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Bedford schedules AMP public session after council uses reserves to pay $3.5M winter power bill
Summary
Town Manager Bart Warner told council the town absorbed a $3.5 million AMP power bill—about $1.2 million attributable to extended winter weather—and will host an AMP representative April 14 to explain billing and operations; council chose to pay from electric fund reserves rather than finance the balance.
Town Manager Bart Warner said the town received a $3.5 million invoice for purchased power through AMP after an extended winter, and that roughly $1.2 million of the charge was driven by winter demand. To avoid interest costs and preserve debt capacity, council elected to pay the full bill from the electric fund’s cash reserves rather than accept AMP’s financing offer at 4.6% interest. Warner said this choice will reduce the electric fund’s cash position and urged residents to review the town’s financial statements online for details.
Warner described customer bills as two parts: a recovery portion (the town’s cost to deliver power to properties) and a usage portion (metered consumption). He said the recovery portion largely reflects nationwide generation and supply issues rather than a local billing error.
To give residents a chance to ask questions and hear AMP explain billing mechanics, Warner said the town is tentatively scheduling an AMP representative for a public meeting on April 14. "We understand folks are still having questions about their bills," he said, and the session is meant to provide factual information about how the electric department purchases and sells power.
Warner acknowledged that some high bills last month were due to increased usage and that staff can investigate anomalous metering readings. He also said the town will try to simplify explanations of the two bill components so customers better understand charges. As a further accommodation related to a recent mailing delay and online portal problems, the town announced it will not assess late fees for the affected billing cycle.
Next steps: the town will confirm the AMP session date and time and publish details on the town website and social channels.
