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"(AUSTIN)―A
group of Texas school districts expects to save more than $30
million annually as the result of contracts awarded by the Texas
Association of School Boards (TASB) to TXU Energy and the Texas
General Land Office (GLO). The two energy suppliers will serve
more than 180 school districts that are members of TASB’s
electric aggregation program.
TXU
Energy is the unregulated energy marketing arm of Dallas-based
TXU, Inc., parent company of TXU Electric, the largest regulated
electric utility in Texas. Terms offered by TXU Energy and GLO
will provide districts fixed electricity prices for terms of up
to four years, at discounts of up to 40 percent from rates
charged last year and by nearly 35 percent from the Price to
Beat rates currently offered by Texas utilities.
James
B. Crow, TASB executive director, noted that the price discounts
achieved under the Association’s aggregation program had
exceeded expectations. “We are pleased
to be able to help Texas districts save more than $30
million per year. That savings translates into more money for
programs, teachers, equipment, and more importantly, for Texas
schoolchildren. Without doubt, the aggregation process created
tremendous bargaining leverage and helped districts comply with
the state’s competitive procurement requirements in an
efficient and effective manner. The cooperation and commitment
of our members throughout this process was simply outstanding
and played a big part in our successful results,” Crow said. TASB
initiated its electric aggregation program in May 2001 to help
Texas districts competitively procure electricity services in
anticipation of the opening of the Texas electricity market in
January 2002. Before initiating its electric aggregation
program, TASB had for years assisted Texas school districts in
the competitive procurement of other goods and services through
the organization’s Internet-based BuyBoard purchasing
cooperative. To assist in the development and execution of its
electric aggregation program, TASB retained lawyer Stephanie
Kroger of Andrews & Kurth, LLP and engineer Scott
Norwood of GDS Associates, Inc.,
who together have more than 40 years of legal, regulatory and
power procurement experience in the Texas electric market. “TASB’s
aggregation program was carefully designed to comply with state
competitive procurement laws that apply to Texas schools. In
addition, members of TASB’s aggregation program are required
to formally commit to purchase electricity under the contracts
negotiated by TASB with competitive energy suppliers. This
formal member purchase commitment was a critical design element
of TASB’s aggregation program that attracted energy suppliers
and lead to the highly competitive price offers,” said Chris
Szaniszlo, TASB chief financial officer. TASB
began accepting members for its aggregation pool in June of last
year and currently has 181 school district members, or roughly
one fourth of the school districts in Texas that are eligible to
choose electric suppliers. The members of TASB’s aggregation
program have a combined electric peak demand of more than 360
megawatts and paid more than $80 million for electricity last
year before electric rates were deregulated. TASB
is accepting new members for its third aggregation pool which is
scheduled to go to market this summer. For more information on
TASB’s electric aggregation program, contact Gerald Brashears,
800-580-8272, ext. 3616. TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas school districts. School trustees are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent have a combined annual budget of $26 billion and employ more than 500,000 people." Texas
Association of School Boards
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