Philly Buying Power unites firms for energy savings

Cooperative expected to result in significant savings once electricity rate caps expire in January.

The city of Philadelphia is offering businesses a way to save money on their electricity once rate caps come off in January.

Philly Buying Power aims to join businesses in a cooperative to buy electricity at a discount. Christopher Booth is with Taylor Energy, which was selected as a consultant for the city. He says the cooperative could create significant cost savings for businesses — possibly up to 20 percent.

“Through this program,we believe that Philly Buying Power could be the single largest purchaser of electricity in Pennsylvania,” said Booth Wednesday. “It will serve as the gateway for all types of information on energy efficiency and low-interest loans to help businesses become more green and city state and federal benefits. That’s power.”

The group won’t know exactly how much the savings will be until it takes bids sometime in November or early December.