CREA board pre-authorizes solicitation publication, OKs $20,000 website expense and recognizes $50,000 donation

The Community Renewable Energy Agency board voted on March 3 to allow publication of a resource solicitation if the Utah Public Service Commission substantially approves the solicitation docket and the board chair signs off, and it approved an amendment authorizing up to $20,000 to set up a secure website for receiving bids.

The board also voted to recognize a donation of up to $50,000 from Stewardship Utah to pay legal and expert-consultant expenses tied to the agency’s program application docket. The board heard updates on two Utah Public Service Commission dockets — the resource solicitation docket (24-035-55) and the program application docket (25-035-06) — and received budgeting guidance for the required customer noticing that would fund initial mailings under the Community Clean Energy Act.

Christopher Thomas, alternate board member for Salt Lake City and convenor of the program design committee, told the board that the agency and Rocky Mountain Power agreed the agency will file testimony in the program application docket on March 31, 2025. "We will file testimony in this docket on 03/31/2025," Thomas said, and said testimony will both present background on program development and identify areas for the Commission to decide where parties disagree.

On the solicitation timeline, Thomas reported the Utah Public Service Commission held a virtual hearing Feb. 28 in which parties recommended approval of the solicitation procedures and the agency’s proposed solicitation. He said the board’s resolution would allow the agency to publish the solicitation promptly if the Commission’s order is issued shortly after a board meeting, preventing months of delay that could push contract signings into the next calendar year.

Board member Jeff Silver Strini moved to approve the resolution and proposed the amendment authorizing a website expense. As amended, the resolution adds a paragraph reading, "The Board authorizes the expenditure of up to $20,000 to set up a secure solicitation website prior to approval of the solicitation." The board approved the amendment and the resolution by voice votes; no recorded roll-call tallies were provided.

The second resolution recognized Stewardship Utah’s offer to donate up to $50,000 to pay regulatory costs tied to the program application docket. Under the arrangement described by Thomas, the program design committee will forward a monthly invoice for regulatory costs to Stewardship Utah; Stewardship Utah will then send a donation check to Mill Creek, the agency’s treasurer, until the $50,000 cap is reached or the docket concludes. "This donation would only support our legal expenses and our expert consultant expenses associated with this program application docket," Thomas said.

The board also reviewed budgeting guidance for the initial customer noticing required by the Community Clean Energy Act. Thomas said state rules require two initial notices before customers in participating communities are automatically enrolled; the agency’s guidance assumes the first notice will be mailed to all customers and the second notice will be emailed to customers enrolled in electronic billing and mailed to customers not enrolled. He noted postage and mailer costs have risen from about $0.41 per mailer to about $0.87 since 2020 and urged member jurisdictions to budget in fiscal year 2026 for the expected noticing expenses.

On procedural and timing matters, Thomas and other board members noted key dates and sequence: Rocky Mountain Power filed the program application on Jan. 24, 2025 (docket 25-035-06); testimony from the agency and Rocky Mountain Power is scheduled for filing by March 31; the Commission is expected to set a hearing schedule after testimony is filed; and participating communities will have 90 days after the Commission’s order to adopt ordinances deciding whether to participate and to begin paying the noticing costs if they join. Thomas said an informal developer open house in January drew about 35 clean-energy developers.

Votes at a glance: • Approval of Feb. 3, 2025 board meeting minutes — motion by Drew Quinn; voice vote, approved. • Resolution 25-04 (resource solicitation publication; financial administration policy amendment; pre-approval of solicitation publication subject to Commission approval and chair sign-off) — motion to approve by Jeff Silver Strini; board approved an amendment to authorize up to $20,000 for a secure solicitation website; voice vote, approved. • Resolution 25-05 (recognize Stewardship Utah donation to support regulatory costs, up to $50,000) — motion to approve; voice vote, approved.

No formal roll-call vote tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript; board members voted by voice and the chair declared the items passed.

The board packet and slides referenced the two PSC dockets by number and included the agency’s recommended budget guidance for community noticing; members were asked to review fiscal year 2026 budgets accordingly. The board also noted the agency is being considered for an award at the Intermountain Sustainability Summit hosted by Weber State University on March 20.

The board meeting adjourned after the votes and brief comments of appreciation for staff and committee work.