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Clermont County official outlines new regional electricity contracts for 2025–27 and warns of capacity-charge exposure
Summary
County administrator Ralph Lenny briefed commissioners on a multiyear regional electricity procurement that divides participating accounts into three groups with distinct pricing and capacity-charge treatments. The county will analyze account assignments and budget impacts for 2026 utility planning.
County administrator Ralph Lenny updated the Board of County Commissioners on April 25 about a decision by the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation (CCAOSC) on a new regional electricity procurement that will affect Clermont County accounts beginning in May 2025.
Lenny said the procurement split participating accounts into three groups with different pricing structures. The committee selected group pricing of roughly 8.45 cents per kilowatt-hour for group 1, 5.76 cents for group 2, and 5.603 cents for group 3. He said group 1 pricing includes capacity charges, while groups 2 and 3 will see capacity charges passed through to participating accounts.
"We basically have the second most number of utility accounts of all the 67 counties," Lenny said, attributing the large account count to the county’s water-resource system of lift stations and pumps. He said the account mix means water and sewer utilities will be especially sensitive to contract structure and capacity-charge treatment.
Lenny said the county’s existing contract through the end of 2025 has been favorable and that earlier contracts reduced 2025 costs by more than $1 million compared with Duke Energy standard service rates, but he warned the new 2026 contract will not produce the same level of savings. He said the chosen agreement runs from May 2025 through May 2027 and that staff will provide comparative cost estimates for facilities and budget planning once account-level analysis is complete.
Commissioners asked for clarity on capacity charges and how the pooled-group structure affects counties that grow or add new accounts. Lenny said the procurement allows limited changes without renegotiation, pooling accounts across counties to contain the effect of usage shifts. He said a new RFP is likely before 2027 to seek multi-year options based on market conditions.
The board did not take formal action at the meeting; Lenny said staff will deliver detailed comparisons to facilities and budget staff for incorporation into water, sewer and facilities planning.
