Public power utilities are jumping into the B2B act too — morethan 225 community-owned electric utilities have committed up to$1.2 billion in purchasing power to UtilityFrontier.com, a nationalexchange launched earlier this year. The utilities will use the B2Bas a purchasing exchange to serve more than 6.7 million electricmeters — about one third of all public power customers.

UtilityFrontier.com is a service of Hometown Connections, asubsidiary of the American Public Power Association (APPA) andKnowledgeA-Z, a software technology firm. It is expected to providethe marketplace with savings on all types of electric powerproducts, including transformers, poles, vehicles and conductors.It also will offer office supplies and equipment. Overall, thepublic power market share is about 14% of the $220 billion electricutility industry.

One of the new members, the Los Angeles Department of Water& Power, plans to improve its supply chain management with thenew exchange. Raman Raj, assistant general manager of the utility,said the partnership “represents an endeavor to increasecompetition and drive down prices that will ultimately benefit theentire public power community.”

APPA Executive Director Alan H. Richardson said the response tothe B2B has exceeded expectations, and he said that the summer’s”dysfunctional electricity markets in California and other statesappear to have spurred public power systems to explore”opportunities. APPA, based in Washington, D.C., represents morethan 2,000 community- and state-owned electric utilities. Itlaunched Hometown Connections in 1998 to provide competitiveadvantages to public power systems.

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