Hagerstown staff outline wholesale power contract, estimate small per-customer bill increase and push for renewable options

City staff notified the mayor and council that an RFP process produced a proposed wholesale power contract with BP Energy, with locked prices reported at $65.95 per megawatt-hour through Dec. 31, 2027 and $65.18 per megawatt-hour through Dec. 31, 2028. The presenter said that, compared with the city's current wholesale cost, the difference would amount to roughly $0.011 per kilowatt-hour—about a penny per kilowatt-hour on customer bills—and about $11.90 per month for a 1,000 kWh monthly user.

Staff clarified that Maryland's renewable-energy compliance obligations are administered and reported by the wholesale supplier and will appear as an additional pass-through line on customer bills. The supplier estimates and administers renewable-energy credits and compliance costs; staff said this pass-through will be a discrete monthly line item rather than baked into the base rate.

Engineering manager Jason and consulting firm GDS described local renewable options: 40 existing residential solar net-metering customers; rooftop solar on city buildings (subject to structural studies); limited acreage for utility-scale solar (site constraints and vegetation removal near the wastewater treatment plant); and battery energy storage systems that can be dispatched for peak shaving. Staff noted an earlier pilot battery project had left the local system when the private company shifted focus to other markets; new vendors could provide turnkey battery projects that require limited upfront city capital but share operational benefits.

Council asked staff to pursue an RFP and solicit vendor proposals so officials can review concrete cost estimates and contract structures. Staff said GDS can prepare an RFP and reach out to vendors to assess participation and pricing.