Public Power Pool reports procurement results and county electricity savings; market uncertainty noted

David Quinn, program manager for Public Power Pool, presented the results of the group's most recent procurement and detailed how the pool negotiates contracts for members. He said Public Power Pool now has 103 members and manages about 3,500 accounts; the group estimated it had saved members $210 million versus market prices since 2002 and that Brewster County’s specific savings since joining in mid-2020 are about $51,000.

Quinn said the lowest executed bid in the most recent procurement was 6.04¢/kWh from Champion Energy while Brewster County’s averaged accounts were at about 5.7¢/kWh. He walked commissioners through the pool’s budgeting report — projecting roughly $74,000 for the current fiscal year and about $76,000 for the next fiscal year — and discussed market uncertainty driven by potential AI and data-center loads. "If those guys are bringing in their own generation ... it could well be bringing us on generation, which may have a reverse effect on those initial projections," Quinn said. Commissioners asked operational questions about meter-level account inquiries and audit processes; Quinn offered to coordinate with county staff on meter reconciliations.