Shaker Heights council authorizes mayor to select electric supplier after debate over RFP exclusions

Shaker Heights City Council voted 7-0 March 31 to authorize the mayor to select a supplier and enter an electric supply contract for the city's electric aggregation program, and declared the ordinance an emergency.

The ordinance gives the mayor authority to finalize a supplier after the administration refreshes proposals and negotiates terms. Director Gruber told council the city's administration requested the delegation because electricity markets are volatile and negotiating and locking a rate can require quick action that the formal legislative process does not always permit. "It's hard to go through a process of nailing down proposals and rates and then having to start the legislative process because it does take time," Gruber said.

The decision followed public comment from resident Helen Sheehan, who urged council to reject the proposal, restart the RFP process and keep selection power with elected officials. Sheehan said the initial RFPs distributed in February had excluded the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) and the Southeast Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC), and that those organizations were contacted only after the March deadline had passed. "This process creates the troubling appearance that a third party vendor who stands to gain 45' per megawatt hour from the chosen supplier has predetermined the outcome," Sheehan said, and asked council to restart the RFP or limit any contract to one year so the matter could be reconsidered next year.

Council and administration answered that NOPEC and SOPEC were later sent the request for proposals and that the city had received offers from DynaG (a Vistra-owned supplier), NOPEC and SOPEC. Jay Self, the city's aggregation consultant, told council all three proposals were close on price and recommended a shorter contract term — for example, a 12-month price with an option to re-enter the market next year — because market conditions remain unsettled.

Council members asked questions about the benefits of remaining independent versus rejoining an intergovernmental aggregator such as NOPEC. Gruber and consultants pointed to the city's prior decision to operate its own program (approved in 2022) as a way to avoid program adders charged by intergovernmental aggregators and to preserve flexibility for future local renewable sourcing. Councilmember Vixenstine and others expressed continuing concern about transparency and asked the administration to return promptly with contract details.

The motion to grant the mayor authority was moved by Councilmember Moore and seconded by Councilmember Bixenstein. The roll-call vote on suspension recorded all present council members voting aye; the ordinance passed.

The administration said it will notify council immediately after negotiating and executing a contract and will report why a particular supplier was selected and why others were not.

Why it matters: The city's choice affects thousands of residents enrolled in the aggregation program, the composition of the city's renewable energy supply (the proposals reviewed were for 100% green energy but used differing mixes and accounting mechanisms), and whether grant-like funds or community benefits tied to particular suppliers will be available to the city.

Next steps: The mayor will finalize supplier selection under the authority granted tonight. The administration said it will seek a relatively short initial term (one year) to preserve council review at the next contracting opportunity and will report back to council on the executed contract.