The Truckee Donner Public Utility District board of directors approved several key initiatives at its March meeting including, among other things, approving a power cost adjustment credit to electric customers and a new bill round-up program.
In 2023, the TDPUD board approved a new quarterly power cost adjustment program for electric customers, which generates either a credit or a charge meant to reflect the difference between the actual and budgeted cost of power purchasing for that timeframe.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, the cost of the power TDPUD purchased was less than the kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate charged, so electric customers will receive a credit of $0.0337 per kWh on their March and April bills to reflect this difference. This amounts to an average credit per month of $24.87 for residential accounts.
Several factors contributed to the lower power costs, including reduced natural gas prices, favorable Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) costs, an operating margin credit from Utah Associated Municipal Power System (UAMPS) and adjustments from prior quarters, the California public power utility noted.
In 2024, actual power costs for the year were 10% below budget expectations. With this new adjustment mechanism, TDPUD is directly crediting back to this savings to customers. For 2024, the total adjustments effectively take the 12% average rate increase down 4.6%, to an effective rate increase of 7.4%.
The board also approved the creation of a new voluntary bill round-up program, which will give customers the option to round up their bill to the nearest dollar (capped at $11.88 per year). All the money collected from this program will assist customers with delinquent account balances.
While TDPUD has a low-income assistance program, there are customers in need that do not qualify because they exceed the program’s income limits. This program gives customers with the means to do so the opportunity to help their neighbors. Customers in jeopardy of having their services terminated due to non-payment will be able to apply for the program. If they meet the requirements, there are sufficient funds and they haven’t received round-up program funds in the prior 12 months, they will receive assistance. This program is anticipated to launch this summer.
In collaboration with other regional agencies, the TDPUD board also voted to adopt a resolution aimed at documenting the impacts that federal funding cuts will have on local wildfire mitigation and readiness.
"Wildfire mitigation has become a major focus for TDPUD over the past few years. TDPUD’s vegetation management budget has increased six-fold since 2018, in order to both adhere to line clearance regulations and to take on additional fuel reduction projects to keep the community safe. Everything from the equipment to the engineering design of the electrical system takes wildfire into account," it said.
"Many California utilities, including TDPUD, were recently alerted that their credit scores will likely be downgraded simply due to the way wildfire liability is determined in the state. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently paused the approval of the regional, multi-jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, which will now restrict TDPUD’s ability to pursue federal grant funding for wildfire mitigation programs," the utility noted.
All of these actions will have an adverse impact on TDPUD’s ability to mitigate wildfires in Truckee, the utility said.
"Through joint action groups in the utility industry, TDPUD has built relationships with its representatives at the state and federal level, and staff goes to Sacramento and Washington D.C. annually to advocate for the community’s best interests. By adopting this resolution, the TDPUD board has signaled that it will continue to work with lawmakers to ensure that Truckee’s needs are addressed by federal policy and funding."
Meanwhile, TDPUD and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 entered negotiations in the fall of 2024 to update the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between union represented staff and TDPUD. The previous MOU expired at the end of last year.
The groups reached a three-year labor agreement for represented staff that was unanimously approved by the board at this meeting. The board also approved equivalent adjustments to compensation and benefits for the unrepresented staff.
