Grubb & Ellis arranges contract for power supply. (Technology: Update).

Grubb & Ellis Company, one of the leading providers of integrated real estate services, announced that it has arranged a 28 month fixed-rate contract for TransCanada Power Marketing, Ltd. of Westborough, Massachusetts to supply electricity to five Aetna Inc. office and data center facilities in Hartford, Middletown and Windsor Connecticut totaling approximately 3.7 million SF. This is believed to be the first private electric supply contract in Connecticut for a large commercial account.

Grubb & Ellis Management Services (GEMS) and Aetna's Real Estate Services Group worked closely together to arrange an energy supply agreement that is expected to reduce the annual electricity costs for these facilities by 3.5%, which would provide savings to Aetna in excess of $500,000 during the contract period. GEMS is Aetna's facility management service provider for approximately five million square feet of space in CT, NJ and PA.

"We continuously strive to reduce client costs, and since electricity supply in Connecticut was deregulated in 2000 this substantial expense has become one of our targets," said David Rainone, the GEMS account executive for this project. "This new arrangement is an effective way for Aetna to benefit from the changed energy supply-side landscape." Rainone noted that under the new contract there will be no physical change in the delivery of electricity to these sites, nor any impact on power quality or reliability. Although Trans Canada is a subsidiary of a Canadian company, the power will not be imported from Canada except to the degree that a portion of New England's total electric supply may be supplied by transmission lines from Canada.