> Thursday, June 19th 2009
Synergy Energy listed in 2009 Fast Track Fifty in Business First

> Monday, June 15th 2009
Powering On -
The Employers Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania

> Thursday, November 11th 2008
Synergy Looks to Alternative Fuels

> Thursday, July 3rd 2008
Fluent Energy Joins Synergy

> Thursday, June 18th 2008
TopSource Long Term Agreement

> Thursday, June 12th 2008
SMEC Extends Reach

Powering On
The Employers Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania, Inc. to help employers save on gas, electric, renewable energy costs

While Pennsylvania business owners already have enough weighing on their minds, trying to stay afloat in a battered economy and the ever–increasing costs of health care, they now face a new concern – energy prices. The caps on electric rates in Pennsylvania already have started to come off in parts of the state, and for many others, their power bill could be going up as much as 20 percent by the first of next year.

For these industries and institutions, which represent some of the largest energy users in the Commonwealth, the removal of rate caps offers both opportunities and challenges. A competitive market bolsters improved products and services and underscores the importance of wise energy usage. At the same time, finding the best deal is now even more vital under this new market–based pricing structure.

Like residential customers, employers are looking for the best ways to lower their energy bills.

“The average person can relate to their own energy bill, which may be $50 to $60 a month,” says J. David Bell, president of Erie DriveTrain Inc. in Erie and former chairman of the Manufacturer & Business Association. “Many companies have bills that are thousands per month, $20,000 per month, so any increase is a big, big number.”

To be hit with fluctuating energy bills, in an already tough economy, makes energy pricing an even more serious issue. For employers, continues Bell, “it's the same fight we have with health care and everything else — taxes, lawsuits and regulatory issues – because as expenses go up that means you have less money to give employees for raises and less money to invest in your business and new technology. All the things that you need to have a growing business are eaten up by these costs, and it makes it very difficult.”

Introducing a New Value–Added Service for Association Members...
For 104 years, the Association has been a champion for area employers, providing services that can better help them run their day–to–day operations. This year, the Association has gone one step further, establishing the newly formed Employers Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania to provide a cost savings for member businesses that want to lower their energy bills – including electricity, gas and renewable energy.

The decision to form the co–op, according to Bell, who was appointed co–op president in April, was vital to responding to the needs of the Association's more than 4,500 members. “With all the talk about the rate caps coming off on electricity, our members are very concerned about what's going to happen with their costs. So we're going to be talking to our members about the program and explain how we're going to save them money.”

Caps were put on electric rates with the start of electric deregulation in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s to stabilize rates while utilities competed for customers outside their traditional service territories. These energy rate caps subsequently shielded consumers from huge rate hikes and volatility in the wholesale electricity market. Rate caps that have kept the price of electricity artificially low are now to set to be lifted.

In some instances, rate protection already has expired, depending on which utility company provides the electricity. However, once the rest of these caps are removed and the marketplace sets the rates, there will be more energy choices. And that is why, for businesses and institutions, there is greater urgency for utilizing the co–op purchasing model – a model that has been in place for many regions of the United States already.

“This idea is nothing new,” notes Association Vice President and General Counsel John Onorato. “When the deregulation originally took place and it looked like there would be no caps, we investigated and did our due diligence to figure out how we can deliver this service to our members.”

Now, more than a decade later, Onorato adds, “It's our goal through this cooperative to purchase the energy directly from the grid and pipeline and offer our members access to the lowest possible rates.”

To enroll in the co–op, companies and organizations must be members of the Manufacturer & Business Association in good standing. Enrollment in the co–op is not limited by the size of energy user, or the type of industry – whether it is a manufacturing facility, university, hospital, grocery store or office building. The program will be tailored to fit members' energy usage and needs.

“Many of our members have energy intensive operations, using many thousands of kilowatts,” adds Onorato, “so helping them control energy costs is a competitive initiative.

A Strong Energy Partner...
In 2008, the Association approached Synergy Energy Holdings, Inc. for a possible partnership. The company, headquartered in Buffalo, New York, which currently manages more than $1 billion of client energy purchases around the United States and Canada, was pivotal player in the formation of the Energy Cooperative of America(ECA), which has more than 2,000 members including more than 9,000 service accounts in the state of New York.

