Athens County Auditor Jill Thompson reminds all dog owners in Athens County to purchase their 2015 dog licenses.  Dog licenses can be purchased either at:

Athens County Auditor’s Office
Courthouse Annex
15 S. Court St., Room 330
Athens, OH 45701
(740) 592-3223
Monday – Friday:  8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
www.athenscountyauditor.org

OR

Athens County Dog Shelter
13333 SR 13
Millfield, OH 45761
(740) 593-5415
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday:  10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday:  10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Dog License can also be purchased at the following satellite locations. A representative from the Auditor’s office will be available at the following dates and times below during January:
Athens Kroger
Thursday, January 15, 2015 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Athens County Title Office
Saturday, January 17, 2015 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Licenses not purchased by the deadline of January 31, 2015 will be assessed a penalty. The Auditors Office does not have the authority to waive late fees after the deadline.

Kennel license may only be purchased at the Athens County Auditor’s Office.  Individuals must be in the business of professionally breeding dogs for hunting or sale to qualify for a kennel license.  Purchasers of kennel license may be subject to inspection by the Athens County Dog Warden.  

Southeast Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC), the organization that brings together Athens County, Athens City and Athens County villages, starting with Amesville, under an electric aggregation partnership, inked its deal with providers for the region’s electric aggregation.

In November 2013, voters in the region approved SOPEC’s pursuit to secure reasonably priced energy supply through the bargaining power of pooled customer aggregation purchase. Contracts with AEP Energy and Empower Gas & Electric, LLC (Empower G&E) were signed into agreement with SOPEC, underscoring an important milestone for how the region consumes and pays for its energy use. The negotiated rate for electrical power provided by AEP Energy is 7.549 cents per kilowatt hour (kHz) That represents a reduced cost of 28% as compared to the applicable residential electric utility price to compare for the month of December 2014.[1] Twenty five percent of that energy will be from renewable sources.

“Bringing our community together as one, large buyer of electricity was a significant win for our region,” said Chris Chmiel, Athens County Commissioner and Chairman of SOPEC. “Because of the steps our community has taken, every household and small business is now eligible to take advantage of a negotiated price for their electricity.”

In addition to receiving a negotiated price for electrical energy supply, SOPEC also instituted measures in its aggregation plan to provide the region with both energy efficiency and locally sourced renewable generation. Empower G&E was selected as the partner to provide these services.

“We are the first region in Ohio to pursue an aggregation program that includes energy efficiency and renewable generation efforts as part of the overall aggregation plan,” Roger Wilkens, SOPEC Administrator. “In the coming months, you’ll be seeing our Empower G&E partners out in the community offering an affordable energy efficiency package to help reduce a household’s energy use. It’s very unique.”

Empower G&E will be offering a comprehensive energy efficiency product for homeowners that will include home insulation, energy efficient LED light bulbs, wall caulking and a smart thermostat. Homeowners will have the option to pay for the installation of the energy efficiency product upfront, or utilize low interest financing offered through the Empower G&E program. Installation of the products will be sourced through local contractors.

“We recognize Athens’ desire to be perceived as an innovator relative to how the public uses and pays for its energy,” David Milenthal, CEO of Empower G&E explained. “In turn, we have developed an energy efficiency product that not only is affordable to the everyday homeowner, but will also save the homeowner even more money on their energy use starting day 1 after installation. And we’re proud to offer this product through contractors and installers located right here in Athens County.”

SOPEC’s overall aggregation program includes the negotiated rate for  energy supply, the energy efficiency program offered through Empower G&E and the eventual development of locally-sourced solar energy and household rooftop solar arrays, also being offered through Empower G&E. The renewable energy offerings will be in place later in 2015.

A letter from SOPEC outlining the overall aggregation program with the opportunity for households to opt-out of the aggregation rate is forthcoming. The energy efficiency and renewable energy products will be available to homeowners regardless of whether they opt-out of the aggregation rate.