Issues largely out of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ control are among the risks the utility continues to manage.

On an annual basis, the BPU reviews its risk management program for all divisions. That program was recently presented to the board for 2026 by Brad Bentley, BPU energy and gas resources manager.

“We do have a risk management plan,” Bentley said. “It’s effective, been effective, continues to be effective at managing our risk.”

Having a risk management plan is required for the BPU to continue to be a part of the New York Independent System Operator and the last version of the plan was approved in 2020, with the original presented in December 2012.

Bentley highlighted some major financial risk drivers in the electric division, including hydropower supply, wholesale markets, Load, transmission service charges for how they get their power from Niagara Falls, clean energy, regeneration and fuel adjustment charges. Bentley then went through each and talked with the board about how they mitigate each of these risks associated with each section. Bentley also discussed the BPU’s contract with NYPA, which has been renegotiated and their rate history, shown through a graph.

“The rate from hydropower has really been constant for the last 10 years,” Bentley said. “This is the new projected rates, a bit of a step change, but what I would say there is that this is still below market power.”

The step change, he added, he believes is workable from their customers perspective as well.

Bentley then moved onto risk mitigation strategies with NYPA and the NYSIO wholesale electric market. The BPU is a member of NYSIO, who is in charge of the wholesale market and is in charge of the market buying and selling power. A few different BPU charges go through NYSIO as well.

In connection with NYSIO, Bentley also discussed NYSIO Ancillary Services with the board, which Bentley said does a lot to keep the markets running. Bentley’s presentation to the board also included National Grid rates, Clean Energy Standards — which he noted to be an ongoing, ever changing area, especially at the state level –, zero emission credits, renewable energy credits, the wholesale natural gas market, the winter gas rates associated with that, that remained steady while others increased, and the costs and risk mitigation strategies that go with all of those. Bentley also addressed the fundamentals of the FAC.

“So, what I want to leave you with is, we have a risk mediation plan,” Bentley said. “It’s highly effective, we have lots of discussions. We meet weekly for just about every one of these topics.There’s a monthly meeting of the FAC rates.”