Nesquehoning is looking at ways to cut costs for electricity.

On Wednesday, borough council approved a power agency ordinance, the first step in a new municipal power cooperative being formed between the borough and neighboring Packer Township. Packer is expected to take action on the same ordinance at its next meeting.The ordinance establishes the Broad Mountain Co-op Municipal Power Agency "for the purpose of collectively, with other municipal bodies located within Carbon, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties, developing sources and supply of electric energy."Council President David Hawk, who has been working on the formation of this power agency, said Nesquehoning would be a participating municipality.Earlier this month, council members met with Jay Gartlan, who operates wind farms and is proposing a wind farm on the Broad Mountain in Nesquehoning and Packer Township, to discuss what this cooperative would mean for the borough and its residents.Gartlan explained that the idea of municipal power cooperatives has been around for years, but in late 2016, the Pennsylvania Legislature made some revisions to its standards to make these types of authorities more attractive to municipalities.By entering into a municipal power cooperative, it would allow both Nesquehoning and Packer Township to purchase electricity cheaper and provide residents with either a cheaper rate for electricity or keep the price the same as what residents currently pay, but instead of additional fees going to PPL, the revenue would remain in the municipalities and could be used for anything from real estate tax relief or general operating costs to capital projects that may seem out of reach at this time."This co-op makes it possible," Gartlan said. "It's a public-private partnership because it's beginning to be a way municipalities get funding for capital projects without raising real estate taxes."People don't really care if they're paying 1-cent more per kilowatt hour monthly instead of paying real estate taxes once or twice a year," Gartlan said, adding that they are already essentially paying it on their current electricity bills without seeing it going back into the borough.He said that the requirement to form this cooperative is to have two municipalities, but any number of towns may join.Gartlan said that Weatherly has done something similar to this, except instead of a cooperative, it has taken ownership of its lines and meters and oversees its own power to the residents.Nesquehoning officials will now continue to work on the formation, and once finalized, could begin purchasing power from any source, such as wind or solar.