ROCHESTER — Extending Rochester’s
self-imposed deadline for providing 100% renewable energy
could knock two percentage points off anticipated 6% annual electric rate increases.
“(There’s) an opportunity to balance steady progress with lower near-term costs,” Rochester Public Utilities General Manager Tim McCollough told the RPU board Tuesday.
The proposal would extend the city’s renewable energy goal from 2030 to 2040, meeting the statewide carbon-free electricity deadline.
While work would continue to get some infrastructure in place before access to federal tax credits disappears, McCollough said delaying installations that would not receive support could benefit from an improved market in future years, based on statewide efforts to install alternative energy options.
He said the delayed deadline doesn’t rule out reaching the city objective by 2030, but it does…
