Many Hilton residents making village their electric supplier

Many Hilton residents making village their electric supplier

Hilton Mayor Bill Carter can sympathize with the jolly guy in the red suit. The closer it gets to the end of December, the bigger his list grows.

Carter is hoping that everyone interested in making the Village of Hilton their electric supplier will be on his list by the end of the year. After an initial push through signs, mailings, meetings and media, the number of residents registered for this first-ever program has more than doubled to 600. Carter is still hoping to reach his goal of 1,000 residents.

However, Carter said it will be challenging as residents are receiving messages from many different sources. "It has really made this confusing for some residents," Carter said. "There are also some who still don't know about it."

Village residents can now select the Village of Hilton as their electric supplier. That choice should end up saving an active household between $60 and $100, about seven percent, this coming year. Supplying electric is the second phase of a plan launched in late 2000 with the passing of a referendum to create a gas and electric utility in Hilton Village. In 2001, the village began offering gas. About 850 residents have participated in the gas program and, Carter said, have received an annual savings ranging from three- to five-percent.

Carter recently talked about the village's electric service to business owners at a dinner hosted by the Hilton-Parma Chamber of Commerce. "They were pleased and many of them have signed up," Carter said. Village residents interested in having Hilton supply their electric power should call the Village Office at 392-4144, or go on-line at www.hiltonny.org. The deadline to enroll is December 29 at 5 p.m. and no exceptions can be made.