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However, what officials call a first-of-its-kind deal in ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV only stands if it passes at the polls.

The city council approved the agreement negotiated with TEP earlier this week and set the Nov. 3 special election for Tucson voters to decide on a franchise agreement between the city and the utility.

If passed, the energy collaboration agreement, or ECA, requires TEP to send $2 million in shareholder dollars to the city in the first year of the franchise agreement. It then includes a 2% “annual escalator." Over the next 25 years, the city could receive up to a total of roughly $64 million. That money, officials say, would go towards implementing climate-related projects.

The ECA has been in the works for years, Mayor Regina Romero said. It was spurred by the community and takes inspiration from San Diego.

“I absolutely believe in our responsibility as mayor and council to make decisions that move Tucson forward to a better place, especially when it comes to affordability, safety, climate action and long-term resilience of our community,� she said. "We will continue to closely monitor implementation, ensure accountability and evaluate outcomes over time. This agreement also provides us with something we have not had before: a consistent, dedicated funding stream that we can leverage to accelerate local priorities.�

Councilman Paul Cunningham, ahead of the council’s vote during Tuesday night’s meeting, said his concerns over the city’s arrangement with TEP “is no secret,� but called the ECA a step forward.

“I believe the model for providing such an essential public service, particularly when that service is ultimately controlled by a foreign holding company, is not the most effective or accountable arrangement for the citizens of our city. That said, the energy cooperation agreement does provide meaningful value. While I continue to have reservations about the broader structure of how power is provided in our community, I believe the ECA is a reasonable, pragmatic document,� he said. “This is a good thing … (TEP needs) a few more wins to win me over, and we've got to have some more discussion, but this is pleasantly surprising that (TEP has) unified a lot of members of the community to get this going.�

Last summer, the council voted to delay the public vote on the city-utility franchise agreement that was previously planned to occur last November, due to what Romero said was TEP officials “dragging their feet� on getting to an agreeable point for a new franchise agreement.

That delay occurred the same day that TEP announced it would be seeking a 14% rate increase for residential customers. And county officials, also on the same day, approved selling a 290-acre parcel of land for the proposed Project Blue data center.

Those actions in summer pushed many Tucsonans to be “distrustful� of the utility, said Council member Lane Santa Cruz. The ECA plan, however, “offers some important accountability that may begin to restore some trust,� Santa Cruz said.

Santa Cruz said she was also pleased the ECA proposal includes an exit clause.

“I'm glad to see the exit clause built into this agreement that offers a way out for Tucson if TEP fails to uphold their end of the agreement, we could choose to stay five years or 10 years, bringing in annual investments to build up our local infrastructure, continue to learn and expand with projects on solar, micro grids and the battery energy storage system at Donna Liggins center,� she said. “TEP is paying to stay at the table, which buys us time to look at public power options and plan over time on the best way to expand our energy in the energy independence with public input.�

City officials have also contemplated a move to public ownership of the city’s electric system. Such a transfer of infrastructure, however, would be a costly and incredibly difficult endeavor.