Aggregation Groups
Since 2001, R.J. Covington Consulting, LLC has served as technical consultant to two municipal aggregation groups: Cities Aggregation Power Project (CAPP) and the South Texas Aggregation Project (STAP). CAPP consists of over 100 cities and political subdivisions located in ERCOT’s North, West, and Houston zones. STAP consists of over 50 cities and political subdivisions in ERCOT’s South zone. Peak load for the two groups combined is approximately 250 MWs with an annual usage of about 1.3 billion kWhs.
Although the initial years of deregulation have not been without problems, CAPP and STAP members have enjoyed stable rates and energy savings throughout their existence. The initial years of competition in Texas brought a variety of issues including problems with switching accounts, incorrect and infrequent billings, double billings for some accounts, and problems with inadvertent account disconnects. While CAPP and STAP members were not immune from these market problems, RJC worked with CAPP and STAP to take proactive steps to identify and correct these problems for their members, including:
- Developing reporting tools for members that allowed them to review not only what was billed for an account, but what was reported as metered load
- Develop innovative approaches to energy procurement that allows members to choose the best provider of customer services as well as the best provider of affordable energy (these often are not the same company)
- RJC energy consultants are on call to assist members resolve problems when necessary
These benefits have been instrumental in allowing both CAPP and STAP to grow in membership every year, saving their members over $100,000,000 in energy costs since 2002.
As CAPP and STAP move into the future they continue to anticipate and respond to member needs. When volatility in energy prices reached a peak in 2008, RJC negotiated a five year fixed price contract on behalf of CAPP and STAP at a point in time where most REPs were only offering deals for two years or less. RJC also continues to help CAPP and STAP investigate options to mitigate future price volatility by developing a portfolio approach to energy purchasing and provides technical analysis of the impacts of legislative initiatives such as carbon taxes and renewable energy mandates on future member pricing.