For years, Utahns have asked Rocky Mountain Power to move faster on clean energy and they have failed to deliver. That’s why Stewardship Utah worked with communities to join the Community Clean Energy Program. For the first time, communities have a choice in where their energy comes from. Salt Lake City and 15 other Utah communities are building new clean energy projects at a scale that would be hard for any one city to reach.

We think Rocky Mountain Power should be moving faster to add renewable energy through its regular planning. We also wanted Utah communities to have a way to move projects forward together and have choice in where they get their energy. The program gives participating households and businesses a way to help bring new renewable generation onto the grid through their existing utility accounts. That’s why we support it, and why we’ll keep pressing for cleaner, affordable power through the utility’s regular planning process.

Wind and sunlight are free. Building, connecting, and operating the projects that turn them into electricity costs money. The $4 a month is the starting residential charge for this specific program. It helps pay for adding new clean energy resources to the grid. The Utah Public Service Commission approved the program’s starting rates, and those rates can change. Households enrolled in Rocky Mountain Power’s HELP bill assistance program receive a credit that covers the monthly program charge.

Look at what gets contracted, what gets built, and when it starts delivering electricity. The program board selected two projects for final contract negotiations, with the first projects expected to connect to the grid between 2028 and 2030. Billing starts in January 2027, allowing the program to begin collecting funds as projects move through development and construction.. The goal is to add enough renewable generation to match participating homes’ and businesses’ electricity use over a full year. Everyone continues to draw power from the shared grid.

The program charge funds clean energy resources based on  participating customers’ annual electricity use. That generation goes onto the shared grid to offset the electricity those customers consume. However, who pays for the additional generation and infrastructure that new data centers require is a separate utility question, and it deserves public scrutiny.

Customers can opt out at no cost through May 1, 2027. After that, most residential customers who choose to leave the program pay a one-time $30 fee. The coalition of local governments proposed the fee to discourage people from leaving after the initial window and keep participation more predictable as the program moves forward. The $30 reflects the highest residential fee the coalition felt  comfortable proposing.. Customers enrolled in Rocky Mountain Power’s HELP program never pay an exit fee. Customers who prefer not to participate can opt out before the billing begins in January 2027.

Yes. We believe Rocky Mountain Power should be adding more renewable energy through its regular planning, and we’ll keep pushing for that. However, in the most recent Integrated Resource Plan, which outlines the utility’s plans to meet future energy demand, Rocky Mountain Power does not plan to build any new renewable energy resources on the Utah side of its system over the next 20 years. That's why the Community Clean Energy Program is more important than ever. Local communities have created their own pathway to bring additional clean energy resources onto the grid while continuing to push the utility to do more. The Community Clean Energy Program gives Utah communities a way to work together to make that happen.We also recognize that participating comes with an additional cost, and $48 a year may not fit every household’s budget. However, for customers who want to support additional renewable energy, this is one of the most affordable ways to do so. For comparison, Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky program can cost up to $20 per month, while installing rooftop solar can cost roughly $20,000 or more. At $4 per month, the Community Clean Energy Program offers households an affordable way to help bring new clean energy resources onto the grid.

The $4 monthly charge is not additional revenue for Rocky Mountain Power. It is a separate, regulator-approved program charge that goes towards new clean energy resources. Program costs and revenues are tracked in a dedicated account, and any exit fees collected goes into that account. The electricity those projects produce has value to the grid, and how that value is credited against project costs matters for future rates. Any costs or benefits that this program provides goes directly to participating customers and doesn’t get passed onto other customers. We believe the long-term benefit is getting new clean energy projects built that might not otherwise move forward. As projects come online, we will be watching how their costs and the value of the electricity they generate affect the program’s overall economics.

Because it changes what Salt Lake City can do about the electricity residents and businesses use every day and gives everyone a choice for the first time. The city can cut emissions from its own buildings, and through this program it can also pool demand with 15 other communities to help get utility-scale projects built. The goal is to add enough renewable generation to match what participating homes and businesses use over a year. The coalition has already selected two projects for final contract negotiations, with the first projects expected to connect to the grid between 2028 and 2030. That’s why Stewardship Utah worked so hard to get communities into this program. People wanted more say in where their power comes from, and now their communities have a way to act on it together.