Our bargaining power could pay off
PAUL Pisasale is calling for Ipswich residents to get bulk electricity rates.
The Ipswich mayor has called on the council's energy provider Q Energy to establish a bulk rate for the entire city.
He said he is looking at using the Local Government Association's bulk buying process, Local Buy, to allow Ipswich residents to get better deals on energy rates.
"Why can't Q Energy give all of Ipswich a price?" he said.
"We'd be giving them a lot of business if a lot of Ipswich moved to them and they could give us a good price on electricity."
The move comes as a show of faith with Q Energy after Cr Pisasale last week said he would keep an eye on their prices if they threatened unreasonable price rises.
Cr Pisasale said he would examine the Local Buy scheme, which allows Queensland councils to leverage their collective size to obtain the best deals.
The mayor said he put the idea to the Local Government Association of Queensland president Paul Bell late last week.
"I asked Paul Bell if it was possible for Queenslanders to buy into the Local Buy to get the best deal possible.
"Paul told me he was going to look into the possibility, so the idea is definitely moving forward.
"It's about working smarter to provide deals for our residents. We've got to look at ways we can pass our buying power onto consumers."
Cr Pisasale said by getting a bulk power deals for the council and residents of Ipswich, both the users and energy suppliers would benefit.
"If this is possible I think we should try to take this Queensland wide," he said.
"Energy companies would really have to sharpen their pencils to give Queenslanders the best deals.
"If the price is right we'll take it."
Q Energy could not be reached for comment.
