Milt Doumit

This order approves Avista Utilities' 2025 Clean Energy Implementation Plan, which sets annual interim targets for supplying Washington customers with renewable or non-emitting energy, aiming for 66.0% in 2026 and increasing to 76.5% by 2029. The plan includes specific targets for renewable resources, demand response, and energy efficiency, outlining actions for their achievement. A central focus is on ensuring an equitable distribution of benefits and burdens to customers, measured through Customer Benefit Indicators encompassing affordability, environmental, and public health outcomes, thereby ensuring compliance with the Clean Energy Transformation Act.

This document reviews Klickitat County's 2026-2031 Comprehensive Solid Waste and Moderate Risk Waste Management Plan. The plan focuses on the management of solid waste and moderate risk waste. The review highlights the need for complete data from service providers regarding customer counts, tonnage, and tip fees for a thorough rate impact assessment. It also recommends that Klickitat County consider incorporating discounted rates for low-income seniors and customers within future iterations or amendments of the plan.

The regular meeting addressed several utility dockets. Several items, including Docket UE-250695 (PacifiCorp's proposed Schedule 138, Net Billing Service, succeeding Net Metering Service) and Docket UE-250725 (Puget Sound Energy's Time-of-Use Tariff Schedule changes), were moved to a later open meeting. Preliminary discussion was held on Puget Sound Energy's proposed 2026 Power Cost Update, including a mechanism for Climate Commitment Act costs. The Commission acknowledged Cascade Natural Gas Corporation's 2024 Annual Provisional Plant Report, confirming the costs for projects were prudent. The Commission took no action on Cascade Natural Gas Corporation's filing (Docket UG-250830) to revise Tariff WN U-3 to refund customers for a revenue overcollection related to forecasted provisional plant costs, allowing the revision to take effect by operation of law. The meeting included an Executive Session for Litigation Review with legal counsel.

The presentation focused on resource adequacy and the characteristics of the natural gas system versus the electric grid in the Pacific Northwest. Key discussion points included natural gas supply sources, primarily from Canada and the US Rocky Mountain West, and the pneumatic nature of the gas system where molecules move slowly under pressure, contrasting with the synchronous, instantaneous movement of electrons on the electric grid. The discussion covered system attributes, noting the gas system delivers heat and fuel, while the electric grid delivers electricity. The inherent storage capacity of the gas pipeline system through packing and drafting was highlighted compared to the lack of inherent storage in the electric grid. There was an analysis of regional energy use, showing that approximately 45% of annual energy consumption comes from the gas system. Furthermore, usage patterns have shifted, with 75% of increased gas volume over 25 years being weather-dependent (winter/summer peaking loads) due to the retirement of base load coal generation. The importance of electric-gas coordination was emphasized, especially during cold weather events like the Martin Luther King weekend in 2024, where natural gas demand for heating vastly exceeded electricity demand. The presentation concluded with an overview of reliability concerns, noting extreme heat and cold events were primary concerns for members.

The regular meeting addressed several dockets. In Utilities, the Commission decided to issue an Order regarding Cascade Natural Gas Corporation's petition for the intent to Deploy a Thermal Energy Network Pilot Project, accepting the petition for the alternative TEN pilot project process and validating associated costs. In Transportation, the Commission approved rate increases and tariff revisions for Waste Management of Washington, Inc. in the South Sound and Seattle areas, and also for Waste Management of Skagit County, including requested exemptions from certain filing requirements. Furthermore, the Commission decided to set a procedural hearing for PacifiCorp's Petition in Docket No. UE-250727.