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City administrator warns Climate Commitment Act will raise costs for Enumclaw’s municipal gas utility
Summary
City Administrator Chris Searcy told the Enumclaw City Council that the state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) has pulled the city’s municipal gas utility into a cap‑and‑invest program, producing a new compliance charge on bills and uncertain future costs; staff recommended council consider policy options, funding strategies and possible collaboration with other municipal utilities.
Enumclaw City Administrator Chris Searcy told the City Council on March 9 that Washington’s Climate Commitment Act is now affecting the city’s municipal gas utility and that the policy will create ongoing compliance costs the city must manage.
"It is the law. We must comply with it," Searcy said while outlining how the CCA’s cap‑and‑invest structure requires covered entities to obtain carbon allowances and how the program’s no‑cost allowances and auction proceeds are used. He said Enumclaw’s average emissions from 2023 through 2025 were just over the 25,000‑metric‑ton threshold that defines covered entities, and that the city could return to the program in future compliance periods if it remains close to the threshold.
Searcy explained two customer classes created under the rules: legacy customers (connected before July 25, 2021) and non‑legacy…
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