PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
AGENDA ITEMS … Bryan Board of Public Affairs Chairman Annette Schreiner (left) and Director of Utilities Derek Schultz (right) go over the agenda at the BPA meeting held on Tuesday, March 3.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The Bryan Board of Public Affairs met in regular session on Tuesday, March 3, with board members Karen Ford, Brian Davis, Debra Beevers, Jeremy Suffel, and Annette Schreiner in attendance.
Following the roll call and Pledge of Allegiance, the board approved minutes from the February 17 meeting. Director of Utilities Derek Schultz presented the Bryan Municipal Utilities financial year-in-review for 2025.
Among the highlights of the report was the BMU power supply in which the City of Bryan used a total of 175,781 megawatt hours of energy, which was 3.4 percent below the 2025 forecast and marked a 0.7 percent increase from 2024.
Schultz noted that the energy resources BMU used in 2025 were:
Prairie State Energy Campus, a coal facility, supplied 33 percent, an increase of 5.2 percent from 2024.
The AMP Fremont Energy Center supplied 23.7 percent of the BMU’s energy needs for 2025, an increase of three percent from the prior year.
Net market purchases — energy bought from the daily market — accounted for 19.4 percent of energy needs.
“Depending on who you ask, your daily purchases from the market should range between 10 and 20 percent,” said Schultz.
“We would like to see it a little bit closer to 15 percent, and we’ve done a few things over the last year to reduce that market exposure.
“The more you’re purchasing from the market, the more exposure you have to those daily market price changes.”
In 2025, the Board of Public Affairs authorized the Tallgrass Power Purchase Agreement, a renewable energy project. BMU is also currently working on a local solar project to help minimize market exposure.
In power supply costs, the 2025 Wholesale Power Supply Cost was $46.48 per megawatt hour, which was up 1.5 percent from 2024.
The sale of Bryan’s renewable energy credits returned $290,893 of revenue. Bryan energy resources saved customers $8,500,316 from transmission, capacity and REC savings.
Customers also benefited from negative PSCA (Power Source Cost Adjustment).
In electric financials, the 501 Electric Fund ended with a balance of $17,253,816 and in the 515 Electric Capital Reserve Fund, a balance of $2,817,634 was reported for 2025.
Annual electric sales of 2025 totaled $17,015,273. This includes residential ($5,533,482), commercial ($2,803,843) and industrial ($8,677,948) sales.
Since 2005, BMU has utilized a Good Neighbors Utilities Fund which assists city residents. Last year, the city assisted twenty families helping them pay their utility bills during times of need and received $1,810 in donations.
Schultz added that Brian Caudill began employment with BMU effective on Monday, March 2 as a warehouse worker.
Mayor Carrie Schlade reported on her recent trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the 2026 American Public Power Association Legislative Rally.
She attended on behalf of BMU and the city as part of the Ohio Municipal Electric Association and American Municipal Power delegations.
Schlade said the event was hosted by the APPA, and it brought public power leaders together to advocate on federal issues affecting publicly owned utilities.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. The next meeting is Tuesday, March 17, at 5 p.m.
Update: Bryan BPA Approves Preparation Of Water System General Plan
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