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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Provided Information - 12/9/2025CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY 451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 304 P.O. BOX 145476, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84114-5476 SLCCOUNCIL.COM TEL 801-535-7600 FAX 801-535-7651 COUNCIL STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY www.slc.gov/council/ TO:City Council Members FROM: Michael Sanders Budget & Policy Analyst DATE:December 09, 2025 RE:UTAH RENEWABLE COMMUNITIES UPDATE ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE Utah Renewable Communities (URC) is a partnership of 19 Utah cities and counties working together to offer residents and businesses access to net-100% clean electricity by 2030. Formed under the state’s Community Clean Energy Act, URC collaborates with Rocky Mountain Power to design and implement a voluntary clean- energy program that matches participants’ annual electricity use with an equivalent amount of renewable energy. The clean power used for the program will come from a mix of existing renewable resources on the PacifiCorp grid and new projects built specifically for URC customers. Participating customers will remain Rocky Mountain Power customers, and the utility will continue to provide reliable service regardless of whether a customer joins the program. The City has been supportive of this program since 2019 through the passing of various resolutions and contributing financially to the URC budget for program development and implementation costs. The next step for program implementation is for the Public Services Commission (PSC) to review the Program Application at a hearing. This hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2025, after which a decision is anticipated as early as January 2026. If approved, eligible communities will have 90 days after the PSC’s approval to adopt the participation program ordinance. Currently, if timelines continue to unfold as expected, URC could begin collecting ratepayer revenue as soon as November of 2026. If Salt Lake City adopts a participation program ordinance, customers will be automatically enrolled, with the option to opt out at no cost during an initial cancellation period. If a customer opts out at a later period, a termination fee would apply. The URC’s goal is to limit the average household bill increase to no more than $3– $4 per month. To protect low-income customers, the program offers a monthly bill credit of up to $7 and will waive termination fees for those enrolled in Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 3 HELP program, with the credit funded by a charge up to $0.70 per month on other participating customers. Goal of the briefing: This briefing is informational only. Following the PSC hearing, if the PSC adopts the Program Application, the Administration will prepare a transmittal for the Council to consider a participation program ordinance. Page | 2 POLICY QUESTIONS 1. The Council may wish to discuss how they may want to customize the Program Ordinance recitals to reflect Salt Lake City’s energy commitments and policy direction. 2. The Council may wish to ask the administration how many participants are needed to maintain the projected average bill increase of $3–$4 per month for participating households. o What would happen to rates if there are not enough participants? o Should the City advocate for additional mitigation measures if actual costs exceed projections? 3. If a resident currently participates in the BlueSky program, is it anticipated they would leave that to participate in the URC program? 4. The Council may wish to discuss with the Administration what engagement and education efforts they might be planning to ensure Salt Lake City residents have as much notice as possible before a potential RMP fee increase, including the reasoning for that increase, and the timeline. Below is an annotated history of legislative actions taken by the City Council regarding URC: The Council adopted a joint resolution adopting two renewable energy goals.: 1. 50% renewable energy for municipal operations by 2020 2. 100% renewable energy for both municipal operations and the community by 2032 The Council adopted a joint resolution advancing its community goal to 100% net renewable electricity by 2030 which qualified the City to participate in URC. The Council approved a total of $550,000 over FY22 and FY23 to cover the City's share of program developments costs as required by state statute. The actual expense over FY22 and FY23 was approximately $386,000. The Council approved a resolution endorsing the continued participation in the development of the URC program and authorized the Mayor to sign the Utility Agreement with other participating communities. Once the program launches, all Rocky Mountain Power customers located in jurisdictions that adopt Program Ordinances will be automatically enrolled, consistent with provisions in state law allowing customers to opt out at any time. The Agency’s target is to limit the average household bill increase to no more than $3–$4 per month. Customers may opt out at no cost during an initial 100-day cancellation period, which begins when the URC charges first appear on their bills. After that window closes, a termination fee will apply for those who choose to leave the program. The cancelation fee is currently proposed to be $30 for residential customers. To protect households with limited financial