Trust in the Co-op Helps Members Find Big Energy Saving
CPA Co-op was founded to put the interests of our members first. In the 9 years since its founding, CPA has challenged energy suppliers on unfair charges, rewritten waste hauling contracts to include consumer protection clauses, and leveraged our purchasing power to ensure fair rates and terms for copiers. Our cooperative structure gives us different incentives than the rest of the actors in the industry.
“Our cooperative structure gives us different incentives than the rest of the actors in the industry.”
Most actors in the energy industry are motivated by profit. They never look at the utility rate and always encourage organizations to sign contracts—sometimes to the organization’s detriment. In the last year, we have consistently sent members to the default utility rate when the utility has been the best option.
Last year, we recommended that our DC members who were on contracts return to the utility when their contracts expired because the utility rate was more favorable than anything we were seeing on the 3rd party supply market.
But late February, we saw two major changes that encouraged the co-op to act fast.
Market environment: A fall in the price of natural gas led to a corresponding decrease in 3rd party electricity prices.
Regulatory environment: In February, the DC Council passed a new law to accelerate the local solar carve out in its Renewable Portfolio Standard. The co-op, recognizing this could increase members' electric bills unexpectedly, informed our network about the change and convened a gathering of members to discuss how they'd like to proceed.
What CPA did:
We quickly gathered supply pricing from our most reputable and competitive suppliers and organized a contracting opportunity for interested organizations before the end of the month—postponing their exposure to the new fee structure and ultimately aiming to save our members significantly. Typically our aggregations take months. We turned around this purchase in 2 weeks. We did this in spite of the fact that many of our schools were out on winter recess. It’s a testament to the trust that our members have for the co-op—a trust that is built on looking out for the best interests of the group and the many day-to-day interactions where we help our members with their most pressing operational needs across all our programs from HVAC to trash to food service.
CPA Members gather for 2022 Annual Meeting at Two Rivers Public Charter SChool in DC
We are pleased to announce that the energy aggregation was successful, and 53 organizations participated. At a 75% commitment rate, it was our highest electricity commitment rate (our last large DC electricity purchase in 2020 had a 70% commitment rate) with a total of 30,200,000 kWh of annual consumption. With a final price right in line with the current utility pricing from PEPCO, we are expecting to come well under PEPCO’s next release of rates (given both the PEPCO market pressures and the new solar carve out law).
We also informed our members that if this cost is in line with their interest and values, then we support them to act accordingly. If not, we support them in contracting now and looking at more ways they can help advance renewable energy and energy efficiency in the face of the climate crisis, such as on-site solar development and HVAC improvements.
We are currently organizing another electricity purchase. You can find all the details and join the purchase by clicking “learn more” below:
In a marketplace with many predatory brokers, the CPA, as a member-owned cooperative, always serves our members, putting their interests first. This consistent alignment of interests—whether in our HVAC, waste hauling, insurance, copier, janitorial, or food service programs—has solidified the trust that CPA members have for the co-op and for one another.
“In a marketplace with many predatory brokers, the CPA, as a member-owned cooperative, always serves our members, putting their interests first. ”
If you’re interesting in joining the movement to help our core institutions dedicate more resources to their missions, all while shifting spend to align with their values, let’s talk! Shoot us an email at membership@cpa.coop.