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What the Catawba renewal would mean for Westminster electric customers
Summary
Staff told council renewal could secure long‑term supplemental capacity and mitigate risk from market volatility and rapid growth, but warned Westminster would be bound to long terms and limited direct market access; budget impacts from a prior PMPA settlement were also noted.
City staff framed the renewal primarily as a risk‑management and planning step aimed at preserving Westminster’s access to supplemental power when the existing supplemental agreement sunsets in 2028.
Kevin said the town’s capacity needs and recent peak demands — Westminster typically uses 2–2.5 megawatts but experienced a peak of 6.2 MW on July 28 — mean the town relies on supplemental contracts when system load spikes. “We jumped up to 3 megawatts. We peaked at 6.2 megawatts on July 28 at 04:00,” Kevin said to illustrate atypical peak usage. Staff also noted the city’s budget carries settlement obligations from a PMPA lawsuit and a planned $1,000,000 balloon payment tied to that agreement, and the budget included a $100,000 set‑aside to prepare for it.
Presenters argued that participation in the renewal would help PMPA secure long‑term supplemental supply on behalf of participants, which can stabilize availability even if it does not always guarantee the lowest short‑term price. Joel Ledbetter said renewals and long procurement timelines are necessary because “you've got to really do a lot of planning, very far out.”
Council discussion emphasized two tradeoffs: being locked into long contractual commitments (limited direct market access and infrastructure dependence) versus the higher short‑term market risk of acting alone. Staff said the bond and recent investments in undergrounding, pole replacements and remote‑disconnect meters have improved local system reliability and reduced some past maintenance‑driven outages, which factors into the cost/benefit analysis for long‑term contracting.
Next steps: council will consider the resolution in a future action; in the meantime staff will continue budget planning to accommodate settlement obligations and any future contract impacts.
