Here is the "money" chart describing the current rates:
Even though it does not divulge the wind and solar contract costs, it does show the total cost per kwh the city pays ERCOT. Presumably at $0.629 per kwh the city will not be losing money, but they do not explicitly address the price that Georgetown receives for its excess electricity, which is the source of the $26M in losses over the last 3 years.
The City also admitted they are hedging congestion rights to provide certainty in the delivered price.
So even though this is a good first step in transparency, there is much more to learn. The contracts need to be available to the citizens to see not only the power purchase price, but, the terms and conditions that impede flexibility.
The entire presentation is here
The charge per kWh is the same as last year, I believe. But the monthly charge increased from $20 to $24.80, an increase of 24 percent. I wonder when the monthly charge was raised to $20?
ReplyDeleteOn a fully allocated cost basis, a 500 kWh customer in 2018 paid 13.98 cents per kWh (500*.0998 = 49.90 + 20 = 69.90/500 = 13.98). Beginning in January 2019 the fully allocated cost jumped to 14.94 cents per kWh.
For 1,000 kWh, the fully allocated cost in 2019 will be 12.46 cents per kWh vs. 11.98 cents per kWh in 2018.
Ironically, in the city that touts its all renewable electric energy program, high volume users pay less per kWh than low volume users because the fixed monthly charge is spread over more kilowatts. So, is the city unwittingly encouraging its up market electric customers to use more energy when the goal should be conservation?
The best way out of the impasse over the wind and solar contracts would be to open the local electric service market to competition. It works! Just ask a sample of the 85 percent of Texans that can choose an electric service plan that best meets their needs.
A broader question is why is Georgetown in the electric utility business. It is a tiny player in the scheme of things. The city should consider - seek proposals - selling its poles and wires business to one of the large systems, i.e. Oncor, AEP, etc. to see if they can use their size and expertise to leverage a better outcome for Georgetown's residents.
As usual Paul is spot on. But we have parties with a vested interest in keeping us mired in this agreement. We need to obtain help from the state in the current legislative session.
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