Fort Worth staff recommend lump-sum sale of 934,000 renewable-energy credits, estimate $1.6M net for capital projects

Marilyn Marvin, property management director, told the committee the city’s electric supplier, Reliant Energy, has provided renewable-energy credits equivalent to about half of the city’s expected annual consumption. Under the current contract Reliant retires those credits on the city’s behalf; Marvin recommended amending the contract so the credits accumulate and can be sold in a single lump transaction.

Marvin said the city expects roughly 934,000 credits for the 2026–2031 period and that a third-party broker, USource, estimates a sale price of about $2 per credit today. "If we sold all of our credits, the 934,000, it would bring in about $1,900,000," Marvin said, adding that the broker would take a 15% fee and the city would net roughly $1.6 million. She recommended directing proceeds to capital-project shortfalls, such as facility gaps the committee identified.

Marvin described the proposed safeguards: the city would amend the Reliant contract to halt automatic retirement, have USource evaluate market conditions and execute a sale only if terms are acceptable; if the price is unsatisfactory the credits would remain on the city’s books until a later decision. She noted federal policy changes could reduce future credit values, which supports a near-term sale consideration.

The committee was advised staff will present an information report or work session on March 31 before any formal council action.

Next steps: staff will work with legal to amend the Reliant contract, have USource analyze the credit market and bring an IR to the March 31 work session for further council consideration.