resources, the program includes the below low-income customer provisions: Proactive outreach and engagement, Monthly bill credit of up to $7, and Waived termination fees for those who decide to opt out after the initial cancellation period. Page | 3 These protections apply to customers enrolled in Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 3 Home Electric Lifeline Plan (HELP). To qualify for the HELP program, customers must be at or below the 150% of Federal Poverty Levels. Customizing the Program Ordinance Council Participation in the PSC Hearing Next Steps Outline Page | 4 After commencement, customers would have at least three billing cycles (approximately 100 days) ending March 8, 2027.1 During this time period, they may opt out at no cost. After this period concludes, customers may still opt-out of the program but would be subject to a termination fee currently proposed at $30 for residential accounts. ATTACHMENTS ATTACHMENT 1 1 In its testimony in the Program Application docket, URC proposed an even longer no-fee cancelation window of 6 months to the PSC to help ensure that participants have ample time to consider opting out after program-related bill impacts begin. The PSC will ultimately decide the actual duration of the cancelation period as per R746-314-101(3) and subject to statutory requirements. Page | 6 Estimated 2026 URC Timeline Utah Renewable Communities Fall-Winter 2025 Update Outline •What is Utah Renewable Communities (URC)? •How did Salt Lake City get involved? •What will the URC program mean for Rocky Mountain Power (RMP)customers in our community? •Detailed look at URC development and status •Upcoming milestones and estimated program launch sequence •Next steps for our community and upcoming decision points What is URC? •URC is a coalition of 19 cities and counties pioneering a new option for clean energy for homes and businesses in our communities •Development of the URC program is possible thanks to the Utah Community Renewable Energy Act passed in 2019 (since changed to Community "Clean"Energy Act) •The primary goal is to make net-100% clean electricity available to homes and businesses in participating communities by 2030 •This goal will be accomplished by acquiring clean energy to match 100% of annual energy consumed on an annual basis –this makes it a "net-100%" goal Consumption (“load”)Clean energy generated How would this work? •The clean energy counting towards the URC program is proposed to come from both existing clean energy on the grid plus new clean energy projects built to serve URC customers •These resources are and will be part of the PacifiCorp grid. PacifiCorp is RMP's parent company whose grid serves 6 states, including Utah •The URC program is in collaboration with RMP, and all URC participants remain RMP customers Why develop this new clean energy option? •Scale:we have a unique opportunity to drive investment in new clean energy at scale: as a collective, URC represents about 25% of RMP's electricity sales in Utah •Choice:the URC program offers homes and businesses in our community a new option of where their electricity comes from through RMP •Investment:clean energy investment supports jobs and economies, often in rural areas •Health and environment:clean energy helps to avoid pollution from other energy sources How URC support SLC's energy and climate goals •2016: Council adopted a joint resolution adopting renewable electricity and climate goals:•50% renewable energy for municipal operations by 2020•100% renewable energy community-wide by 2032•80% community carbon emissions reduction goal by 2040 (50% by 2030) relative to a 2009 baseline •2019: Council adopted a joint resolution advancing community goal to net-100% renewable electricity by 2030•Satisfied then-applicable statutory requirement to participate in URC •2023: Council approved a resolution endorsing continued participation in URC program•Authorized the Mayor to sign a Utility Agreement with other participating communities •2025-2026: Climate Forward SLC plan which aims to:•Reaffirm or refine the City's commitment to our 2040 climate goals•Prioritize climate strategies that are scalable and equitable•Identify actionable solutions and fill gaps 6Successful implementation of URC is critical to achieving these commitments! Our involvement in URC •SLC joined the Community Renewable Energy Agency (aka the URC board) and subsequently made our financial contributions to the Agency's budget, which was proportional to our community's population and energy load •We signed the Utility Agreement along with all the other participating communities in time to be included in the initial Program Application filing in January 2025 •After the PSC approves the program (possibly as early as January 2026) we will have a final decision whether to adopt the Program Ordinance 7 What URC is anticipated to look like for customers •URC customers remain RMP customers receiving reliable power •Upon program launch, URC customers will be automatically enrolled in the URC program with the choice to opt-out •A customer's desire to support and use clean energy and the estimated impact on their bill will likely be factors influencing their decision •There will be no cost to opt-out initially, after that, there will be a fee to terminate participation •The URC board's position is that the program increase the average household's electric bill by no more than $3-4/month •Low-income customer* provisions: •Ongoing outreach and engagement •Monthly bill credit to cover the monthly increase •Waived termination fee (if they decide to opt-out later in the program) •Like all customers, can always choose to opt-out 8 Cost to participate & credit if low - income Information about the program ELECTRIC BILL *These provisions will apply to customers enrolled in RMP Schedule 3 Home Electric Lifeline Plan (HELP) Net-100% Resolution Adopted 23 communities adopted Established net- 100% goal for initial Program eligibility. No longer required Governance Agreement Signed 19 communities signed Maintains eligibility and outlines URC interlocal cooperative arrangement and governance structure Utility Agreement Signed All communities sign & RMP to sign Outlines roles and responsibilities to take effect upon program approval and launch Program Application Submitted Filed by RMP with significant URC involvement Details how URC program will work, including projected rates to participate Utah legislature and PSC Established requirements & defined pathway to develop program Enabling Legislation and Rules Adopted 2019 Mar-Dec 2019 2021 –2024 2023 -2024 Nov 2024; Jan and Jun 2025 URC program development process Status of URC program development 10 Years of negotiation led to RMP filing two "dockets" with the Public Service Commission, (1) regarding solicitation of program resources in November 2024 and (2) the remaining full Program Application in January and June 2025 (1) RFP •Approved by PSC in May 2025 •Launched RFP with bids due July 10; received 14 qualifying bids •Following several rounds of scoring and evaluation, URC forwarded top 6 bids (the "Initial Short List") to PacifiCorp for the next stage of evaluation in September 2025 (2) Program Application •URC filed its testimony into the docket in July 2025 •Testimony from other parties, including the Office of Consumer Services and Division of Public Utilities, was filed on October 10 •Rounds of rebuttal and surrebuttal through early December •PSC hearing scheduled for December 16 Net-100% Resolution Adopted 23 communities adopted Established net- 100% goal for initial Program eligibility. No longer required Governance Agreement Signed 19 communities signed Maintains eligibility and outlines URC interlocal cooperative arrangement and governance structure Utility Agreement Signed All communities sign & RMP to sign Outlines roles and responsibilities to take effect upon program approval and launch Program Application Submitted Filed by RMP with significant URC involvement Details how URC program will work, including projected rates to participate Program Approval Utah PSC reviews and rules on URC Program Program approved, changed, or denied and initial rates finalized Participation Ordinance Each community adopts Program Within 90 days of PSC approval, decide whether to adopt approve program Utah legislature and PSC Established requirements & defined pathway to develop program Enabling Legislation and Rules Adopted 2019 Mar-Dec 2019 2021 –2024 2023 -2024 Nov 2024; Jan and Jun 2025 As soon as Jan.2026 Within 90 days of approval URC program development process RMP preps billing system: 5 months (est. 4/30/26 through 9/27/26) Noticing begins: 60 days before launch (est. 9/28/26) Noticing ends: 60 days after it begins (est. 11/27/26) Program revenues begin: after noticing ends (est. 11/28/26) No fee opt out period ends: 100 days after launch** (est. 3/8/27) Estimated* 2026 URC Timeline PSC hearings: December 16th, 2025 PSC approval: as early as Jan 2026 (est. 1/30/26) Ordinance adoption: within 90 days of approval (est. 4/30/26) URC Agency and member tasks: •Testify & provide comment at Dec 16th hearings •Engage in settlement discussions •Interpret PSC ruling •Prep councils/commissions for ordinance •Consider adopting ordinance URC Agency and member tasks: •Supplement noticing with communications efforts •Conduct outreach strategies outlined in Plans for Low- Income Assistance •Revisit Agency membership and operations shifting from pre-approval to post-approval reality “Implementation Date”“Commencement Date” *All estimated dates come from RMP’s June 2025 Program Application filing and are subject to change **URC has proposed a six-month no fee opt out period System benefit and indicative costs discussion (TBD) “Final short list” selected by URC (TBD) Execute PPAs (TBD)RF P PR O G R A M Key takeaways & action items Upcoming •PSC hearings Tuesday, December 16th, in-person at Heber M. Wells Building (160 East 300 South, Salt Lake City) and virtually: •9am Technical Hearing –Open to public, but only witnesses and key staff called on to contribute •6pm Public Witness Hearing –Opportunity for anyone to provide oral public comment On the horizon •Possible PSC approval: as early as January 2026 •The PSC has the final say, including ruling on items that are not currently resolved, such as how program resources are valued, the role of renewable energy certificates (RECs), and how estimated costs to get the program up and running should be covered •90-day window to consider Program Ordinance following PSC approval •Approving the Ordinance would: •Adopt the Program for our community •Obligate us to reimburse RMP for sending out two rounds of notices to customers •Encourage us to coordinate with the other participating communities to help spread the word about the program Learn more and follow the URC •All meeting materials are posted to the Utah Public Notice website •@UtahRenewableCommunities on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube •Online at https://www.utahrenewablecommunities.org/ •Subscribe to the URC e-newsletter