The Association found that Synergy and its CEO and principal owner, Denny Frank, were “pioneers” in the energy field. Frank, who started his career as an aerospace engineer to develop flight control systems used in the space shuttle and thermal batteries for long–range missiles, had a wealth of knowledge in energy conservation. During the 1990s, he served as an energy consultant on how to buy energy in deregulated markets. Eventually, he founded Synergy in 1992, and helped form the Energy Cooperative of America in 1994. “Synergy sells all the technical services to the energy co–op in New York, similar to what we plan to do for the Employers Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania which allows them to purchase directly from the electric grid and natural gas pipeline and then sell to their members in a not–for–profit fashion,” explains Frank. “What we're really doing is taking the broker function and making it a not–for–profit function for the end user.”

Here's How it Works...
All the energy for the co–op and all the energy in Pennsylvania are bought from the same place, the PJM Independent System Operator, which is run by the state and governed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Through a bidding process, known as a Dutch auction, a cooperative can then buy their energy at a clearing price.

The main difference in who buys the energy, according to co–op administrators, is how the price is passed on to the end user. A broker or marketer, for example, buys energy at a lower price and sells at the highest price based on what the market can bear. What the co–op does is purchase directly from the electric grid and natural gas pipeline and then passes that price on to members adding only a small administrative fee but no profit. The administrative fee is often significantly less than the fees from either a marketer or broker, which includes their profit.

In the co–op, “the cost is not really about making money but about saving money and passing the savings on to our members,” says Frank.

Essentially, he adds, “the board of the co–op is making strategic purchasing decisions that if you're buying from a retail market or broker, those are the decisions that the market or broker needs to enhance their bottom line and their profitability. The co–op makes those decisions on behalf of the members. It's a whole different mind–set.”

Service and Savings – Beyond Compare...
Through the Employers Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania, which is expected to have all licensure and PUC approval in place by early fall, there will be two enrollment models: One will be set up for very large customers, and the other will be for small to medium–sized customers. These members – industrial, commercial, institutional – will be able to shop around for their best energy prices, not just once a year, but each month.

These companies and organizations will have access to a Web site to track their energy usage patterns and get an assessment of what the benefits are from the co–op. The energy co–op provides an open–book model, which allows the member to see the actual costs associated with the energy usage at their facility.

“When it comes to a customer understanding his price, it's very complicated,” notes Frank. “If they were to audit what the energy co–op's prices were, they would simply see the real costs that came through the PJM electricity bidding process.”

According to administrators, the energy co–op will be responsible for the recording and actual billing that goes out to users. However, the utility company will continue to deliver the energy and is still the first contact regarding an emergency or power outage.

“The utility then bills the customer for the use of their pipes and wires,” says Frank. “You can call the utility to come fix the problem; that won't change.”

Added Benefits for Co–op Members...
One of the key advantages of the co–op setup is the added benefit of consultation services. Member companies and institutions will now have a “go–to” resource to examine their current energy use and ways to improve it.

“One of the good things about linking up with a company like Synergy,” says Bell, “is that they have been doing this for a number of years and, as a result, they not only have the ability to forecast demand and do those things that are necessary for us to get up and running, but they also have some ancillary projects that they can help our members with. One is the management of energy, looking at your building and your costs and where you can save and get better efficiencies. One of the things we want to do, as we get into this project, is to use the ability that Synergy has and pass that on to the members so that they can not only save in energy consumption, but also make their operation more efficient.”

In addition, Synergy's support allows co–op members to access information on better ways to conserve energy in their operations. Adds Frank, “There's a number of different things — auditing services, renewable generation projects, conservation projects — pretty much across the board.”

Bell says he is confident in the relationship that has been formed, and the value that is being offered to Association members who join. “The co–op is a not–for–profit corporation,” he stresses. “The reason it's set up that way is to assure members that this is a benefit to them, and we want to funnel as much savings as we can back to the member.”

The feeling is mutual, says Frank, who has been very impressed with his work with the Association thus far. “We've had some interactions with associations, mostly in the New York area and in the Northeast, and I have to tell you, I have never seen such an impressive business association as the MBA. When we made our first trip down to Erie, I was absolutely impressed by the organization that they've built, and we are happy to have the chance to provide service for this cooperative.”

