Utility staff reports five-year power purchase, AMI rollout and Grapevine transmission progress

Staff member (utility staff) told the board that the utility secured a multiyear power purchase agreement intended to provide price stability and outlined multiple infrastructure and metering upgrades that are under way.

The five-year purchase begins in April 2025 and runs through October 2029, Staff member said, adding that the contract includes several product types that better match the utility’s load shape. “We were able to secure a fairly long term power purchase from starting in April 25 going through what is that October of 20 29 of different amounts,” Staff member said. He described the purchase as a blended price “just a little over $80” for the five-year period.

The purchase includes low-load-hour, high-load-hour, around-the-clock and “Superpeak” products. Staff member said obtaining the Superpeak product and seven-day high-load coverage better matches the primarily residential and commercial load and should blunt price swings in hot or cold weather.

Why it matters: the utility faces regional market volatility tied to hydro and other West-wide resources, and the purchase is intended to reduce exposure to short-term spikes that previously drove day-ahead prices sharply higher.

In other system updates, staff reported work on the…