Representatives from Valiant Energy Sources presented the firm's energy procurement, energy-management and street-lighting services to the commission and staff at the April 20 meeting.

Eric Ramirez, managing partner, said the firm performs reverse-bid procurement, quarterly usage and billing analysis, grant support for lighting and outage-related coordination with AEP, and vendor-vetting services for municipalities and school districts. Ramirez said Valiant has experience across Texas and provided examples of prior work, including identifying incorrect billing at a school district.

Commissioners and staff asked how the firm is compensated; Ramirez said the firm receives a negotiated fee from providers when a procurement yields savings and that there is no upfront cost to the city when Valiant conducts a reverse bid. Ramirez also described a potential "blend and extend" approach to lock or adjust rates over time.

City legal counsel advised that the city's procurement code does not automatically exempt these services from bidding requirements. Counsel said the city could accept the vendor presentation but would need written documentation to support a procurement exception (for example, cooperative membership or verification that the vendor is authorized through an existing cooperative). Counsel asked Valiant to provide paperwork showing cooperative participation or other documentation to demonstrate eligibility to proceed without a public bid.

Commissioners expressed interest and asked staff and Valiant to coordinate on the required documentation; Valiant representatives agreed to work with the city manager to supply membership or vendor verification documents.