Eugene committee advances memo and fact sheet on clean backup power; aims for March commission review

The Clean and Reliable Backup Energy Systems Committee of the Eugene Sustainability Commission advanced a draft memo for City Council and a companion public fact sheet and asked city staff to review them with the goal of returning a consolidated draft to the full commission by mid‑March.

The committee said the memo should be a tightly written two‑page document with appendices and a separate fact sheet that explains common backup systems — portable batteries, permanently installed grid‑tied batteries, vehicle‑to‑grid EV setups, multi‑fuel generators and other options — and how those systems affect building resilience and local decarbonization goals.

Committee members framed the work as both technical and educational: the memo is intended to clarify which home and building systems maintain habitability during outages (preventing frozen pipes or dangerous indoor temperatures), identify low‑carbon options that can provide resilience for all‑electric buildings, and propose municipal policy choices city council could consider.

Key planning details and timeline

- The fact sheet is under city review for content and layout and has been reduced to a single front‑and‑back handout format so it is scannable for the public. - The committee agreed the memo should aim for a maximum of two pages with the fact sheet and technical explanations in appendices so councilors can quickly find the "ask." -…