Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Energy Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City administrator urges caution on Climate Commitment Act compliance; council recesses to discuss bidding strategy
Summary
City administrator Chris Searcy presented data comparing California and Washington experiences under carbon-market programs, noting auction prices (~$65/metric ton) and uncertain linkage; he recommended watching market developments while the council entered a short executive session to discuss auction bidding strategy.
City administrator Chris Searcy briefed the Uniontown City Council on potential cost and operational impacts of Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) on the municipal natural-gas utility and recommended caution before setting local policy.
Searcy presented comparative charts showing California utilities’ emissions trends, recent auction prices (he said about $65 per metric ton in Washington’s auction versus under $30 in California) and modeled customer charges expressed as cents per CCF/therm. He said early years of similar programs showed some emissions declines but that California utilities’ emissions largely flattened after an initial drop.
"There's nothing that we see is real scary that would suggest any action that we need to do now," Searcy said, summarizing staff’s view that the city should wait to see how market linkage and Ecology rulemaking evolve. He noted Washington remains behind in reporting some statewide greenhouse-gas data and that the allowance price-containment reserve used early in the program has been largely drawn down.
Searcy said the council will need to consider bid-auction strategy; the council recessed to executive session under RCW 42.30.110(1)(i) to discuss bidding strategy for 10 minutes and returned before adjourning.
What’s next: Staff will monitor auction prices, Ecology rulemaking and market linkage developments and said it will return if new policy direction is warranted.
