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RPL board reviews procurement bids and Tony Foster outlines EMPA fuel mix, solar output and safety rules for new 'balcony' panels
Summary
At the Richmond Power & Light board meeting, staff sought approval to open bids for heavy equipment and a pickup truck, and GM Tony Foster reviewed EMPA's 2025 fuel mix, local solar generation numbers and new UL 3700 safety requirements for plug-in 'balcony solar' units.
The Richmond Power & Light board approved bid openings for capital equipment including a new all-terrain track loader, trailer and a compact pickup truck for the engineering department, and authorized staff to tabulate bids and return recommendations. Several bids and trade values were read into the record (prices ranged across vendors and models) and the board moved and seconded to refer bid tabulation and recommendation to the general manager for evaluation.
General manager Tony Foster also provided a substantive presentation on power supply: he said EMPA's 2025 wholesale fuel mix is 53% coal, 19.3% nuclear, 14.6% natural gas and 13.1% renewable, and that local EMPA solar parks generated about 75.9 million kWh in 2025 (roughly 8.85% of local supply). Foster noted smaller customer solar programs (17 net-metering customers and seven purchase-power-agreement customers) and cautioned that new plug-and-play 'balcony solar' devices must carry UL 3700 certification before RPL will permit connection.
"Their 2025 fuel mix continues to change... It's 53% coal, 19.3% nuclear, 14.6% natural gas, and 13.1% renewable," Foster said in his overview. He also reported RPL and the airport finished the June billing cycle and that the State Board of Accounts audit team is in Richmond working with city staff.
