Borough Of Pemberton (a resident's perspective)

btbuz.us Hearthstone Pemberton Boro Solar Energy Pemboro

Solar: Pemberton Borough comes clean
Bruce Buzalski
February 24, 2014

Other Pages Borough Docs Installer My Communications
Solar Home Page
PB Home Page
PB Electric Dept
PB Solar Policy
 PB Electric Code
 PB Original Contract 2005
 PB Revised Contract 2012
 
Ordinance 2013-1 & Response
 Ordinance 2014-1

2012.01.22 Gene Kingman
Geopeak SunPower Contract
Geopeak Energy

Equipment Supplier & Lessor

Sunpower Corporation
  TRINITY and SUNRUN
Contract
Contract Cencelation

Response to Council 4/15/2013
A Proposed Ordinance 8/29/2013
PB Fails to Comply with Code
Compliance & 10/31/2013 Letter
Open Letter 11/8/13
Open Letter 12/16/13
Open Letter 1/11/14
To the Council 2/19/2014
Borough Comes Clean
Request Approval of Batteries

My Position

State

Borough Legal Council

Communication from the Borough

My Story
Issues and Remedies
482-13 Powers of BPU

Net Metering from Betz & Holt
Geopeak Response to Betz & Holt
Message to councilmen of Pemberton Borough

No Communication Received

Referenced Documents

GeoPeak Proposal
Sunpower Solar Lease
PBEC Original Agreement
PBEC Revised Agreement
2013 Power Monitoring
2015.03 Power Monitoring
2015.or Power Monitoring
 
NJ Clean Energy Document
Pemberton Borough Code 90

Legal Position

My Story

Buzalski vs GeoPeak Electric

GeoPeak Energy
 

geopeak commits Fraud

Pemberton Borough NJ has hidden their objective from public scrutiny for years. When solar panels are installed in the Borough, the Pemberton Borough Electric Department takes everything produced by the system. Their Code doesn’t say this. Their Code, until last Wednesday, said they will purchase the Excess energy. Their Code also stated that they will use a separate Utility Meter to measure the Excess but didn’t specify how that meter was to be installed. On Wednesday they changed their code to remove the word “excess”.

Not once in the many contacts and presentations to the Borough over the past 18 months did they state that it was their policy to take all the electricity produced by the solar panels that were purchased and installed by a resident. Ina Cabanas back in 2005 found out the hard way that they were taking it all. She installed a system with the understanding that in accordance with the code, they would take only her Excess Electricity. Although she fought long and hard, she was unable to get them to change their policy.

The most recent resident to install solar was Bruce Buzalski. Believing the Code that they would take the Excess energy he installed a system. He spent $22500 to have it installed only to find out after months of testing, the Borough Electrician had installed the “Excess” energy meter in parallel with the house meter thus drawing off every electron produced. Yet, never in the 18 months of discourse, until last Wednesday, did the Borough Council finally state that it was their intent from the beginning to take it all.

The Borough Code doesn’t specify the type of meter to be used nor does it specify how that meter should be installed. The solar installer asked one electrician whose number was given them by the borough administrator, Donna Mull, how the meters should be arranged. He stated that the meter should be connected from the solar panels to the home meter. When the installer configured them that way, the Borough bought all the power but then charged the resident for everything sent to the grid. Their home meter is programed to sum the energy flowing in both directions, another fact that is not in the Code. The system has been shut down.

At the meeting they were asked why they didn’t just prohibit solar panels. The mayor stated that would be illegal. Prohibiting them is illegal but by ordinance taking all the solar energy produced by a system is not? They do pay the system owner for the power they take. However when comparing the cost of the energy produced to what the Borough pays, there is a huge loss to the owner. So the Borough is able to skirt the law, rob power from a resident and it is all perfectly legal.

The Borough has it’s own electric department and supplies energy to all the residents. Their rates are uncontrolled which is why at 22¢ per kwh their residents are paying the highest amount in the state. They are unregulated because they are, by law, not subject to the oversight and control of the NJ Board of Public Utilities. As the former mayor was proud of saying, “We can do anything we want” and they do.

Why do they take this position? They make a huge profit from the sale of electricity. It is their “Goose that lays their golden eggs”. The budget is dependent on taking the profit from their electric department and transferring it to the general fund. This is in effect taxing their residents through their electricity usage. This taxation includes non profits who by law should not be taxed yet they are struggling with huge electric bills because the Borough chooses to pad their nest in this way.

However you look at it, Pemberton Borough is not serving its residents well with their electric operation. The residents would be better off with the public utilities which are prevented from milking unfair profits from their customers. Where are the elected legislative representatives. Why do they allow a Borough in their jurisdiction to treat their constituents so unfairly?