SALEM–City council was given an update on anticipated electric rate increases during a special meeting Tuesday.

Salem has been working with Aspen Energy to help secure favorable rates for residents participating in the city’s electric aggregation program since 2018, a partnership which is estimated to have cumulatively saved residents approximately $2.6 million since its inception. Jay Sell, a representative of Aspen Energy, said the last 36-month contract signed for the program locked in a rate of 7.95 cents per kilowatt hour and as that agreement draws to a close “electric rates today are a whole different ball game.” Sell said should the city were to lock in the lowest available rate today that figure would rise to 9.85 cents per kilowatt hour for a period of 18-months — which would be slightly lower than the standard monthly rate from utility providers.

“The rate is not great. However, it’s where we’re at right now on timing. Where the utility rates are at, where the capacity rates are at, which is really the portion of the rate that comes from the massive load increase that we have from artificial intelligence and data centers being approved over and over by the state of Ohio and being built without really having enough power to provide for the demand,” said Sell. “It’s really pushing everybody’s rates quite a bit higher and we’re all, as rate payers, paying for it at the end of the day.”

Sell said that April 7 was the “drop dead” date to sign a new agreement and have service begin in June after the current deal ends, and while typically they see a drop in rates at this time of year that hasn’t been the case this year amid the ongoing military conflict in the middle east.

“It just didn’t happen this time. I was thinking we might get low nines, maybe even into the eights; it hasn’t materialized. It’s just kind of where we’re at right now,” said Sell.

Sell said s always, the electric aggregation program was meant to be a tool available to residents and they aren’t required to participate. He stressed there is no opt-out fee. If residents want to select their own supplier using tools like the “apples-to-apples comparison” offered at www.energychoice.ohio.gov. Opt out letters informing of the new rate would be mailed out as the 21-day notice period approached.

City Law Director Brook Zellers said the city council is not scheduled to meet for its next regular meeting until April 7 and asked if that would cause issues signing the new agreement. Sell said he would recommend passing legislation authorizing City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello to sign a new contract at the 9.85 cents per kilowatt hour rate or below before that date. He said that way the city could act quickly and secure a favorable rate while still being able to capitalize if a lower rate becomes available, and while an agreement could still be signed on April 8, the April 7 deadline was important to help ensure that nobody is left out of the aggregation program in error.

He also noted that he believed that legislation had already been approved by council earlier in the year. Zellers and the council said they would confirm if that was the case, and if not, they would schedule a special meeting to pass an ordinance.

City council will meet next at 7 p.m. on April 7.