Power – Santa Clara City

Power Department

It is the mission of Santa Clara City Power to give the highest quality customer service while providing safe, reliable, efficient, and environmentally responsible power to the citizens of Santa Clara.
Santa Clara City Power is a city-owned power provider and is governed by the City Council. Our team of 6 full-time employees strive to provide the City of Santa Clara safe, affordable and reliable energy. The Power Department currently serves approximately 3,300 customers, including residential and commercial. SCP offers twenty-four hour dispatch service for maintenance and repairs for existing customers, and coordinates with the building department to hook up new customers in a timely manner. SCP has a diverse wholesale energy portfolio, including coal, hydro, wind, solar, waste heat recovery and natural gas. SCP also produces power internally and has 4 generators with a total of 9 MW generation capacity. SCP receives the remaining power requirements via transmission lines located throughout the state. SCP is a proud member of the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS)

Reliable Public Provider Santa Clara City power Department has earned a Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3)® designation from the American Public Power Association for providing reliable and safe electric service. The RP3 designation recognizes public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciplines: reliability, safety, workforce development, and system improvement. Criteria within each category are based on sound business practices and represent a utility-wide commitment to safe and reliable delivery of electricity. Currently Santa Clara City holds the RP3 designation level of Gold.

Gary Hall

Power Director

Power Cost Adjustment

What is the Power Cost Adjustment item on my utility bill?

On your utility bill, you will now notice a separate line item- “Power Cost Adjustment”. The City Council recently approved the PCA as a tool that has been implemented to protect both the customer and the city from fluctuating power supply costs. If power supply costs increase or decrease, the customer’s bill will be adjusted accordingly. This adjustment is listed as a separate line item on each City of Santa Clara utility bill. The adjustment will be based on a rolling six-month average and implemented monthly.

Why do we need the Power Cost Adjustment?

In recent years, power supply costs have fluctuated very rapidly and unpredictably. Because of this, it is critical that the city makes sure costs are recovered. The city does not make any revenue from the PCA, it is a pass-through cost. It is important to realize that the PCA changes from month to month, and this is not due to a change in our electric rates, but due to the changing costs of the power supply. Without the implementation of the PCA, rates would need to be changed constantly to reflect the actual cost of power.

How is the Power Cost Adjustment calculated?

The PCA is calculated using the most recent six months of actual power costs and applied to each customer following utility billed energy (kWh) or a two-month delay from when the cost occurred to when billed. The PCA will apply to all Santa Clara electric rate schedules, except non-metered and special contract rates.