Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell

Press Release issued on Monday, 6/07/2010:

Seattle – Today, the Seattle City Council approved Resolution 31219 establishing new protocols for City Light to use when seeking approval for large capital projects. This new process was developed following challenges City Light experienced in providing the Council with information related to meeting power demands in the South Lake Union area. Councilmember Bruce Harrell asked the City Council to retain Energy and Environmental Economics (EEE) to establish best practices for determining the process by which capital projects are approved.

The new protocols guided by the recommendations of EEE are designed to enhance communication between City Light and the Council and augment the Council’s ability to review the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) during the budget process. It will be a tool for Council to use when it analyzes the need for new capital expenditures. These protocols will also be conducive to third party review. This effort is part of the larger scale, strategic planning at City Light which will establish priorities of what projects are immediately necessary and what expenditures can be eliminated or strategically deferred.

“Passage of this resolution will help guide Council’s decisions on future capital expenditures by requiring the Utility to provide justification for significant projects,” said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, Chair of the Energy, Technology and Civil Rights Committee. “Large, unmonitored capital projects can increase customer rates and it is critical to have a thorough analysis of any factors that have a tendency to increase rates.”

The Seattle City Council also approved Resolution 31218 which requires the City Auditor to conduct periodic performance audits of City Light to the Energy, Technology and Civil Rights Committee by the end of 2010. In addition, the resolution requests City Light to submit annual reports to the City Council for review and comment on recommendations made in the March 2010 performance audit report by the Washington State Auditor’s Office. In the November 2005 General Election, voters approved Initiative 900 which requires the Washington State Auditor to conduct performance audits of the largest, costliest governmental entities in Washington State. The performance audit of Seattle City Light is a result of that initiative.

“This resolution was crafted to make sure all of the inefficiencies found by the audit are addressed. It is important to look forward and create operational efficiencies whenever possible and periodic audits by the Office of the City Auditor will move us in that direction,” added Harrell.