OPALCO's Decatur Island solar proposal / Grant funding
The grant fell 57%. OPALCO kept saying $1 million.
$570,000 removed from the award. We deserve the full accounting.
On July 1, 2025, OPALCO’s engineering and operations manager, Russell Guerry, signed a contract amendment reducing the Commerce grant from $1 million to $430,000. That removed $570,000 from the award.
Nearly ten months later, on April 22, 2026, OPALCO still publicly described the project as receiving $1 million in grant funding. That announcement came the day after its board voted to proceed with the project.
The amendment also limited authorized work to design and permitting. It did not authorize construction or installation. Its budget listed $420,000 as already paid, with just $10,000 allocated to additional redesign and permitting.
We deserve a clear accounting of the funding OPALCO uses to justify this project. If a later amendment restored the award, OPALCO should publish it.
Publish the full grant record. Reconcile the numbers. Explain what was spent, what remains, and when the board learned of the reduction. Correct the public claims.