Concord may consider switching energy wholesaler

CONCORD, N.C. — John Eury lives in Concord and is a customer of the city's electric utility.

When he first heard that the city is considering switching from power wholesaler Duke Energy to energy start-up NTE, he was skeptical.

"I'm one of these 'if it isn't broke don't fix it' people," Eury said.

Then he thought about it.

"If they're able to get it cheaper, then maybe they can pass it on to us. That would be great," Eury said.

The city has a contract with Duke through 2018, and with that in mind, city officials started looking around.

"If you have an opportunity to see if you can get a better price on that, that's the main reason," said Concord spokesman Peter Franzese.

The city said it appears NTE is offering that.

Here's how the process works.

The city of Concord buys its electricity wholesale from Duke Energy. It then turns around and sells it to ts customers.

City officials said if they switch wholesalers, the customers' service should not suffer. It could cost the customer less.

"It's still five years off in the future, but there's certainly an opportunity for that," Franzese said.

"I am about saving money," said Concord resident Colleen Furr. "I know Duke's been around a long time and I don't have a problem with that, but the way the economy is we need to be all about saving money."

Channel 9 checked with Duke officials, who say they have not received any formal notice of Concord's intent to change wholesalers.

The Concord City Council decides Thursday night whether to authorize their city manager to move forward with negotiations with NTE.

WSOC