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Baldwin City council debates how to spend $30,000 in renewable energy credit proceeds
Summary
Council members weighed returning REC proceeds to the electric fund, applying a one‑month meter credit, placing funds in the electric reserve, or funding a new affordability program; no formal action was taken and council scheduled further discussion at budget workshops.
Baldwin City council members spent the bulk of their meeting discussing how to apply proceeds from recently received renewable energy credits (RECs), with estimates that the first batch will amount to about $30,000.
Council members described four main options: record the REC proceeds as revenue in the electric fund so they reduce the overall rate-setting calculation; apply the money as a one‑time credit tied to the meter fee; place the proceeds in the electric reserve to lower future rate increases; or dedicate the funds to a targeted affordability program such as affordable‑housing assistance. “I think this first batch is around 30,000,” one council member said during the discussion.
Proponents of a meter‑fee credit said a visible, per‑meter credit would be felt directly by households on high summer bills: “It’d be nice to give a little reprieve on those higher…bills,” a council member said. Opponents cautioned a flat per‑meter credit would benefit small‑meter users differently than large commercial customers such as Baker University, which uses far more kilowatts but has comparatively few meters. Council members noted the municipal utility already maintains multiple rate classes and that any change could be administratively complex.
Several council members favored placing the money in the electric reserve so the funds reduce the size of a planned midyear rate increase. “If that reserve is padded with this money, that next rate increase in July would be that much less,” a council member said. Others argued recurring REC revenues could be channeled into a standing program to address affordability on a sustained basis rather than producing a one‑time, modest bill credit.
No formal motion or vote was taken on how to allocate the proceeds. Council members agreed to continue the conversation during an upcoming budget workshop and to run more precise forecasts and options for how a credit or reserve allocation would affect different customer classes.
Next steps: councilors asked staff to prepare numbers and schedule the item for the budget workshop so members can compare the practical impacts of a one‑time credit versus reserve or programmatic allocation.
