Des Moines City Council expected to approve MidAmerican Energy franchise agreement Monday
The Des Moines City Council is expected to approve electric and natural gas franchise agreements with MidAmerican Energy Monday.
Des Moines-based MidAmerican would get access to public right-of-ways for the next 13-years to provide the city with electricity and natural gas service. The city's current 10-year franchise agreements with the utility expire June 15.
The council has given initial approval to the agreement with near-unanimous approval during two separate votes earlier this month.
Ward 1 Councilmember Indira Sheumaker voted against the agreements both times.
Ward 3 Councilmember Josh Mandelbaum is recusing himself from the vote because he is a lawyer with the Environmental Law & Policy Center and his company joined a group called Clean Up MidAm that is focused on retiring MidAmerican's coal-fired power plants by 2030.
How are the agreements structured?
Des Moines' last franchise agreement negotiation in 2012 received little attention.
But this year, environmentalists expressed concerns with MidAmerican's plans to retire its coal-fired power plants as late as 2049.
Under the proposed 13-year agreement the city could amend, but not opt out of, the agreement after five years.
Residents and activists had asked the council to add provisions that would let the city out of the agreements if MidAmerican fails to help the city hit its goals of using 100% clean energy by 2035.
A second agreement also up for a vote on Monday between the city and MidAmerican states the joint intent of the city and utility to hit its emission reduction goals.
Des Moines has set the goal of reducing its emission levels set in 2010 by 28% by 2035. The city wants to reduce those levels by 45% by 2030.
Des Moines also intends to accelerate energy-efficiency technologies and advance smart-grid technologies. Currently, the city does not know how much of its electricity comes from renewable sources, but the side agreement would allow the city to track that information.
MidAmerican says it generated almost 88% of its power used by Iowa customers last year from renewable sources. The utility has spent $14 billion on wind energy projects since 2004 and plans to spend $3.9 billion more on solar and wind energy projects.
If the city fails to come to an agreement with MidAmerican the utility can continue to provide Des Moines with electricity and gas, but the city would lose out on $12 million per year in franchise fees. Environmentalists said previously they favor the agreement, as long as it contains opt-out clauses like Johnston has in its current franchise agreement with MidAmerican.
“A 13-year agreement with those kinds of (opt-outs) along the way is just fine … as long as there is some sort of check and balance along the way," Kerri Johannsen, energy program director for the Iowa Environmental Council, said in mid-May.
Philip Joens covers public safety, city government and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines City Council to vote on MidAmerican agreement
