Albany considers battery storage system to address electricity surplus

ALBANY – In the novel “Catch-22,” it is a persistent point of confusion as to how mess officer Milo Minderbinder can buy eggs for seven cents and sell them for four cents and still make a profit.

That question of how the city of Albany is making money by purchasing electricity for 7 cents per kilowatt and selling it for 4 cents is not, by contrast, confusing. The answer is that it is not.

The 2025 estimated loss by Albany Utilities based on that equation came out to about $2 million, according to Mayor Bo Dorough, who also chairs the Albany Utility Board. That’s because the city has to sell excess power at times for a lower rate than it is paying.

To reduce those losses, the Albany City Commission is considering a battery energy storage system (BESS) that would allow the storing of electricity that could be sold during peak use times at a profit.

Earlier this month, the commission heard from representatives of three solar energy companies. Now commissioners are looking for another source to crunch the numbers to determine whether the concept could be beneficial.

The two options presented include one featuring a single site on the city’s grid, and the second would place batteries at two sites.

During times when energy use is low in Albany, the batteries would store the excess energy purchased. The stored energy would be held in a battery to sell at a better price. 

The average price per kilowatt for customers is 15 cents in the state, Dorough said. 

Pete Marte, CEO of Hannah Solar, one of the representatives who spoke at an Oct. 1 commission meeting, estimated that the city could sell excess electricity at perhaps an average of 9.5 cents per kilowatt. 

Sales during peak hours during the summer could net more than that amount.

“People try to sell into the super–peak marketplace,” Marte said. “That is really the question: Where is the electricity going and how am I going to sell it? Is there a market out there? There really is.”

Of the two options presented to commissioners, the first would total about $45 million, and the second option would be more than double that amount. The first option would recoup and estimated 18% of the city’s losses, while the more expensive option would recoup about 53%, Marte said. The city could initially install one of the systems and later add another if it makes sense.

A key issue for the city is that it suffered a decline in population and cannot escape a long-term deal with the Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia, Dorough said during a telephone interview.

“We’ve got a contract with MEAG to purchase a specific amount of electricity,” he said “In most months we don’t consume as much energy as we’re contractually obligated to purchase. We’re obviously in a predicament because we have to sell it within a short window.”

Although battery storage is used by commercial entities, no other municipalities are in the electricity storage business, the mayor said.

The Dougherty County Commission in October 2025 approved an ordinance that allowed and regulates battery storage systems, clearing the way for projects at the solar installation on Highway 133 and a site located near the former Georgia Power Co. plant on Old Georgia Highway 3.

The novelty of a city getting into the business is one reason commissioners have urged that the city take its time and enlist an independent party to give an opinion.

One advantage that Albany has is that federal funds would cover half of construction costs, Dorough said. Without that incentive, the project would not make economic sense.

“Without the 50%, we wouldn’t be talking about it,” Commissioner Chad Warbington said.

Having an excess of electricity has an advantage in that the situation reduces the city’s chances of having blackouts, the commissioner said. A long-term contract to sell electricity could be a benefit to residents in helping to keep customers’ rates as low as possible.

“It’s pretty complicated,” Warbington said. “You’ve got to evaluate it. For me, this is all about ratepayers. Will this keep our rates low? That’s my biggest concern on a project like this.”