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Huntsville council presses solar contractor after city sees just half of expected offset
Summary
The Huntsville City Council spent the bulk of its meeting pressing contractors about the city's new solar-field agreement after staff said the system has covered roughly 53% of municipal usage and bills show discrepancies in reported generation and omitted accounts.
Mayor (Chair) Travis Dodson led a lengthy review of Huntsville's solar-field billing and production, saying the system has covered "about 53%" of the city's electrical use through mid-June and that invoices contain discrepancies the city will investigate.
Why it matters: The solar array was sold as a way to materially reduce the city's electric costs; council members and staff said recent bills and generation reports show the system is producing far less than first-year projections and that some municipal accounts were excluded from the agreement, reducing the credits the city receives.
What the council heard: The mayor told the council that BluePath Energy billed the city for about 465,000 kilowatt-hours during the billing period while Carroll Electric's records show roughly 388,000 kilowatt-hours for the same period, a gap of about 76,000 kWh. The transcript records the mayor saying, "We're right now, folks, at best at about 53%." He added that some 14 accounts (25,344 billed hours) were left off the original agreement and that a third party said it is possible to add accounts once a year.
City officials also questioned billing timing and the rate at which the city sells power back to the grid. "I want to know the rate that we're selling back to the grid at Carroll Electric," the mayor said, adding the concern that the city might be charged retail while selling generation back at a lower wholesale rate.
Contractor follow-up and outside review: The council said it has asked both Integrity (the developer) and BluePath Energy (the operator/biller) for explanations, and the mayor said he had engaged a third-party reviewer from Little Rock and consulted a local contractor, Joey Magnini of Care Electric, who briefed city staff. The mayor said he would give Integrity and BluePath time to answer but warned the city could pursue contract remedies if responses are unsatisfactory.
Numbers cited in the meeting: the mayor read an exhibit that estimated first-year production at 1,126,908 kWh; actual billable generation reported in the first roughly five-and-a-half months was near 465,000 kWh, well below that estimate. BluePath's bills were cited at about $6,123 (quarter 1) and about $25,000 (quarter 2).
Next steps: Councilors asked for detailed, account-level monitoring (the mayor asked why the city was not getting live monitoring data), reconciliation of billed vs. metered generation, and an explanation for the omitted accounts. Staff said they will pursue answers from Integrity and BluePath and that the city could add accounts during the annual adjustment window.
Attribution: Quotes and figures in this article are drawn from the city meeting transcript; the mayor and staff repeatedly identified the companies Integrity and BluePath Energy as parties to be questioned. The meeting record shows no final contractual decision but indicates staff will return with findings and that the council is prepared to consider cancellation or amendment of the agreement if problems persist.
