City administrator urges council to monitor Climate Commitment Act market linkage; executive session set for auction strategy

City Administrator Chris Searcy (speaker 12) told the Uniontown City Council on May 11 that the city should monitor developments in the state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) market before taking aggressive local policy action and that staff currently do not recommend immediate rate or program changes.

Searcy presented cost scenarios comparing Washington’s early CCA prices (citing a recent auction near $65 per metric ton) with historical California prices (under $30 per ton), and showed how customer charges for the CCA could grow over time under different price paths. He said that while the near-term impact on customer bills appears modest in some scenarios (for example, raising the CCA portion of a therm-equivalent charge from about 6–7¢ to as much as 33–35¢ over several years), the long-term trajectory could be much steeper if Washington follows the upper-price path implied by statute.

Searcy summarized California utilities’ reported emissions trends and said those utilities showed initial reductions then flattening in later years, suggesting limited evidence that the CCA alone drove deep customer decarbonization during the first decade. He told council: "So there's nothing that we see is real scary, that would suggest any action that we need to do now." He recommended waiting to see whether Washington links with California and Quebec markets, how Ecology applies allowances (including incorporation of new covered sources such as incinerators), and how allowance-price containment mechanisms evolve.

Searcy also noted that Ecology is engaged in rulemaking that could change allowance availability and that the state’s allowance price-containment reserve has been largely drawn down; those uncertainties affect price projections. He said staff’s next steps would be to observe market developments, continue to analyze customer-impact scenarios, and consider potential programs (for example, incentives for heat pumps) that the city might support for residents who voluntarily reduce natural-gas use.

Before adjourning the regular agenda, the council recessed into a brief executive session to discuss CCA auction-bid strategy under RCW 42.30.110(1)(q). The executive session was described as covering bid strategy for entities subject to the CCA; no public decision was recorded in the meeting minutes.

Why this matters The CCA creates a new compliance cost stream for covered fuels and entities; local utilities’ exposure depends on allowance prices, program linkage, and Ecology’s future rulemaking. The council’s choice to monitor rather than act immediately preserves flexibility while staff continue to refine cost and program options.

What’s next Staff will continue to monitor allowance auctions, Ecology rulemaking and linkage decisions and report back when new information warrants policy direction or rate adjustments.