Hurstville City Council is one of 17 Sydney councils set to save money on their electricity bills after accepting the recommendations of the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) to award a tender for the supply of electricity for large sites and street lighting.
In February, Hurstville Mayor Councillor Philip Sansom said Momentum Energy Pty Ltd is the winning contractor for the supply of electricity, including green power, for three years from 1 July 2010.
“Momentum Energy provided the most competitive proposal for electricity supply, based on the results of a tender undertaken by SSROC on behalf of 17 councils in wider Sydney,” he said. “In the first year of the new contract, Hurstville City Council will save over $95,000, representing a 13.3 per cent reduction on the cost of its current contract.”
Mayor Sansom said ownership of residential street light assets was transferred from councils to government owned corporations in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and subsequently absorbed into EnergyAustralia.
“Local Government was then charged by EnergyAustralia for the asset maintenance and power usage for street lighting.
“The decision to aggregate the purchasing for the 17 councils was based on the assumption that additional savings would be available than if each council undertook the exercise independently.”
Mayor Sansom said Momentum Energy is a retail subsidiary of renewable energy business Hydro Tasmania, which is owned by the State of Tasmania.
“This 100 per cent Australian owned supplier is able to meet the specific needs of Local Government and has the stability and expertise to offer excellent energy rates,” he said. “I am pleased that the savings we will make on electricity supply will mean more resources can be directed to other vital Council services.”
