be saving $6,000-$7,000 per year on this. As a municipal entity, we do not have to pay sales tax on our purchases. This was buried in the confusing line items on our bills.” In addition, the team at National Energy was able to consolidate the number of bills the utility was sending, thus reducing the bill surcharge we had to pay. We see National Energy as a partner in our energy and cost saving strategies,” Leone concluded. “They are looking at options for us to create a co-generation plant along-side our waste water treatment plant.”
