Medina County to seek 12‑month natural gas supply contract; electric RFP set for next week

Medina County commissioners were briefed on plans to renegotiate natural gas supply for the county’s government aggregation program and to issue a request for proposals for electricity supply.

Kevin Lauder Young, the county’s exclusive energy broker with Community Energy Advisors, told commissioners the county is positioned to seek a short, 12‑month natural gas contract and negotiate a best‑and‑final price to reactivate the program, with a likely start in December if a deal is reached. “First and foremost, it is to, through aggregating a large load, negotiate favorable pricing,” Lauder Young said, describing the program’s aims as both price negotiation and customer protection.

The presentation mattered because roughly 12,500 natural gas accounts and 19,500 electric accounts have participated in the county’s aggregation programs and the county holds a current certificate to operate as a government aggregator through September 2026. Lauder Young said the county’s prior natural gas supply contract expired in June 2025, and participants reverted to the utilities’ Standard Choice Offer (SCO) while staff sought new bids.

Lauder Young summarized why staff delayed immediately signing a new gas contract earlier this year: futures‑based supplier hedging produced prices that often exceeded the SCO in the prompt month, widening a spread that reduced the expected benefit of a contracted rate. He said market conditions have recently narrowed that gap. “The market conditions now are where we've got a, a reasonable, estimation of coming in at a supply rate that's about at the SCO rate,” Lauder Young said, and recommended a 12‑month term so the county is not locked into an unfavorable longer contract if markets change.

He outlined supplier and pricing details presented to commissioners: the county previously contracted with Constellation, but the firm has stopped offering natural gas government aggregation products; the current best supplier pricing for a December gas start showed an estimated weighted Columbia Gas forecast of $6.96 per MCF versus a best program price of $6.87 per MCF; Enbridge (formerly Dominion East Ohio) represents roughly 10% of county gas volume and the best program price there was about $0.40 per MCF higher than the county’s SCO forecast.

Lauder Young also reviewed long‑term program performance and participation: since the program began in November 2016 the aggregated gas contract beat the SCO in 69 of 98 months, and the county temporarily returned customers to SCO when the last contract ended. For electricity, the program has outperformed the utility rate in about 54 of 76 months (roughly 70%). He highlighted rising capacity costs in the PJM market — driven in part by large data centers and similar demand additions — that have contributed to higher electricity rates; he showed capacity auction prices rising from about $50 per megawatt‑day in earlier years to roughly $270 for the June 2025–May 2026 capacity year.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about certificate implications and consumption‑weighted savings; Lauder Young confirmed the county’s PUCO certificate can remain in place even while the county is not actively aggregating and said the program’s weighted savings rely on higher winter (gas) or summer (electric) consumption months to offset lower usage months.

Next steps presented to the commissioners were: staff will seek best‑and‑final pricing and negotiate a 12‑month natural gas contract to reactivate the aggregation program and will issue the electric supply RFP next week; Lauder Young said he would return with the recommended contract for execution after negotiations.

The county did not take a formal vote during the update; the presentation concluded with commissioners indicating support to proceed with negotiations and the upcoming electric RFP.