Scope
Seattle Ordinance 127473 adds Seattle Municipal Code 21.49.059: a new large data center load is not eligible for general service rates and must instead be served under a Service Agreement (Contract) established by Seattle City Light with minimum conditions. The ordinance defines new large data center load as service to a data center fed from an expanded or new installation of 10 MVA or more of capacity installed within any consecutive five-year period after 1 January 2027. The ordinance also sets 2027-2028 retail rates, which are not part of this record.
- Geographic scope
- Seattle, Washington
- Jurisdiction
- Local
- Authority type
- Local government
- Issuing authority
- Seattle City Council
Dates
- Adopted
- 21 July 2026
- Effective
- Effective date not stated in the source
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- The ordinance states no expiration. It takes effect as provided by SMC 1.04.020 and 1.04.070 (not opened), except Sections 10 and 12, which take effect 1 January 2027; the data center section is Section 7.
- Source document
- 22 July 2026
- Last checked
- 23 September 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
Seattle Ordinance 127473, passed by the City Council on 21 July 2026 and approved by the Mayor on 22 July 2026, requires Seattle City Light to serve any new large data center load, meaning 10 MVA or more of new or expanded capacity installed within five years after 1 January 2027, under an individual contract instead of general service rates, with minimum terms such as a guaranteed minimum demand. It applies only to Seattle City Light service. The same ordinance sets 2027-2028 retail rates.
What this does not establish
- The effective day of Section 7 depends on SMC 1.04.020 and 1.04.070, which were not opened, so no effective day is stored.
- The 10 MVA trigger counts only capacity installed after 1 January 2027, so the contract requirement applies in practice from then.
- Seattle's separate emergency moratorium on data center land use applications (Ordinance 127447) is a different record.
Unresolved questions
- Whether any contract under SMC 21.49.059 has been executed was not checked.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- No related action is recorded.
Sources
https://clerk.seattle.gov/~archives/Ordinances/Ord_127473.pdf