Bend ECC pushes for climate pollution fee; staff recommends incentive-first approach and deferring regulatory pathways

City of Bend staff recommended that next steps on building electrification prioritize outreach and incentive design over immediate regulatory action, citing legal uncertainty about regulatory tools. After discussion, the Environmental Conservation Committee (ECC) voted to prepare a letter to the City Council urging the city to develop a climate pollution fee patterned after Ashland’s and to use fee revenue to incentivize electrification.

Staff recommendation: At an ECC meeting, Cassie, the ECC staff liaison, described a three-step staff workplan that starts with outreach and education, then moves into an incentives-and-disincentives design phase, and keeps regulatory options such as right-of-way restrictions and (NOS) regulations “on the table” for future consideration.

“The Outreach and Education Initiative includes all the work that Megan's been doing to kind of build out our platform,” Cassie said, describing work already underway. She said staff plans to launch an energy navigator program later in the summer or fall and to scope a builder-education effort over the biennium.

For the incentive phase, staff proposed convening a stakeholder group — continuing the…