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January 27, 2014
An open letter to the
Pemberton Borough, NJ Council
Electric Bill: The borough practice
requiring bill payment within days of its
receipt is unreasonable. To apply a late fee
on top of that is reprehensible. I received
my January Electric bill on the 9th.
It was to be paid on the 15th.
That is 4 business days later. My bill is
paid on the first business day after the 20th
of each month. I have no intention of
changing that date. Last year, my lack of
payment of the electric bill on the 15th
resulted in my home being published on the
tax sale. There was no prior notification.
Many Borough Residents I know receive a
monthly late notice. How much of our tax
money do you waste each month on notices
which are totally unnecessary. An analysis
of your practices is long past due. Don’t
expect any fees or interest on fees for late
payment to be paid by me any time soon. List
me again for a tax sale. Take me to court,
but change your ordinance.
Solar Panels: The Pemberton Borough
Electric Department is failing to comply
with the Electric Code which states that the
Borough Electric Department will purchase
excess electricity generated by the Solar
Panels in place on my home and on the home
of Ina Cabanas. I have been forced to
decommission my Electric Generator because
of the town’s undocumented and inappropriate
interconnection policy.
Mrs.
Cabanas has an electric meter installed in
parallel with the normal electric meter.
That meter removes all the energy produced
by her Solar panels. She gets to use none of
the electricity she generates. The Borough
is not buying EXCESS energy, it is
buying ALL the energy at a fraction
of the production cost.
On my
home, the Borough electrician specified that
the output meter be wired in series with the
normal electric meter. The Borough records
and purchases ALL the electricity produced
by my panels at 50¢ on the dollar. I do get
to use some of the energy the Borough
purchased and they don’t charge me for it.
However, the Borough charges me 22¢
for every kWh I don’t use at that time and
send to the grid. The result is that my
electric bill is in excess of 1¾ times
higher than it would be with no solar
panels. Because of the inappropriate
Electric Code, my generator has was
decommissioned in October.
The
Electric Code has no standard in place for
the meter connection. The operating program
for the meter is not defined. The Borough
Code defines prohibited meters. The Borough
Electric Department does not conform to the
Code currently in place.
Last
fall I submitted a recommendation for a
change to the code. In the back room
meeting, the Mayor determined that they
would not address that recommendation. The
issues with the Code were detailed. There
was no public acknowledgment of the
document. Everything submitted to the
Borough council has been ignored. This is
inconsistent with the policy of open
government.
It is
time for a free and open discussion in the
presence of the public. The Council must
provide a rationale for the decisions being
made and they must be documented in the
public record.
The
term EXCESS energy as currently used
in the Code is undefined. At the time the
Solar Panels were installed, it was
understood to carry the meaning used in the
Solar Industry: The difference between
energy sent to the grid and taken from the
grid where the energy sent to the grid is
greater. The code does specify that
“reversing meters” are not permitted but
they do not specify how they will measure
the EXCESS except that a separate meter will
be used.
The
council must amend the code to accommodate
both previously installed systems which were
contracted assuming the generally understood
meaning of the term EXCESS energy. The
Borough must specify the interconnection.
The Borough must specify the period over
which the readings will be taken: monthly,
quarterly, annually. The Borough must
purchase any EXCESS energy at the agreed
upon rates. Changes to the code will not
mitigate the Borough’s prior liability.
Respectfully submitted
Bruce
T. Buzalski
39 Simpkins Lane, Pemberton, NJ |
