Indio joins Coachella Valley power agency, activating new regional utility

The Indio City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to join the Coachella Valley Power Agency Joint Powers Authority (JPA), making it the third entity to approve the new regional power agency aimed at addressing critical electricity infrastructure shortfalls in the eastern Coachella Valley.

The approval activates the agency, which had already secured support from Riverside County supervisors on Tuesday and the city of La Quinta in March.

The JPA was formed to address issues of representation and growth in the Coachella Valley. Imperial Irrigation District (IID) provides electrical service for Indio, Coachella, La Quinta, and parts of Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and parts of tribal nations.

Though 65% of IID’s rate-paying customers live in the Coachella Valley, Riverside County residents are ineligible to serve on its board, which is made up of members from Imperial County. In addition, a 99-year agreement between IID and the Coachella Valley Water District – which made IID the electrical service provider for much of the area – is set to expire in 2032.

Indio had already formed its own JPA, the Indio Electric Finance Authority (IEFA), in 2023 with IID. The IEFA imposed a surcharge collected by IID with proceeds pledged to obtain approximately $60 million in financing for immediate electrical infrastructure needs within the city.

That agreement paved the way for the new regional solution that will make it easier to electrify large parts of eastern Coachella Valley.

The fastest growing part of the Coachella Valley is the eastern Coachella Valley, including Indio and Coachella. [name] said that further attempts to expand and welcome developers into these areas have been hindered by the current status quo with IID.

“Whether you’re trying to expand a Catholic church in La Quinta, affordable housing in county unincorporated areas, or an industrial development in Indio, [developers are] not getting will serve letters,” said Tom Kirk, executive director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), at the Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

“We have a big senior population. We have a lot of children, and so it’s very important that we have infrastructure that could fit the capacity of what we’re trying to do here.”
— Indio Councilmember Waymond Fermon

Kirk said if developers do get a will serve letter from IID, the conditions often require tens of millions of dollars in upfront costs to have IID install a new substation, making development unfeasible for much of the eastern Coachella Valley.

Indio Councilmember Waymond Fermon emphasized the importance of reliable power infrastructure: “Without a reliable source of energy, we’ll have a lot of challenging issues with the heat. We have a big senior population. We have a lot of children, and so it’s very important that we have infrastructure that could fit the capacity of what we’re trying to do here.”

The new JPA will not replace IID, rather it will be a new group organized by CVAG and made up of representatives who would be selected from city councils that would work with IID to address specific needs for the Coachella Valley.

“If we feel like rate setting ought to be a local issue …this board would then determine that, set the rates, and contract with IID to collect that fee,” City Manager Bryan Montgomery explained.

Funding may come from multiple sources including member assessments, debt issuance, grants, surcharges on retail electric rates, and development impact fees.

The JPA provides the ability for other entities to join, including the City of Coachella, which is expected to consider membership in the coming months.

Emmanuel Martinez, CVAG’s assistant director of energy and external affairs, told county supervisors Tuesday that the agency would operate as a publicly owned utility model with no shareholders or investors.

“In terms of affordability, we’ll be operating under a PLU model, which has no shareholders, no investors, so we’ll be providing the service at cost,” Martinez said.

The next phase will be an implementation phase as Indio, Riverside County, and La Quinta decide on details of the agreement.

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