Commissioners Court Meeting

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Meeting Date:	11/13/2018
Texas Conference of Urban Counties Aggregation Project, Inc. (d/b/a Public Power Pool, or P3)
Submitted for:	Joe Lopez	Submitted By:	Joe Lopez
Department:	Purchasing

Subject:

Discussion and possible action to approve an order joining the Texas Conference of Urban Counties Aggregation Project, Inc. (d/b/a Public Power Pool, or P³), which is a non-profit political subdivision corporation pursuant to Chapter 304 of the Texas Local Government Code; and authorizing P³ to solicit competitive pricing from suppliers that have previously agreed to P³’s contracting terms and conditions and, upon approval by the designated representative of Commissioners Court, execute a power supply agreement as the agent of Webb County for the period January 1, 2019 through the first meter read after January 1, 2023 for all accounts designated by this order and to further approve P³’s Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws and authorizing the County Judge to sign all relevant documents and any other matters incident thereto. [Requested by Commissioners Court]

Issue: The current Retail Energy Provider contract with Reliant Energy is going to expire December 31, 2018.

Solution: Join Public Power Pool (P3s), a non-profit political subdivision corporation of the State of Texas and authorize them to solicit competitive pricing for Webb County from suppliers (retail energy providers) that have agreed to P3s terms and conditions.

Result: Secure the best pricing per kwh by using P3s Statewide resources in order to recognize a substantial savings in electricity exenditures impacting the general fund.

Background:

Public Power Pool is a non-profit political subdivision corporation, created by local governments in Texas, designed to save taxpayer money by aggregating power usage to procure the best power contracts at the lowest cost.

In addition to negotiating excellent rates on your electricity contracts, Public Power Pool offers excellent customer service and is a liaison between members and the provider. This includes handling your day-to-day requests such as adds and deletes, providing members with useful forward budgets, semi-annual account audits to ensure billing accuracy and customized energy analyses as requested be individual members.

Membership in Public Power Pool (P3) is open to all public schools, local governments and political subdivisions in Texas that are located in deregulated areas of the Texas grid, known as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Local government and political subdivisions join together to act as one, in a process called aggregation, to negotiate favorable rates and contracts usually reserved for large industrial customers. The Texas Public Utility Commission reports call these aggregations the “big winners” in electric deregulation. Aggregation gives a group of customers the increased size and clout needed to effectively negotiate with retail electric providers. Furthermore, members of an aggregation share the cost of consultants, gaining access to expertise that would be costly to obtain on their own.

Public Power Pool has grown to be the largest aggregation in Texas, with the lowest aggregation fee. P3 purchases power for 96 political subdivisions and hands over 4.700 accounts that spent a significant amount more on electricity before deregulation. By working together since 2002, P3 members have saved $105 million against market rates.

Previous Court Action:

Approval of Electric Energy Sales Agreement with Reliant Energy, December of 2013.

Fiscal Impact

Budget Account Number:	Multiple Accts
Funding Source:	Electricity Account
Balance:	TBD
Financial Impact:
TBD