SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department says it has been taking electricity from Rocky Mountain Power for approximately nine years without paying for it.
Concerned SLCPD employees alerted FOX 13 News earlier this year: detectives dressing up as construction workers to plug in undercover cameras to Rocky Mountain Power poles.
Some covert cameras are instead plugged into Salt Lake City light poles, drawing from electricity that the city already pays for out of its annual budget. But costs related to cameras plugged directly into Rocky Mountain Power poles are "indirectly" passed to ratepayers across Utah, according to the utility company.
Rocky Mountain Power said it allows other law enforcement agencies to plug cameras into their poles, with a written agreement. For example, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office has a contract with Rocky Mountain Power. No such written agreement exists with SLCPD.
Instead, SLCPD Chief Brian Redd referred to the arrangement as an "informal agreement" with Rocky Mountain Power that predates his employment.
"I think it was verbal," said Chief Redd. "That's what I understand... I wasn’t here, obviously. I’m just learning about this and gaining some more knowledge."
Neither side was able to name the individuals who entered into the "informal agreement."
Chief Redd joined SLCPD in March 2025. He said he did not learn about the arrangement until receiving our media inquiries.
"Is the Salt Lake City Police Department stealing power?" asked FOX 13 News investigative reporter Adam Herbets.
"Well, I think that would depend on how Rocky Mountain Power felt about it," responded Chief Redd. "I wouldn't call it stealing, probably... We are in conversations with Rocky Mountain Power, obviously, because you're bringing the issue to us. We'll be looking at that and seeing what's appropriate moving forward."
Rocky Mountain Power declined an on-camera interview but said it was not particularly concerned, so long as the cameras are installed safely and being used for law-enforcement purposes.
Chief Redd has promised to be transparent and work toward a solution, which could include reimbursement to Rocky Mountain Power.
Some customers outside of Salt Lake City said they were not happy to learn about the fees.
"No one noticed that they weren't going to be paying for the electricity?" asked Chris Hubbard, who lives in South Jordan. "I shouldn't have to pay for the taxes of municipalities where I don't live. They need to reimburse Rocky Mountain Power and the customers that were subsidizing the police department without our knowledge."
Chief Redd said it is not possible for SLCPD to calculate how much electricity the department has taken over the years.
"I would say it's pretty minimal," the chief said. "I'm not an electrician, but I don't think it's much power."
SLCPD disclosed it has approximately 60 cameras. The department said it doesn't know how many of the cameras were plugged into Rocky Mountain Power poles "due to limitations in previous record keeping."
A spokesperson for SLCPD said each camera requires a hardwired connection, and the cost of metering and tracking the power "would exceed the value of the electricity consumed."
Hubbard credited the new chief for taking accountability, but he remains concerned that SLCPD could be "minimizing" the problem.
"If there's a victim in this, it's the ratepayers of Rocky Mountain Power," Hubbard said. "It's easy for Rocky Mountain Power to not care if they can just shove the cost off onto the customer. They're shoving the cost onto other people like me that don't even live in Salt Lake City. So, yeah, that's annoying... Everyone needs to follow the same set of rules. We can't have one set of rules for the citizens and one set of rules for government."
The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on its agreement with Rocky Mountain Power.
"I don't think anyone's demanding that the cameras be taken down. We just want them to follow the right process," Hubbard said. "If I had done the same thing? I don't think they'd be as magnanimous. I'd probably be arrested."