Supervisor Kelly: Rangely shifts gas pricing index and holds pre-purchases amid market volatility

Supervisor Kelly delivered a detailed utilities update, telling the council that "as of April 1, the Kern River Wyoming natural gas index was discontinued," so the town has reverted to the NWP Rockies index it used previously. Kelly said the town had been using the Kern Opal index since October 2021 but must now return to Rockies and that Rockies historically had been a little cheaper prior to volatility.

Kelly outlined guaranteed pre-purchased quantities for monthly deliveries and recent contract prices: examples given in the presentation included 5,000 MMBTUs for October, 10,000 for November, 20,000 for December, 20,000 for January, 15,000 for February, 5,000 for March and 5,000 for April. Kelly said the contract just finished in April was at $6.44 per MMBTU and the next contract for the listed amounts is at $5.36 per MMBTU; past contracts had been as low as about $3.00 and $4.03 in previous years. Kelly said town staff can purchase additional volumes before October if market prices are favorable and offered to monitor prices with Summit for procurement signals.

Council members asked follow-up questions about pipeline connections and regional market influence; staff explained the town's tie to the Northwest Pipeline and limitations accessing Henry Hub pricing, and noted that regional flows to western states can affect local pricing. Kelly also outlined operations work (operator qualification training, cathodic protection testing, valve inspections) and capital projects such as planned sprinkler replacement at White River Village.