LEWISTON – The sewage treatment plant’s board of directors approved an energy management contract Friday that is expected to be a cost-saving measure.

The Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority board voted to contract for electric power with Maine Power Options, an alternative power supply consortium with a membership consisting of cities, towns, counties and school districts.

LAWPCA Superintendent Clayton “Mac” Richardson explained that the 24-month contract, which takes effect in September, would take the facility off the standard offer, which is supplied by Select Energy, a division of Northeast Utilities.

“We had the option of starting it in June or starting in September and we decided to start in September because the rate starting in September was significantly better. Of course we don’t know what’s going to happen with the standard offer rate but we expect to save somewhere between $15,000 and $30,000 annually,” he said.

In other business, the board set the initial third quarter apportionment. Lewiston’s share is 58.5 percent and Auburn’s is 41.5. The percentages will be modified at the end of the quarter based on actual rates of flow.

Also, Richardson reported that compost sales to the public were slower than average last month due to inclement weather, but overall compost sales are ahead of where they were at this time last year.

In another matter, he reported to the board that there were no significant violations of the plant’s permit with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection during the past month. “We had two minor reporting violations where tests were taken a half hour before they were supposed to,” Richardson said.