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Meadow briefing: $0.75/MWh stabilization fund proposed to blunt EDAM price swings
Summary
A presenter told Meadow members the switch to EDAM will make billing lumpier and recommended a $0.75 per MWh rate‑stabilization fund to cover spikes (trigger: monthly bill rises >20%); Meadow’s immediate exposure was put at about $3,500 after refunds.
A presenter explained on behalf of Meadow that joining the Western EDAM market will change how transmission and market charges appear on member bills and could create greater month‑to‑month volatility.
"We adopted a resolution that we're going to put together a a rate stabilization fund, and we're going to collect 75¢ per megawatt hour higher and put it in a fund for Meadow," the presenter said, adding that staff would allow a designated employee ("Sunny") to tap the fund if a member's monthly bill rose more than 20%.
Why it matters: the presenter said PacifiCorp billing will be trackable on an hourly basis under EDAM, rather than levelized per project. That change means months with high usage or generation outages could produce much larger bills for some members. For Meadow specifically, the presenter told the group the full target to cover the exposure is about $55,500, and expected transmission refunds from PacifiCorp would reduce Meadow’s immediate need to roughly $3,500.
The presenter also described how Meadow’s portfolio—with Hunter (coal) and CRSP (hydro)—has provided surplus energy in some months but left the town exposed when Hunter experienced outages. "In March, Hunter goes offline because they have an outage and you don't have hardly any resources at all, which impacts your cost because we have to go to the market to cover that entire amount," the presenter said.
Committee members asked for clarity on who would access the stabilization fund and whether Meadow could use existing reserves; the presenter said members could roll exposures into a member margin and tap that if available. The presenter offered to run sensitivity scenarios showing how EDAM participation would change Meadow’s average price and volatility.
Next steps: staff will finalize the stabilization‑fund mechanics and present options and sensitivity analyses for the committee to consider; no binding member billings would occur until members actually receive power or a contract reaches commercial operation.
