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City staff urges cautious watch on Climate Commitment Act impacts to gas utility
Summary
City Administrator Chris Searcy outlined uncertainty around Washington's Climate Commitment Act linkage, recent allowance prices (~$65/metric ton), and illustrative customer charges; staff recommended observing market developments before proposing aggressive local policy shifts.
Uniontown — City Administrator Chris Searcy briefed the council on May 11 about potential impacts of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) on a municipal natural-gas utility and recommended pausing for observation while state rulemaking and market-linkage questions are resolved.
Searcy reviewed comparative data from California’s earlier program and Washington’s current compliance period, noting that auction settlement prices in Washington have been higher than recent California prices and that linkage to larger markets could change allowance prices. He told council the most recent Washington auction price was roughly $65 per metric ton; by contrast, California’s recent auction prices were under $30 per ton. He said that under some scenarios the CCA charge could represent a modest surcharge now (illustrative figures cited: roughly 33¢ per CCF for newer connections and about 6–7¢ for older connections), but that higher allowance trajectories would increase customer charges substantially over time.
Searcy said the city is in the first four-year compliance period and recommended watching how linkage, rulemaking and Ecology’s decisions (including whether additional sources like a waste incinerator are covered) affect allowance supply and price. He said the city has no immediate policy proposal to increase outreach or aggressively bid customers away from gas systems but may later explore incentives for customers who voluntarily shift technology.
Council recessed into executive session to discuss the city’s bid/auction strategy under RCW 42.30.110(1)(q) and returned after about 10 minutes; Searcy said staff had no immediate policy requests requiring council direction at this meeting.
