City Commissioners unanimously approved an amended contract with their energy consultant during their March 5 meeting in an effort to better manage energy costs.

Commissioners approved a consulting agreement with PowerGas Corporation in November 2023 to provide energy consulting services when needed.

The amended agreement includes consulting services plus energy management software and analysis that provides information to “assist in directing decisions to create and sustain energy cost and usage mitigation, should reduce associated labor costs, and provide long-term strategic energy value to the city,” according to the staff report.

The total cost for the three-year agreement is $191,500, which includes consulting services, software to monitor natural gas and electricity usage, and assistance with paying all electricity and natural gas invoices.

City considering energy consulting firm to help monitor, manage costs

The upfront cost is $38,500 to set the city up in the consultant’s system, plus a $4,250 monthly fee for the contract term.

The city has worked with Jim Morin, president of PowerGas, since 2017.

Morin presented to commissioners during Aug. 15, 2023 and Feb. 6 work sessions about the energy management software and consulting services.

According to city staff, they’ll have a way to monitor electricity and gas usage for all departments, something they aren’t able to do currently.

The system will provide the city with better overall energy consumption data, reporting and catching any billing errors.

In February, Morin told commissioners that over the three-year contract term, his firm would review about 16,000 invoices and 20,000 meter reads.

In light of how much technical information is on an invoice, Morin said the possibility of error is fairly common and sometimes significant.

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The analytical information gives more power and insight to city management to better control energy spending and usage, Morin told commissioners. The system can help show which buildings are using the most energy per square footage and help make adjustments.

His firm’s system can also automate some functions for the city in terms of paying invoices and he estimated that savings at $100,000 over the contract term.

Morin said his firm may be able to help the city cut costs at its four demand meters, including the water and wastewater treatment plants. That data could help the city potentially adjust operations at those plants based on when demand costs are lower, he said in February.

City staff said the data would be valuable as the city has to execute a new energy contract this falls.

The consulting service will also help the city meet the latest standards in sustainability reporting, which Melissa Kinzler, city finance director, said will likely be required in the future.

There was no public comment on the contract during the March 5 meeting.

Commissioner Rick Tryon said he would vote for the amendment but wanted to get regular updates on the savings from the contract.

The city manager and city finance director recommended approval of the contract.