For more information or to enroll, contact the Employers Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania at 814/833–3200 or 800/815–2660, or visit the Web site www.mbausa.org.

Expiration of electric rate caps in Pennsylvania by supplier:

• Citizens' Electric Company of Lewisburg — Already expired
• Duquesne Light Company – Already expired
• Metropolitan Edison Company — December 31, 2010
• PECO Energy Company — December 31, 2010
• Pennsylvania Electric Company — December 31, 2010
• Pennsylvania Power Company — Already expired
• Pike County Power & Light Company — Already expired
• PPL Corporation – December 31, 2009
• UGI Utilities, Inc. — Electric Division — Already expired
• Wellsboro Electric Company — Already expired
• West Penn Power Company — December 31, 2010

The Employers Energy Alliance of Pennsylvania, Inc.

Established: 2009 by the Manufacturer & Business Association, headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Who Can Enroll: Any business (including educational or health-care institutions, commercial or retail operations, etc.), that is a member of the Manufacturer & Business Association. There is no limit on the size of the energy user. Residential customers cannot be accepted at the present time.
How Much Does it Cost to Enroll: Enrollment is free, but participating members of the co-op must be members in good standing of the Manufacturer & Business Association.
When Can I Enroll: Once the cooperative has all approvals in place from the state and various agencies, the cooperative is expected to start enrollment this fall.
Where Do I Enroll: Contact J. David Bell at 814/833-3200 or 800/815-2660, or visit our Web site, www.mbausa.org.
Energy Hotline Enrollment: To receive energy updates, please e-mail dbell@mbausa.org.

Synergy Looks to Alternative Fuels
Synergy Energy Holdings, LLC, is a Buffalo, NY based holding company comprised of a number of operating companies, each directed at a specific niche in the energy markets. We currently manage over $ 1 B of client energy purchases around the US and Canada.

Synergy is currently evaluating alternative fuel projects for a number of clients in the areas of biomass, wind, PV and most recently, hydrogen fuel cells. We are currently looking for design / build partnerships for a number of fuel cell projects we are currently pursuing for clients around the US and Canada. Several clients include:

• A large (3.0 MW) commercial bakery in New England is assessing a natural gas fueled approach, and would also like to look at a process for recycling bakery waste from all of their northeast bakery sites, to possibly include a digester process to produce syngas.
• A major grocery chain is proposing a new facility with a possible DFC300 application with a net meter approach with the utility.
• A city district heating plant that provides steam and hot water to a number of facilities within the central business district is looking to produce liquid or gaseous hydrogen for refueling City/County fleets.

We are interested in entering into strategic partnerships with technical services companies to help advance these fuel technologies and help us provide a value added service in addition to those existing products currently offered to our clients.

Fluent Energy Joins Synergy
Fluent Energy is proud to announce that it is now part of the Synergy Energy Holdings network. This new entity brings together companies with which Fluent has worked in the past, which together provide an even broader range of energy consulting and procurement services. Please contact us to discuss

TopSource Long Term Agreement
Synergy is pleased to announce a long term agreement with TopSource LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Topco Associates which is a national cooperative of 63 supermarkets and food service companies across the US. Synergy operating companies Fluent Energy, utilityaccounts.com and Energy Advantage will provide a variety of energy related services including procurement, utility bill payment and processing, on–line energy information, utility bill auditing and a variety of other consulting services.

SMEC Extends Reach
The Schools & Municipality Cooperative of Western New York (SMEC) extends its reach throughout NY State as it welcomes additional schools from the St. Lawrence–Lewis BOCES Purchasing Cooperative as members. SMEC is a municipal aggregator for the purchase of electricity throughout NY State with Fluent Energy, providing the technical services. Municipality facilities as well as school districts can qualify for the purchase of electricity through this Wholesale Aggregation model, with no "middle man" between its members and the NY Independent System Operator (NYISO), from where the electricity is purchased. As a municipal corporation SMEC is not allowed to profit from a markup on the resale of the electricity, so its margins are literally limited to its administrative overhead. SMEC welcomes new members and would be happy to discuss this lowest cost purchasing model with you.