The thought of a $42,000 a month utility bill sort of makes you cringe, doesn't it? That kind of money is over a year's wages for most people in Alliance. And it adds up to over half a million dollars a year. That's what the City of Alliance is currently paying for utility bills at the water treatment and wastewater treatment plants. But there is hope.

The City of Alliance will soon be participating in an experimental program offered by Ohio Edison. There are 43 large volume customers of Ohio Edison in this service area that have been offered participation in this program. This is how it works.

Say the city wants to plan for the annual hydrant-flushing program. Instead of just flushing away with no thought to how much electricity it's going to take to pump all that water back into those towers, you plan smarter. The city will be able to get on a secured web site offered by Ohio Edison and check what's called "Real Time Pricing." Hourly and next day prices for electricity will be posted on the web site and the city can determine during which hours it would be the cheapest to flush the hydrants and refill the towers.

Other operations of the water treatment plant and wastewater plant could also be planned for when "real time" prices are lower. Currently the city pays for electricity based on the peak rate used during the month. Because of this, the Morgan Engineering fire alone cost the city an additional $4,000 for electricity used to keep the water pressure up for the fire department.

Of course you can't schedule your emergencies. But by planning smarter, our water superintendent Dan McGannon predicts we can save between $30,000-$40,000 a year. The electric company has been telling us for years how to manage our electric costs at home. They tell you not to run your hair dryer, electric oven, washing machine, stereo, television, microwave and toaster at the same time. Besides the possibility of blowing a fuse, you also run up your electric bill. Why? Because whatever that peak usage rate is, that's the rate you will be paying all month for electricity.

Why is Ohio Edison offering the city this opportunity? Well, we'd like to think they are just super nice guys. But the reality is that Ohio Edison pays for electricity just like we do. If they can encourage some of their larger customers to perform high usage activities at off peak times, they can buy electric at a cheaper price also.

The city just can't miss with this experimental program. The up front costs are minimal. We will have to pay to install two new meters at about $650 each. We will also need to have two dedicated telephone lines installed for connection to the Internet. Another plus is that we can save money without changing the entire operation of the plants. And over time, improved management of the operations will add up to increased savings.

Other areas of the United States are trying this program also. Unfortunately, this program is not available for residential users. But if you want more information on this subject, call Dan McGannon at the Water Treatment Plant at 330-829-2241 or Joe Amabeli at Wastewater Treatment at 330-829-2220. We will try to keep the community informed about how much money this program saves the city this year.

You can also call LuAnn Koch at Ohio Edison at 330-821-4125.