Carbon County will save on its electric bills for the next three years.

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board voted to award a three-year contract to low bidder, TriEagle Energy of The Woodlands, Texas.The bid came in at 7.991 cents per kilowatt hour before gross receipts tax. The contract is a fixed-rate contract for 36 months.The county uses approximately three million kilowatt hours annually, Jason Ulshafer, principal of Ingram Engineering Services Inc. of West Chester, reported at the meeting.Ulshafer has been Carbon's electric consultant since 2009.The contract will take effect during the April billing cycle. It covers all county-owned buildings, as well as buildings rented by the county where electricity is not supplied.The process for bids was a first for the county, in that it was held completely online.Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard explained to those in attendance that "history is being made" in the Carbon offices.The bidding period was open between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and a special email address was set up to receive bids. A computer was hooked up to a television to allow everyone present to watch as bids came in.A total of six companies submitted bids during the one-hour period. One bid, which was not opened, came in after the bid window closed.Bids included prices for 12-, 24- and 36-month fixed rates; as well as 12- 24- and 36-month 20 percent energy fixed rates.After all bidders were announced, Daniel Miscavige, county solicitor; and Ulshafer reviewed all information to determine which option would best suit the county's needs.This is the third time Carbon has bid out its electricity.The last contract, a two-year contract held by Champion Energy Services of Houston, Texas, was also 7.9 cents per kilowatt hour.The reason for electric bidding was due to the 2010 electric deregulation and rate hikes. With the deregulation, the county would have been paying PPL Electric around 30 percent more for its electricity than it had been.In 2009, Carbon paid $700,000 between 8 and 11 cents per kilowatt hour to power all of its buildings.