Committee approves contracts with MC Squared for community aggregation and municipal electricity; pricing set at 8.4¢/kWh (12-month municipal option)

The Administration Public Works Committee voted to approve two related contracts with MC Squared: a community choice aggregation contract (CCA) that serves residential customers who opt into the program, and a municipal electricity supply contract to provide actionable pricing for city buildings.

Cara Pratt, the city’s chief sustainability and resilience officer, said one bidder did not provide pricing and was deemed technically nonresponsive to the RFP. Pratt said the city intentionally aligned the CCA procurement with the municipal procurement; staff expected potential scale benefits but reported there was little difference in market response. Pratt told the committee the civic grant contribution under the CCA is expected to be about $150,000 in the recent contract cycle, noting past years produced as much as $500,000 when market conditions allowed.

MC Squared vice president Sharon Elagato explained the municipal price proposal is a weighted average across municipal account groups and includes the cost of renewable energy credits. Staff said the actionable price available at the time of the meeting was 8.4¢ per kilowatt-hour versus the 8.7¢ cited earlier in the memo. MC Squared and staff presented 12- and 24-month options; council discussion noted the 24-month forward market price is slightly higher than the 12-month actionable price and that future prices are uncertain. The committee proceeded with a 12-month municipal supply contract.

Council members emphasized the volatility of electricity markets and asked staff and the utilities commission about longer-term options. Staff said the RFP approach was discussed with the utilities commission but that live price comparisons cannot be guaranteed because electricity prices change daily.