Greenville council ends Priority Power contract and authorizes Treybell after contested energy briefing

Greenville City Council voted to terminate its contract with Priority Power Management LLC and authorized an agreement with Treybell LLC for energy aggregation consulting after extended public comment and council questioning about past communications and rate decisions.

The council adopted a resolution directing the safety service director to send a notice of termination to Priority Power, following a presentation and subsequent exchanges between Jordan Harmon of Priority Power and local energy vendors. Harmon told the council Priority Power was continuing to represent the city's aggregation group “until we're told otherwise,” said that electric aggregation bids were pending results of a capacity auction, and acknowledged communication lapses about a prior gas-period decision, saying “we did not send out letters to residents” and that in hindsight that was a mistake.

Joe G of TBO Energy, speaking on behalf of Treybell, challenged that account and urged council to consider Treybell, saying his firm manages 188 aggregation programs in Ohio and citing $98 million in savings across its accounts during the last 12 months. Joe G told the council his company focuses on active communication with communities and suggested Treybell could secure more stable, fixed-rate gas alternatives for residents.

Council members pressed both speakers on whether residents were notified when market conditions made utility service preferable and on trade-offs between fixed and variable gas offerings. Harmon said Priority Power had declined to recommend alternatives during one recent period because the local standard-offer (SEO) was variable and market timing was uncertain; he characterized the decision not to send resident notices as “a mistake” and said the company favors fixed-rate approaches going forward.

Following the discussion, council approved a resolution authorizing the safety service director to enter an agreement with Treybell LLC for aggregation consulting services. The council also adopted a separate resolution directing staff to terminate Priority Power's representation and to notify the firm accordingly.

The change in vendors comes after two rounds of public presentations and detailed questioning about past contract performance, resident notifications and comparative pricing. Council did not authorize budget details for consulting fees during the meeting; the adopted resolutions direct the safety service director to execute the administrative steps needed to terminate and replace the representative.

Next steps indicated on the council floor: the safety service director will send the formal termination notice to Priority Power and proceed with executing a consulting agreement with Treybell; staff will return to council with any contract details or service estimates as those are finalized.