Board signals intent to pursue three‑year energy contracts after MEGA market update

Representatives from the Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance (MEGA) briefed the Grand Island Town Board on updated natural gas and electricity pricing and outlined options to fix energy costs for 12 to 50 months through pre‑negotiated MEGA supplier contracts.

Mark Levine, MEGA executive director, introduced Alex Jurosovic, the MEGA energy consultant, who explained the market picture: natural gas prices are expected to rise and electricity pricing shows different term dynamics, with some future years trading below current levels. "No decision needs to be made today," Jurosovic said, noting suppliers can typically hold a same‑day rate for same‑day transactions, but price levels shift daily.

Jurosovic explained that Constellation's initial electricity offers exclude some New York State clean energy pass‑through costs and that those pass‑through components can be handled in different ways depending on the town’s preference. He also walked through typical fixed rates in the mid‑8¢ per kilowatt hour range for short terms and described drivers such as storage levels and increased demand from data centers and electrification.

Board members discussed preferred contract length; several expressed a preference for a three‑year term for both commodities to provide budget certainty without locking far into the future. One board member said, "Let's make a decision on how long we wanna go out for... 3 years seems reasonable," and the group asked MEGA to forward a pre‑negotiated contract for formal review and approval at a subsequent meeting. MEGA said contracts could be delivered the following morning for board counsel and staff review.

No binding contract was signed at the workshop; the board signaled a consensus to pursue a three‑year term and requested the actual agreement be circulated for attorney and board review at the next meeting before formal approval.