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Texas Coalition for Affordable Power tells Tomball council it aggregates buying power to lower city electricity costs
Summary
Margaret Somerby Eve, executive director of the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, told the Tomball City Council TCAP pools municipal load, buys one-year wholesale contracts two years in advance and provides budgeting and reporting services; she warned councils to watch competitors' line-itemed "fixed" prices and described hedging for some ERCOT charges.
Margaret Somerby Eve, executive director of the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, told the Tomball City Council on March 2 that TCAP pools city energy use across many members to improve buying power and reduce costs. "We pull everyone's usage'city halls, police stations, parks, water and sewer'and go into the wholesale market and buy one contract," Somerby Eve said, explaining TCAP negotiates wholesale purchases and uses retail partners only for billing.
Somerby Eve said TCAP is a nonprofit that returned about $6,100 to the city recently and represents roughly 173 members statewide, with 15 members in the Houston zone. She described the group's wholesale contract with NextEra Energy and characterized Jexa's role as a billing partner rather than a contract counterparty.
To smooth pricing and avoid long-term "adders," Somerby Eve said TCAP buys one-year wholesale contracts two years in advance and runs monthly competitive RFPs so no single provider controls all capacity. "We were actually written into the local government code so that cities could join together," she said, adding TCAP hedged roughly 75% of certain ERCOT charges and is watching the remaining 25% closely because it is harder to hedge.
During questions, council members asked whether emergency service districts and other non-city entities could participate; Somerby Eve said some ESDs, appraisal districts, counties, housing and transit authorities and even a library district have joined. She cautioned councils to scrutinize offers claiming very low "fixed" prices, saying some competitors move costs into line items such as congestion or ancillary services that can vary month to month.
TCAP also offers member services including a billing portal, annual budget estimates and help with state reporting and contract reviews, Somerby Eve said. She recommended cities ask prospective vendors specific questions about congestion and ancillary-service charges before signing contracts.
The presentation lasted during the council workshop and concluded with members thanking Somerby Eve and staff for the overview. The council did not take action on energy procurement at this meeting; Somerby Eve encouraged staff to use TCAP's resources for contract review and budgeting.
