Puget Sound Energy announced it is filing a two-year rate plan request with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) that includes over $430 million for the Baker River hydroelectric project.
PSE said the plan is necessary for maintaining essential utility services and investing in infrastructure to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of energy to customers, while implementing aggressive energy, environmental and climate policies.
To comply with Washington State’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), PSE must acquire new renewable and non-emitting resources of about 6,700 MW by 2030. This effectively doubles PSE’s owned and contracted generating capacity and is more than PSE has acquired in its 150-year history.
“PSE is aggressively pursuing renewable energy resources, from large, utility-scale generation projects to energy produced locally and in partnership with the neighborhoods and communities we serve,” said PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Mary Kipp. “At the same time, we must continue to invest in the safety and reliability of our electric and natural gas infrastructure. This plan sets us on the path to meet the current and future needs of our customers while ensuring that everyone can access and benefit from the transition to a clean energy future.”
The plan includes significant investments to advance clean energy and provide safe and reliable service to PSE’s more than 1.5 million customers. Examples include:
- New $530 million Beaver Creek wind farm that will come online in 2025 and provide 248 MW of clean energy
- Large upgrades or modernization projects to existing facilities, including over $430 million to maintain safety and reliability at the Baker River hydroelectric project, a vital source of clean energy (the Baker River facilities consist of 110 MW Lower Baker and 90 MW Upper Baker)
- Long-term power purchase agreements to ensure reliability for customers as coal-fired generation comes out of PSE’s generation supply in compliance with state law
- Automation programs using smart technology to considerably reduce the length of power outages
- Circuit modernization programs, such as replacing overhead distribution lines with covered conductor “tree wire,” helping reduce or shorten power outages
- Deploying an advanced distribution management system to support customers’ growing use of electric vehicles and distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar, to reduce the need for large infrastructure projects
- Wildfire mitigation and response that includes enhanced vegetation management and infrastructure upgrades, weather stations, AI cameras, advanced safety settings on power lines, and communications and community engagement
- Extending efforts to help customers transition to more efficient and sustainable home heating and cooling technology, focused primarily on underserved customers who face barriers to electrification
- Pipeline reliability investments to ensure PSE’s natural gas delivery system operates safely and is ready to meet customer demands at times of peak need
In Washington, any proposed rate changes for an investor-owned utility undergo a review process of up to 11 months by the UTC, which has the authority to set final rates that may vary from PSE’s requests, either higher, lower or structured differently.
If UTC approves the request, average monthly bill increases would be $7.84 for a typical residential electric customer and $13.96 for a typical residential natural gas customer, starting in January 2025. In 2026, that increases by $11.20 for residential electric customers and by $1.51 for residential natural gas customers.
PSE said it continually works to keep costs reasonable for customers. Included in the rate proposal are a new bill discount rate that allows qualified customers to save 5% to 45% on their bill each month and another program rolling out in fall 2024 that will help customers with past due balances.
As laid out in CETA and other state policies, a priority is making sure all customers can access and benefit from the clean energy transition. PSE has incorporated equity in areas ranging from investment decision making, pilot programs, low-income program design and performance metrics. PSE is committed to ensuring that at least 30% of the energy benefits of energy efficiency, distributed solar and storage and demand response programs benefit historically underserved communities and vulnerable populations.
PSE serves 10 Washington counties and is the state’s largest utility, supporting about 1.2 million electric customers and 900,000 natural gas customers. PSE aspires to be a beyond net zero carbon energy company by 2045.
