SMCPS warns of sharply higher energy costs; FY27 facilities budget nears $7.4M forecast

Facilities leadership presented a detailed review of energy consumption and costs, warning the board that the district's facilities budget faces significant pressure heading into FY27. "In FY 26, we had 6,500,000. In FY 27, we're at almost 7,400,000," Ms. Hauge (Speaker 8) said, attributing the rise to a combination of weather events, transitions to humidity‑control equipment and aging building infrastructure.

Officials outlined specific drivers: HVAC remains the largest draw; lighting retrofits to LED will help but new controls and humidity management can increase energy usage; plug loads from classroom technology and community use of buildings add to demand. The presentation summarized SMECO's power‑cost adjustment mechanism and recent rate filings; staff said a PSC‑approved rate change filed in May will affect bills beginning this month. Ms. Hauge also described power factor penalties and SMECO's 'ratchet' demand billing, which measure usage in 15‑minute increments and can increase corrected demand charges.

Staff provided five‑year consumption trends: total consumption rose about 27.3% from FY22–26, with electricity use rising from 27.5 kWh to 32.5 kWh per some internal metric and electricity costs increasing roughly 56.8% over the same period. The board discussed mitigation options, capital improvements to modernize systems, staging operations to reduce peak demand and ongoing monitoring; staff said they will know the concrete impact of SMECO's rate change when August invoices are processed and will update budget projections in September.