Brigham City Council approves feasibility study with UAMPS for city-owned natural-gas peaking plant

Brigham City Council voted to authorize staff to begin a feasibility study with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and to move forward with bond counsel and related agreements for a Brigham City–owned natural gas peaking plant near Lehi. The motion to start the feasibility and financing work passed after council discussion and a roll-call vote.

City staff and outside consultants told the council the plant would give Brigham City on-demand generation to fill short, high-cost gaps in the city’s power portfolio and reduce sharp price exposure when a five‑year market contract (referred to in presentations as the Shell contract) ends in March 2027. “We’re at a point now where it’s a critical priority,” Tom Cotter, the city presenter, told the council, describing recent months when market prices spiked and drove up Brigham City’s purchased-power costs.

The council heard technical and financial details during a multi-hour presentation. Staff described an initial facility concept with one building containing six bays and three installed generator sets (each about 2.5 megawatts), creating roughly 7.5 megawatts of initial dispatchable capacity with room to expand later. Consultants from Wheeler presented lifecycle and operating models showing a modeled strike price for plant-generated energy in the mid‑$40s per megawatt-hour (depending on gas and operating assumptions) compared with short-term "super-peak" market offers that reached $175/MWh in staff examples. Wheeler staff also said routine engine maintenance cycles and major overhauls are built into the projected operating costs.

City staff outlined financing and ownership: UAMPS would issue bonds and initially hold title and make vendor payments; Brigham City would be the sole project off-taker and operate and maintain the facility. When debt obligations are retired, the assets would transfer to Brigham City. Staff estimated a preliminary capital cost of roughly $21 million for the 6-bay/3-generator configuration, financed over 20 years in the model used for the presentation; staff projected an illustrative annual payment in the presentation of about $1.5 million and said a cost-of-service study would be used to shape any rate changes and to allocate costs to customers classes.

Council members asked about operating hours, maintenance and longevity, staffing, noise and air emissions, and siting. Wheeler and city staff said they expect typical annual run time to be in the low thousands of hours in many years (staff presented 2,000–5,000 hours as an initial estimate for planning), that major overhauls are measured in tens of thousands of operating hours, that noise at 500 feet was estimated around 60 decibels for the proposed siting and that emission controls would meet the standards described in vendor data, and that short-term staffing needs could be met with contractors while longer-term operations would require a mix of training and possible new hires. City staff noted the site is near an existing industrial/batch-plant area and close to a high-pressure gas line and existing circuits to move power into the distribution system.

After discussion, Councilmember Hipp moved to begin the UAMPS feasibility study and related bond-counsel work; Councilmember Jensen seconded. The motion passed by roll-call vote (recorded as approved in the public meeting). Staff and consultants said further council approvals would be required before any bonds are issued, equipment purchased, or construction begins, and that the feasibility and bond‑counsel step will return to the council for formal contract approvals.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to begin feasibility study with UAMPS and prepare bond counsel and project agreements for a Brigham City natural gas peaking plant — Motion by Councilmember Hipp; second by Councilmember Jensen; outcome: approved (roll call). The motion authorizes feasibility work and financing preparations only; it does not approve construction, vendor selection, or bond issuance.

What happens next

Staff will proceed with the UAMPS feasibility analysis, work with UAMPS bond counsel to draft needed agreements for future council consideration, and direct a rate and cost-of-service analysis to determine how debt service and ongoing costs would be allocated across customer classes. Final project approval, including any rate changes or bond adoption, will be actions for future council meetings.