Post-meeting release 12/21/21

Commissioners discuss 2022 committees, hear from energy aggregation company

[Tiffin, OH – Dec. 21, 2021] – The Seneca County Board of Commissioners discussed potential committee assignments for 2022 during a session Thursday morning.
The committee assignments, board president and vice-chair and meeting schedule for 2022 won’t be formalized until the reorganization meeting on Jan. 6 at 10 a.m.
Some committee shuffling was discussed, including Commissioner Anthony Paradiso taking on the Downtown Tiffin Development Committee, with Commissioner Mike Kerschner covering Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership and Commissioner Tyler Shuff moving to the Fostoria Economic Development Corp. board.
In other business, Amy Hoffman, of Palmer Energy, discussed the county’s electric aggregation program.
Seneca County joined nine other counties and Palmer in a Request for Proposals for the program that is up for renewal in May 2022.
The program saves counties money on energy costs by using the power of group buying.
Hoffman said the electric and gas markets have both seen increases, and although the last couple of contracts through the program have seen the county save money each year, this year’s proposals had higher rates. These rates could change, as the company does a rate refresh before the deal becomes official.
The past two contracts that Seneca County has used for electric aggregation were for three years. Hoffman suggested that the county choose a two-year contract, as in 2024, it may be possible to diversify the county’s energy portfolio through a solar array that is to be constructed in southern Ohio. Hoffman said this could be a way to save money on electric costs, but that the county is not tied to the solar hedge. Prices would be reviewed at this time before any commitment is made. She said in 2024, 20-25 percent of the county’s energy could be provided via solar power.
Hoffman also suggested that the county change the pricing structure from a single fixed cost to a fixed cost + capacity (Capacity Pass-Through).
Seneca County’s facilities include 40 accounts receiving electric distribution services and consuming approximately 4.8 gigawatt-hours annually.
Palmer Officials estimate capacity costs for June 2022-May 2023 to be about $22,200. This would be paid on top of the price per kilowatt-hour. Overall, Palmer officials believe the annual cost compared to the current contract for electric is likely to be about $60,000 higher due to market changes.
The commissioners also discussed meeting schedules for January of 2022. The reorganization meeting on Jan. 6th is to be followed by a regular session on Jan. 20th. There is to be no meeting on Jan. 13th.
On the 20th, the commissioners are to host the monthly EMS stakeholder meeting at the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center at 7 p.m. A work session is also expected that morning to consider and prioritize pending buildings and grounds/capital needs and projects.
Thursday’s meeting was likely the final session of 2021, but the commissioners do tentatively have Dec. 27th at 10 a.m. scheduled for a board session, if necessary for any year-end financial action to close out 2021.
During new business, the board approved all resolutions and appropriations from the meeting agenda. The commissioners also set Jan. 20th, at 10:15 a.m. to open sealed bids for the County Services Building/health department wall/entrance project.