For Immediate Release:                                                            Contact:

February 14, 2011                                                                   James Kickham

                                                                                                Executive Director

                                                                                                201-587-0555

Saddle Brook, NJ - The New Jersey Sustainable Energy Joint Meeting (NJSEM) is an energy purchasing  group of 130 New Jersey governmental entities who have joined together to provide its membership, many of which have multiple small volume accounts, equal footing with large energy users. The ultimate goal of the NJSEM is to pool the resources of its large group of municipal entities to collectively purchase natural gas and electricity. The end objectives are price stability with resulting budgetary certainty for all NJSEM members, secured through a competitive bid process and, the opportunity to realize savings which might not otherwise be available to this customer class.     

The NJSEM held the 2011 Natural Gas Bid Opening on February 10, 2011. Requests for Bids for 12 and 24 month terms were requested from NJBPU-approved Third Party Suppliers. 

The SEM received three bids, each offering 12 and 24 month options.   The successful bidder, Hudson Energy of Suffern, New York, bid $7.139 per dekatherm ($7.14/Dth) on an overall quantity of 345,277/Dth. The fixed price of $7.14/Dth includes applicable Sales and Use tax and represents the cost to purchase natural gas from its source and, interstate transportation to the appropriate City Gate locations of the four New Jersey natural gas distribution utilities.  The gas commodity and interstate pipeline transportation are the only unregulated cost components of gas service which a public entity can control and potentially reduce through the public bidding process. 

The NJSEM Executive Board awarded a 12 month fixed price (FP) contract starting on April 1, 2011.

The results of the 2011 Natural Gas Bid will provide NJSEM members with another year of supply and budget certainty.  Added to this is a significant reduction from last year’s gas cost.

The NJSEM will next pursue competitive bidding for the aggregated electrical loads for its members.  This auction is anticipated to occur in mid-April and will be open to any municipality or authority who is a NJSEM member as of March 7, 2011.

Please visit the NJSEM website at www.NJSEM.org for more information about the benefits of joining the New Jersey Sustainable Energy Meeting.