For additional information, contact: On-Line Exchange to Minimize Pennsylvania Natural Gas Costs Reverse Auction Expected to Save Taxpayers $928,000 over Two-Year Period October 17 , 2006. Worcester, MA. World Energy Solutions announces that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) has achieved cost avoidance savings of nearly $1 million in natural gas supply through use of the World Energy Exchange on-line reverse auction platform. The savings were achieved in a series of September energy auctions through which the state procured 818,000 Decatherms (dth) of natural gas under 12- and 24-month contract periods. The natural gas will be used by state-owned buildings and facilities across the Commonwealth. This procurement is expected to save the Commonwealth at least $928,000 on its projected bills during the terms of the contracts. According to Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, “By locking in our price now for the next two years, we are reducing our exposure to market volatility and fluctuating prices that have impacted natural gas consumers in the past, while providing a consistent and adequate supply of energy over the next few years. Over the last four years,” he said, “we’ve taken a business-like approach to operating state government—improving the delivery of services while operating in a more efficient manner. We’ve applied smart business practices to our operations and realized substantial savings that are then redirected to taxpayers. “This reverse auction is just one example of that approach,” he continued. “By turning the tables on suppliers, we’re able to secure a more competitive price on our natural gas purchases. Having these providers compete to outbid one another creates a buyer’s market that puts the state in the driver’s seat to get the best deal for taxpayers.” DGS is one of the largest operating agencies in Pennsylvania state government and is responsible, among many other things, for overseeing the procurement of goods and services, including energy, and for the management of state buildings and facilities. “The World Energy Exchange offered the Commonwealth a proactive way to respond to wildly fluctuating energy commodity prices, while also leveraging the market intelligence embedded in the Exchange as a means to keep abreast of developments that might impact the energy marketplace,” said Jonathan Harvey, World Energy vice president responsible for government accounts. “By leveraging this intelligence, the large network of competing suppliers that are a part of the Exchange, and the ability to test every combination of contract variables, we were able to make the best choices to maximize supply terms, pricing and best-value decisions. We are very happy to have played a role in helping the Commonwealth achieve its strategic energy objectives and look forward to helping the state further leverage the platform to purchase other energy commodities such as electricity and motor fuels.” As the industry's leading energy e-procurement exchange, the World Energy Exchange brings together buyers and sellers of energy in its physical and financial derivative forms. It combines industry-leading on-line reverse auction technology, the broadest network of suppliers, and the industry's deepest store of market intelligence to secure lower energy prices, enabling government, utility and commercial and industrial customers to power their facilities in the most fiscally responsible, process complaint, environmentally sound manner possible. |
