For the Miami Valley Today

PIQUA — Earlier this month, AES Ohio (formerly DP&L) announced a significant rate increase for their customers beginning in June. This announced increase has no impact on electric costs for city of Piqua customers, as the city of Piqua does not purchase electricity for its customers from AES Ohio.

The city of Piqua is a member of American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP), a non-profit wholesale power supplier serving 134-member communities in nine states. Through AMP, Piqua has ownership interests in a number of diverse, power-generating resources. This approach allows AMP members to weather commodity increases more effectively than companies who solely rely on volatile energy markets for power purchases. While natural gas, coal and wholesale power costs have increased across the country, the city of Piqua has positioned itself to limit impacts to its customers.

Power suppliers are now seeing volatility in the energy market last seen in 2006 through 2009. In 2007, at the recommendation of the Piqua Energy Board and staff, the Piqua City Commission elected to move forward with participation in a diverse and more predictable power-supply approach. This portfolio, adopted almost 15 years ago, now includes coal, natural gas and renewables, including hydro and solar.

“The Power System’s purchasing strategy is proving to be beneficial for Piqua’s electric customers in today’s period of renewed energy volatility,” emphasized Ed Krieger, Piqua Power System Director.

The Piqua Power System continues to focus on achieving its mission to provide highly-reliable, competitively-priced and customer-focused electric service to Piqua residents and businesses.