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County staff recommend 4-year electricity contract; consultants flag new DASI charge
Summary
Carroll County staff and consultant Liam Rex reviewed a competitive bid process and recommended a multi‑year electricity supply contract to smooth costs; Rex explained ISO New England's new DASI charge could add about one cent per kWh and recommended passing that cost through to minimize markup.
Director Murray introduced Liam Rex (representing Hughesource/USource) to explain the outcome of a full bid process for county electricity supply. Rex said eight suppliers participated, the field was narrowed to three competitive offers, and that market mechanics in New England now include a new DASI (Day‑Ahead Ancillary Service Initiative) component, which he estimated would run "in the range of about a penny." "That [DASI] is a new charge that's running in the range of about a penny," Rex said, and the consultants recommended passing that component through as a separate line item to avoid supplier markups.
Rex recommended a four‑year contract to smooth price volatility because forward pricing for later years currently trades lower (backwardation), producing a lower average cost when a multi‑year contract is locked in. Commissioners asked technical questions about a material adverse change (MAC) clause (25% threshold) and a bilateral capacity adjustment; Rex explained the MAC clause is designed to catch genuinely material usage shifts and is rarely enforced for commercial customers, and described how capacity tags and potential seasonal capacity reforms could affect future charges.
Commissioners expressed concern about locking into a long contract because of elected‑official turnover and the unpredictability of long horizons; Director Murray and the consultant said there was no reason to act immediately and that staff could provide additional notes on MAC and bilateral adjustments. A commissioner asked staff to expand contract notes and to defer a final decision for further review; commissioners agreed to return to the item after another week of review.
Next steps: staff will request expanded contract notes (MAC and bilateral adjustment language) from the consultant, consider a brief deferral, and bring the item back for decision at a subsequent meeting.
