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MARSHALL -- This week, the Marshall City Council approved an extension of the power sale agreement between Marshall Municipal Utilities and the organization that provides electricity to the city.
At Tuesday's council meeting, council members voted in favor of extending an S-1 Power Sale agreement with Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) until 2067.
"This S-1 contract is what kind of binds MRES with Marshall for our contract, for all of our power needs," said MMU general manager Pete Wyffels.
Mayor Bob Byrnes said the agreement also allows MRES to secure financing for more reasonable rates.
In a short presentation to the city council, Wyffels said the current contract with MRES was put into effect in 1976. The power sale agreement was set up to protect MRES members, and to provide supplemental power for future growth, Wyffels said.
"They assure members access to the power needed by their communities. This provides MRES with dependable financial resources, and supports tax-exempt bonds used for generation and transmission investments," Wyffels told council members.
Wyffels said it was being proposed to extend the agreement for 10 years. It would run until 2067, instead of 2057, council agenda packet materials said. Similar extensions of the agreement had happened four or five times in the past, Wyffels said.
"There's really nothing changing to the contract at all," he said.
The agreement was being brought before the council because under Marshall's city charter, MMU agreements that last longer than 10 years must be approved by the city council.
Council members voted in favor of the 10-year extension of the agreement.