The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska held a series of virtual workshops in September regarding its modernization initiative to update its Total Power Requirements Power Purchase Agreement, known as the Service Schedule M (SSM) contract.
Workshops were divided into three sessions based on regional location: one session each for Colorado/Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa participants. The workshops were held to share information regarding the initiative and to gain feedback on the updated draft agreement.
Through the Service Schedule M (SSM) contract MEAN matches participant electric load with long-term, low-cost and reliable power supply. The SSM is a contractual commitment that obligates MEAN to provide long-term wholesale power supply to participant communities and in-turn obligates those participating communities to take the power supply, with the exception of each participant’s federal hydro allocation and certain qualifying local power projects.
Modernizing the SSM agreement will accomplish two primary goals: It will bring the agreement up to date with current rules and regulations in today’s electric industry and it will provide participants the option to terminate the contract with proper notice, while honoring pre-existing agency resource obligations. There are several other modernization updates in other areas, but these are the primary objectives behind the initiative.
The MEAN Governance Committee has been working on the initiative since 2020 and providing updates to the MEAN Board of Directors. The MEAN Board hopes to prepare a final version later this year for distribution to current SSM participants for consideration and approval before April 1, 2024.