Iroquois County committee moves to pursue 36‑month electricity term, authorizes natural gas bids

The Iroquois County Management Services Committee voted on Monday, May 4, 2020, to pursue a 36-month electricity contract and authorized staff to solicit bids for natural gas, after hearing a presentation on recent market volatility and supplier bids.

At the meeting, a presenter for the county’s energy procurement review said the county’s current contract is with Fullfield Energy and that the procurement team sought bids from Homefield Energy, A Energy, Constellation and IGS Energy. He explained the trade-offs between fixed "all-in" contracts and a variable "day-ahead index" product, saying tariffs such as line loss, capacity, transmission and ancillary charges pass through and are not controlled by the supplier. "The variable rate product only controls just the supply part of the commodity," the presenter said. "Capacity is the big thing, the big tariff that fluctuates." (Speaker label in transcript: Presenter.)

The presenter told the committee recent capacity auctions drove sharp price swings and that while capacity charges had spiked in the prior year they were trending lower for the coming year. He recommended considering a 36- or 48-month term or adopting a variable-rate strategy with a clear process for a designated official to lock in fixed rates when a buying opportunity appears. "If it was me, I would choose the variable rate product and then have a plan where if you can have somebody be able to override the contract with fixed rates," he said.

Following that discussion, a committee member moved to pursue a 36-month electricity term while empowering a designated official to lock in fixed pricing opportunistically; another member seconded the motion and members indicated assent. The presenter said he would update pricing and bring the best 36-month offer to the full board at its next meeting for execution. The motion was recorded as approved by the committee; the transcript does not name the motion mover or record a formal roll-call vote.

The committee also agreed to release a request for bids for natural gas, using the same solicitation approach applied to the electricity procurement but without preset term constraints so suppliers can submit updated pricing. The committee asked staff to confirm who will have authority to execute opportunistic contract locks and to provide updated price comparisons to help the full board decide.

Members heard a separate facilities update from county maintenance staff earlier in the meeting and approved a lease renewal for state-center space and the claims presented at the session. The presenter noted the difference in expected commodity costs between index and fixed futures and cautioned that budgetary impacts should be considered when selecting a product.

Next steps: the presenter will gather updated 36-month pricing and present a recommended vendor and contract for the full board’s consideration at its next meeting; staff will issue the natural gas request for proposals and report back with bids.