Carbon County will again 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/Crius Energy of The Woodlands, Texas.The proposal came in at 6.073 cents per kilowatt hour before gross receipts tax, almost 2 cents lower than what the county was currently paying per kilowatt hour. The contract is a fixed-rate contract for 36 months.The county uses approximately 2.7 million kilowatt-hours annually over the 40 accounts the county has, Commissioner William O'Gurek said."We anticipate a savings of $165,240 over three years," he said. The last contract, a three-year contract held by TriEagle Energy, was 7.991 cents per kilowatt hour.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 bidding period was open between 10:30 a.m. and noon and a special email address was set up to receive bids.Seven companies submitted proposals during the period. One bid, which was not opened, came in after the bid window closed.Proposals requested included prices for 12-, 24- and 36-month fixed rates; as well as 12- 24- and 36-month 25 percent energy fixed rates.After all bidders were announced, the county reviewed all information to determine which option would best suit the county's needs.At the beginning of the bidding period, Michael Guy of Jim Thorpe, an independent associate for Stream Energy of Dallas, Texas, approached the board to file a complaint against Ingram Engineering, the company hired to handle the electricity proposals.He said he was never able to make contact with the company other than one email saying that more information on Stream Energy was needed.He said because of the lack of communication on Ingram's part, he was unable to submit a proposal and requested the commissioners table the matter for one week to allow him time to prepare a proposal as long as Ingram responds.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that Ingram told the county Stream Energy failed to submit the proper credentials to be permitted to submit a proposal and the county would proceed.This is the fourth time Carbon has bid out its electricity.The 2010 electric deregulation allows for bidding. Without 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.