Granville Village council moves to begin public hearings on switching electricity aggregation to SOPEC

The Granville Village Council heard from its sustainability committee and representatives of SOPEC on a proposal to change the villageelectric aggregation program so the community would buy power through SOPEC under a green-default model. Council members agreed to begin the procedural steps, including scheduling the two required public hearings, to let residents consider the change.

Council members said the committee had evaluated several options, including the villagecurrent provider, Aspen, NOPEC and SOPEC. "We have both, Steve Harris and Phil Lehi here. They are from SOPEC," a council member said as the council introduced the presenters. The chair said SOPEC would manage outreach and opt-out materials and handle the notices needed for the two public hearings.

During a question-and-answer period, council members pressed for a clear price comparison between the village's current offer and SOPEC's green product. One council member asked for the delta between "brown and green" for a typical Granville household; a SOPEC representative replied that the cooperativesupply often emphasizes wind generation, and that in practice some communities have chosen solar or custom mixes but most "green" products are wind-heavy. Staff and council members said concrete rate comparisons would be available closer to the contract renewal date.

Council and staff clarified process and timing. Staff advised that public notice must run in a newspaper of general circulation for two consecutive publications and that the village could hold one of the required hearings at its sustainability committee meeting or follow the villages normal cadence for hearings to aid resident familiarity. The council agreed members would instruct the manager to place a resolution on the next council agenda to begin the formal process.

The council also discussed coordination with the township, which could hold separate hearings if it chose to join the aggregation. Staff said that because SOPEC's rate-setting covers a pool of public entities (the presenter referenced roughly 51 communities), the immediate rate would not change materially whether the township joined simultaneously.

Next steps: council members agreed to ask the village manager to place a resolution on the next agenda and to schedule the first of two public hearings. Residents will be able to opt out individually by phone, online, or a QR code if the village adopts the green-default aggregation.