Allegheny County, the city of Pittsburgh and three other entities will shave an estimated $1.4 million from their electricity bills over two years as a result of an Internet auction, officials announced yesterday.

The auction, conducted Jan. 31 by Pine-based Co-exprise Inc., led to a $15.6 million contract for 230 million kilowatt hours of electricity from Duquesne Light Co. That price, which kicks in June 1, is around 8 percent lower than the best price obtained through a paper bidding process conducted shortly before the online auction.

"Taxpayers and patrons will benefit from these low energy costs, and we encourage other organizations to join in this cost-saving effort," said county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, in a statement.

The Sports & Exhibition Authority, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Zoological Society of Pittsburgh joined the city and county in the process. The price is the result of the agglomeration of their buying power, plus the competitive pressures of a 16-minute auction in which five local and national firms pushed each others' bids down, said Co-exprise Chief Operating Officer Mark Nuzzo.

The county, city, authorities and zoo won't buy all of their electricity through this process -- yet -- because they have other power contracts that have yet to expire. The county, for instance, will get the electricity for the John J. Kane Regional Center/Glen Hazel, Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, family courts and jail at the auction price.

The city will buy the electricity for the City-County Building and its North Side police headquarters at the auction price, said city Energy and Utilities Manager Jim Sloss, who spearheaded the effort. That represents one-seventh of the city's annual $5 million electricity bill, and the auction price will save $300,000 compared with what it had been paying on the spot power market.

As other contracts expire, more auctions will occur, and they also may involve other governmental entities, businesses and educational institutions, said Mr. Nuzzo. They're also contemplating a joint natural gas buy through an online auction.

As a condition of the bidding, Duquesne Light will ensure that 10 percent of the electricity provided comes from renewable sources like wind, solar, water or biomass power, said Mr. Nuzzo. That requirement pushed prices slightly higher than they might otherwise be, he said.

Mr. Nuzzo did not know what his firm would make from the deal. Based on the price cited in city legislation on the auction, Co-exprise could earn as much as $161,000 over two years, depending on the amount of electricity bought.