Scioto Valley Presbytery – Utility Consortium (SVPUC)
Presbyterians can unite to reduce gas utility costs for our churches!
By pooling our energy usage, we can reduce the rates we pay for gas.
Our community is blessed with many energy industry professionals. As good stewards of time and talent, they have shared their knowledge and expertise, and Broad Street Presbyterian Church has drafted Requests for Proposal (RFP) for Gas utility. We want to join with other congregations and approach select utility providers to secure cost effective high volume rates.
Our goal is to reduce utility costs for participating Scioto Valley Presbytery churches.
The strategy will combine historical usage data of participating churches. If your congregation participates (without obligation), your usage patterns will be integrated into the statistics included with the RFPs.
To determine whether this could benefit your church community, please visit www.BSPC.org by the cut off date of October 1, 2009 and go to the link marked Scioto Valley Presbytery Utility Consortium (SVPUC). You will then be asked four (4) simple questions used to determine our potential buying power:
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Church Name
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Church Address
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Church Gas Account No. and Name of Utility
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Name and Title of Authorized Person (Church Administrator, Building & Grounds Chair, etc.)
If you don’t have access to the website, simply FAX this information to SVPUC at 614-221-5722, or call Broad Street Presbyterian Church at 614-221-6552 ext 201. The SVPUC will then compose a Request for Proposal (RFP) based upon our combined information to select the high volume gas utility providers. Based on their guaranteed rate response to our RFP statistics, we will then choose the appropriate supplier for gas utility and notify you, your committee and/or your church Session. You will not be required to choose the gas utility agreement if it is not advantageous to your unique situation or agreement (see Frequently Asked Questions). You will then have 7 days to analyze the data and confirm your intentions to partner in Scioto Valley Presbytery Utility Consortium (SVPUC).
To confirm your churches intention to participate, please go to www.BSPC.org and click on the link marked Scioto Valley Presbytery Utility Consortium (SVPUC). Then click OPT IN, and follow the prompts. If you’re not able to connect with the www.BSPC.org option, please call us at the church office at 614-221-6552, ext. 201.
Please note, there may be some Scioto Valley Presbytery churches who will not qualify due to gas infrastructure limitations or the physical location of your facility. The SVPUC will advise you if the utility providers cannot provide services.
If your church already has a utility contract with a predetermined provider, there are still ways to join SVPUC! Please review any existing agreements to determine if your contract is still in effect, or if it has matured. If the original Contract Rate period has expired and you are now paying the Index Rate rather than your original Contract Rate, you may be free to terminate the utility agreement without penalty.
DO NOT cancel your existing agreement until we confirm that your service address is within the logistical markets served by our utility providers and your existing agreements can be cancelled without penalty (based upon language detailed in your original contract).
Frequently Asked Questions (below) may also be found at www.BSPC.org. The success of this effort will depend on the number of churches participating. The sooner you respond, the sooner we can all begin saving! If you have questions, please e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 614-221-6552, ext. 201.
The information you provide will not be disclosed to anyone other than Broad Street personnel who will process the data to obtain cost savings proposals and services from energy and utility providers. We respect your right to privacy and will protect the confidentiality and security of the information you provide.
With kindest regards,
Rick A. Delaney
Chair, Buildings & Grounds, Broad Street Presbyterian Church
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are you asking us to do?
A: We are asking if you would like to join BSPC in finding a lower cost supplier for natural gas.
Q: Is this mandatory?
A. No, we are pursuing this and thought we would open the idea up to all Scioto Valley Presbytery churches.
Q: Can I opt out of the consortium at a later date?
A: If you choose to join this consortium we request that you stay in for a minimum of 1 year.
Q: Why is BSPC doing this?
A: BSPC is trying to save money on utility costs and felt that we could have better bargaining power if other churches were also involved.
Q: Who will make the choice of what suppliers to select?
A: BSPC will make the selection.
Q: Will I have to sign a contract?
A: Yes you will need to commit to being part of the consortium and then sign a contract with the selected supplier (when one is selected).
Q: Will BSPC send out the bills?
A. No, the selected supplier will send you a monthly bill for gas.
Q. Is their an additional fee involved with this consortium?
A. Like you, our time is very valuable. BSPC is offering to handle this consortium with their existing resources. If it turns out that this takes more time than anticipated, BSPC could look to the consortium members to help defray the cost of administering the consortium.
Q. I am currently under contract with another supplier, but I like the idea of joining with other churches. Can I sign up for this at a later date?
A. Yes, BSPC intends to negotiate a deal that would allow other churches to join the consortium at any time. Those churches that join after the initial enrollment might pay a different rate than the other churches, but these details will be worked out through the RFP process.
