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City administrator urges monitoring of Climate Commitment Act costs; no immediate policy action
Summary
City Administrator Chris Searcy presented CCA compliance scenarios, cited recent auction prices (~$65/metric ton), and recommended the city monitor linkage and market developments rather than adopt immediate new policy measures.
City Administrator Chris Searcy told the council on May 11 that while the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) presents potential future costs for municipal natural-gas operations, current data do not compel immediate local policy changes.
Searcy presented comparative charts showing California utilities’ CCA-era emissions trends and discussed Washington’s auction prices, noting the most recent auction he cited was about $65 per metric ton. He outlined model trajectories: a lower-cost scenario roughly aligned with California prices and a higher trajectory following Washington’s original price escalation (inflation plus 5%). Searcy said that linkage with the California/Quebec market could materially affect future allowance prices and that Washington’s reporting lag complicates near-term assessments.
On near-term customer impacts, Searcy noted the incremental charge per CCF (hundred cubic feet) would be modest for many customers today (examples cited in the presentation were on the order of a few cents to 35¢ per CCF under some scenarios) but that costs could rise substantially in later compliance periods. He told the council staff’s recommendation was to "sit back and observe" the market and linkage developments and to return with proposals only if clearer signals emerge. He also suggested potential targeted incentives (e.g., to support customers who voluntarily adopt heat pumps) as a future option, but offered no concrete program for council action that night.
Searcy said the council would enter executive session to discuss auction/bid strategy under the CCA later in the meeting under RCW 42.30.110(1)(q). The council recessed for that executive session and returned before adjourning.
Why it matters: Auction prices and linkage decisions will shape compliance costs that could flow through to ratepayers or the city’s utility budgets; staff recommended monitoring and limited preparatory work but no immediate regulatory steps.
