Regional renewable-energy program explained to Immigration Canyon council; PSC hearings set

Glade Sowers, Salt Lake City staff and alternate board member for the Utah Renewable Communities (URC) program, briefed Immigration Canyon council on a regional effort that would match participating customers’ energy consumption with new clean resources to reach a community-level 100% renewable target by 2030.

Sowers said the URC coalition comprises 19 Rocky Mountain Power communities, representing roughly 25% of the utility’s Utah sales, and works in collaboration with Rocky Mountain Power and Pacificorp. He described a two-track program application to the Public Service Commission: a resource solicitation (RFP) that produced 14 qualifying bids narrowed to six, and a separate program application. “Again, it’s a coalition of 19 communities,” Sowers said, describing the program’s goal and the opt-out structure for customers if a participating community’s city council adopts an ordinance.

Sowers explained that after the PSC’s decision, communities would have a 90-day window to adopt an ordinance opting their residents and businesses into the program; residents would then have a notification period and a no-cost termination window of roughly three to six utility bills (estimated 100–180 days) to opt out before a termination fee would apply. The board’s target is to limit average residential bill impacts to roughly $3–$4 per month, Sowers said, and the program includes low-income protections, a monthly credit and reduced termination fees for eligible participants.

Sowers encouraged council members and residents to attend the PSC’s technical hearing and public witness hearing scheduled the following day; he also said URC is finalizing power-purchase agreements with shortlisted bidders and that the PSC’s ruling could arrive as early as January, which would start the ordinance adoption clock for cities.

Council members and residents asked questions about participation by customers who already have solar or net metering, how industrial loads (data centers) would be handled and whether customers with grandfathered net-metering rates could participate. Sowers said the program targets utility-scale resources and that some customers (notably those on grandfathered net-metering) may remain outside the program unless they opt in.