Mountain View Power's “Call to Action” presentation at last Wednesday's Uptowne Olds meeting got members thinking about the unique opportunities offered by the Olds Institute's power company.
The company has been promoting itself through presentations to alert potential customers of the saving opportunities present, while toting a new slogan “Helping the community, one kilowatt at a time.”
“I found it very interesting. Really interesting, in fact,” said Uptowne Olds co-chair Brian Thompson.
Thompson said if part of a business's electricity bill – which has to be paid regardless – is going to be reinvested into the community, he's all for it.
“What do any of these other energy companies do for us?” Thompson asked.
“If you have (a company) that's going to put money back into the community, than I'm all for supporting it.”
This is a savings opportunity for everyone, and money will be reinvested in community development at the same time, said Geoff Stephenson, a Mountain View Power volunteer who gave the presentation.
“The Olds Institute is designed to provide regional and economic development. If we raise money for them, it provides more opportunities for them to help build things within the community.”
Stephenson explained Mountain View Power takes the rate charged when purchasing the power from wholesalers and tack on 1.5 per cent – giving it the cheapest rate in Olds.
“It really comes down to the idea of, ‘Can a community try and keep profits local as much as possible in order to help better themselves, but at the same time not cut off connections with other parties?'
“Mountain View Power is just one local energy provider. There are other models operating under the same guidelines as we are, that are small, local, municipal energy resellers such as ourselves. We're buying power, and providing it back to the local consumer.”
In exchange, he said, the profit is not leaving the community, but is in the hands of the Olds Institute to decide how these funds are used in their own projects.
Although the company is offering locked-in rates (one or two-year terms) for a limited time, Stephenson noted savings are most often attained when on a floating rate, adding that most often savings become more apparent after a number of years.
“There are peaks and valleys, but you do end up saving money if you ride it through. When (power companies) offer you a fixed rate, yes, it is peace of mind – but you're paying for it.”
MVP currently has 89 customers in the area, and is looking to increase those figures.
“We'd like to see it grow to two or three times that,” said Stephenson.
However, some Uptowne Olds members commented that the company's growth could be diminished by leaving out the large demographic of seniors in Olds who would likely be uncomfortable with paperless billing, the only current billing option MVP provides.
“It would be great if we could give bills to seniors, but to do that, we'd have to be able to build up enough market share and cash flow to be able to set up an operation and make it viable. We're so small that it really doesn't become practical,” he said.
Although Stephenson said this option has been discussed amongst Mountain View Power representatives and other companies who use the same billing platform, “it's extremely cost prohibitive at this time.”
“Because we're only offering that billing support, we're able to take that portion of what is the normal overhead and profit markup and redirect it back to the community.
“That's why we've got by the premise that we're lean and we keep things paperless.”
He suggested that those curious about MVP's rates should get one of their old energy bills, a void cheque, and sign up at mountainviewpower.com, or call 1-877-244-7294.
If customers signed up with MVP wish to discontinue the service and return to a different billing provider, Stephenson said they can 15 days after giving notice to MVP – something people locked in to contracts don't have the luxury of doing.
The local lines, maintenance, and services are still being provided by existing parties, Stephenson explained, as Mountain View Power is merely the broker.
Thompson said he felt bad that more Uptowne Olds members weren't present to hear the presentation.
“Normally we get 20-25 people all the time. Summer months, everybody's away though.”
