HomeMy WebLinkAboutTIS 2022-05-02 Item 2C - Agreement - Seattle City Light Franchise AgreementCity of Tukwila
Man Ekberg, Mayor
Public Works Deportment - Her Pon iekonti, Director/City Engineer
INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
TO: Transportation and Infrastructure Services Committee
FROM: Hari Ponnekanti, Public Works Director/ City Engineer
BY: Seong Kim, Utilities Manager/Assistant City Engineer
CC: Mayor Allan Ekberg
DATE: April 29, 2022
SUBJECT: Seattle City Light Franchise Agreement
ISSUE
Provide the Council with a general overview and status of the Seattle City Light (SCL) Franchise
Agreement.
BACKGROUND
Utility franchises consist of agreements (Franchise Agreements) between the City and utility
providers, which allow utilities to use City streets and rights-of-way for the purposes of
construction, operation, and maintenance of utility corridors. The franchises also ensure that the
use of public rights-of-way are protected and managed, that customer service on behalf of the
utility provider is maintained, and that any allowable financial compensation relating to the utility
provider's use of the public rights-of-way is received, among other considerations. It is important
to note that SCL provides approximately the north portion of the City's power, and that Puget
Sound Energy provides the City's southern portion.
Tukwila has operated under a franchise agreement with SCL since 1958 and is continuing to
operate by mutual agreement under the existing franchise agreement, which expired in February
2018. SCL continues to pay the City 6% of the total revenue received from Tukwila customers per
the terms of the agreement. Last year, the City received approximately $2 million in revenue from
SCL.
DISCUSSION
SCL provided Tukwila with their desired template for the new Franchise Agreement in 2021. The
SCL template is apparently what many area cities have based their current agreements on, and
SCL understandably would prefer to keep identical or substantially similar agreements for all of
their franchise cities. However, after staff review, the SCL template language strongly favored the
utility provider over Tukwila. Staff has revised the current draft to better align with the City's
priorities and provide a more balanced agreement between the two agencies. Public Works staff
is working as a team with the Department of Community Development, Finance and Legal staff
on the terms and conditions of the new agreement. We will begin negotiation with SCL on the
draft agreement in the near future.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
No financial impact.
RECOMMENDATION
Discussion only.
Attachment: SCL Franchise Area
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Seattle City Light Service Area
LAKE
FOREST
PARK
PUGET SOUND
LAKE
WASHINGTON
RENTON
For display purposes only. No warranties of any sort (including accuracy,
fitness or merchantability) accompany this product.
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