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Council briefed on PMPA and Catawba power contracts; major participation decision expected in 2025
Summary
A utility presenter told the council Westminster is under long-term contracts with PMPA and the Catawba project and said city leaders may need to decide in 2025 whether to remain a participant through a potential extension to 2062 or pursue alternatives including wholesale contracts or other providers.
A municipal utility representative briefed the council on Westminster’s relationship with PMPA and the Catawba project power sales agreement, laying out options and a likely decision timeline for 2025.
The presenter explained Westminster is a member of PMPA through its share of unit 2 at the Catawba nuclear station, and said the existing Catawba project power sales agreement (signed decades ago) is set to expire for Westminster in 2034. He said Duke has signaled it will seek relicensing that could extend the plant life to 2062, and PMPA is drafting new agreements that could extend participants’ commitments to 2062. The presenter summarized five highlevel components that a supplemental power sales agreement must cover — supplemental capacity and energy, backup supply when the plant is offline, market sales during months with excess power, transmission arrangements, and PMPA’s management costs — and said the supplemental agreement would likely cover 2025 through 2034 if adopted.
The presenter told the council the central question for Westminster is whether to remain a participant in a new Catawba agreement that could extend city commitments to 2062, or to leave PMPA and secure capacity and transmission through wholesale contracts or another provider. "Will Westminster continue as a participant in a new Catawba project power sales agreement? Meaning, right now, we're in it till 2034. Do we wanna be in it until 2062?" he said. He recommended staying in the supplemental agreement at least through 2034 while the city analyzes longer-term options.
Council members asked whether peer cities (Greer and Rock Hill) were coordinating on supplemental agreements; the presenter said some cities plan different approaches and that discussions are often confidential. He noted a practical constraint for Westminster is its small reserved allocation — about 5 megawatt hours — which makes it difficult to find market providers willing to sell that small a block of wholesale power and means Westminster currently benefits when larger participants absorb unused allocations.
The presenter said some legal and contract questions would be discussed in executive session; council recessed for a short break and prepared to continue to an executive session on legal matters.
