City must decide in coming weeks where it will get electricity
Managing editor
No matter what, it probably will cost Marion electrical customers more next year.
Marion City Council will need to decide — soon — which direction it will go regarding an electrical distribution contract.
City Administrator David Mayfield told the council Monday if the city was to join the Kansas Power Pool, another resource for purchasing electricity, it needed to do so within the next month.
KPP is owned and operated as a municipal entity. All members have equal representation.
The organization is able to pool the resources to access lower-cost market energy and assist with networking transmission service.
KPP obtains its electricity from Westar Energy, the same agency the city has a contract, but with municipalities and other entities as members, it gives more of negotiating leverage than a city.
Mayfield also reported the City of Arma and four other cities are trying to convince Westar to provide shorter contracts than 20 years. Other cities, including Marion, are being asked to participate in the battle. It would cost the city $5,000 to become a part of the intervention. Mayfield said he did not recommend the city doing this.
He did recommend the city joining KPP for a cost of $1,052 per year. Through KPP, the city can obtain a study which could be completed within a year which will assist the city in knowing its transmission capabilities.
Negotiations of the Westar Energy contract should begin in the coming months and having KPP membership should help.
Mayfield said KPP’s rates are comparable to Westar’s.
Currently the city is paying 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour. When a new contract is negotiated, Westar probably will raise that cost to 5.5 cents per kWh. KPP currently charge 5.6 cents. The city is charging its customers 4.5 cents, which does not include demand charges. A fuel surcharge is included in customers’ rates, Mayfield said.
An additional cost to the city, should it decide to go with KPP for electrical service is a $15,000 meter which would allow the city go online and monitor the service from a real-time meter.
Mayfield said he talked with Hillsboro City Administrator Larry Paine and Hillsboro wasn’t having any problems obtaining electricity from KPP.
The council tabled the decision until the next meeting because Mayor Mary Olson was absent.