Electric utilities/adequacy

AN ACT Relating to ensuring that the clean energy transformation 1
act provides the regulatory certainty to allow investments in new 2
energy generation resources sufficient to meet Washington's energy 3
needs; amending RCW 19.405.090, 19.405.040, and 19.405.050; and 4
creating new sections. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:7
(a) Demand for electricity in Washington state is projected to 8
grow rapidly before the end of the decade due to several factors, 9
including economic growth, transportation electrification, demand 10
from data centers, and the shift to electric heating. Projections 11
from the northwest power and conservation council and the western 12
regional adequacy program show the potential for energy shortages in 13
the near term. 14
(b) The utilities and transportation commission has stated that 15
"meeting the pace of growth anticipated in utility IRPs (integrated 16
resource plans) will require annual resource additions equal to four 17
to five times historic levels. The study finds the region 18
experiencing significant headwinds due to permitting and 19
interconnection delays, changes in federal policy, and higher costs. 20
Without any new resource additions, the region would have a gap in 21
H-2832.1
HOUSE BILL 2413
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Barnard and Springer
Read first time 01/13/26. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
p. 1 HB 2413
resources beginning in 2026 and growing to 9 gigawatts by 2030, which 1
is approximately the load of the state of Oregon." 2
(2) Therefore, to provide the regulatory flexibility to meet 3
Washington's growing demand for electricity, the legislature finds 4
that power producers and utilities need additional tools to meet the 5
growing demand for electricity in ways that balance Washington's goal 6
of reducing CO2 emissions. 7
Sec. 2. RCW 19.405.090 and 2021 c 65 s 20 are each amended to 8
read as follows: 9
(1)(a) An electric utility or an affected market customer that 10
fails to meet the standards established under RCW 19.405.030(1) and 11
19.405.040(1) must pay an administrative penalty to the state of 12
Washington in the amount of one hundred dollars, times the following 13
multipliers, for each megawatt-hour of electric generation used to 14
meet load that is not electricity from a renewable resource or 15
nonemitting electric generation: 16
(i) 1.5 for coal-fired resources; 17
(ii) 0.84 for gas-fired peaking power plants; and18
(iii) 0.60 for gas-fired combined-cycle power plants.19
(b) Beginning in 2027, this penalty must be adjusted on a 20
biennial basis according to the rate of change of the inflation 21
indicator, gross domestic product implicit price deflator, as 22
published by the bureau of economic analysis of the United States 23
department of commerce or its successor. Beginning in 2040, the 24
commission may by rule increase this penalty for investor-owned 25
utilities if the commission determines that doing so will accelerate 26
utilities' compliance with the standards established under this 27
chapter and that doing so is in the public interest.28
(2) Consistent with the requirements of RCW 19.405.040(1)(b), a 29
utility may opt to make a payment in the amount of the administrative 30
penalty as an alternative compliance payment, without incurring a 31
penalty for noncompliance. 32
(3)(a) Upon its own motion or at the request of an investor-owned 33
utility, and after a hearing, the commission may issue an order 34
relieving the utility of its administrative penalty obligation under 35
subsection (1) of this section if it finds that: 36
(i) After taking all reasonable measures, the investor-owned 37
utility's compliance with this chapter is likely to result in 38
conflicts with or compromises to its obligation to comply with the 39
p. 2 HB 2413
mandatory and enforceable reliability standards of the North American 1
electric reliability corporation, violate prudent utility practice 2
for assuring resource adequacy, or compromise the power quality or 3
integrity of its system; or 4
(ii) The investor-owned utility is unable to comply with the 5
standards established in RCW 19.405.030(1) or 19.405.040(1) due to 6
reasons beyond the reasonable control of the investor-owned utility, 7
as set forth in subsection (6) of this section. 8
(b) If the commission issues an order pursuant to (a) of this 9
subsection that relieves an investor-owned utility of its 10
administrative penalty obligation under subsection (1) of this 11
section, the commission may issue an order: 12
(i) Temporarily exempting the investor-owned utility from the 13
requirements of RCW 19.405.040(1) for an amount of time sufficient to 14
allow the investor-owned utility to achieve full compliance with the 15
standard; 16
(ii) Directing the investor-owned utility to file a progress 17
report to the commission on achieving full compliance with the 18
standard within six months after issuing the order, or within an 19
amount of time determined to be reasonable by the commission; and20
(iii) Directing the investor-owned utility to take specific 21
actions to achieve full compliance with the requirements of this 22
chapter. 23
(c) An investor-owned utility may request an extension of a 24
temporary exemption granted under this section. An investor-owned 25
utility that requests an extension must request an update to the 26
order issued by the commission under (b) of this subsection.27
(4) Subsection (3) of this section does not permanently relieve 28
an investor-owned utility of its obligation to comply with the 29
requirements of this chapter. 30
(5)(a) The governing body of a consumer-owned utility may 31
authorize a temporary exemption from the standard established under 32
RCW 19.405.040(1), for an amount of time sufficient to allow the 33
consumer-owned utility to achieve full compliance with the standard, 34
if the governing body finds that: 35
(i) The consumer-owned utility's compliance with the standard is 36
likely to: Result in conflicts with or compromises to its obligation 37
to comply with the mandatory and enforceable reliability standards of 38
the North American electric reliability corporation; violate prudent 39
p. 3 HB 2413
utility practice for assuring resource adequacy; or compromise the 1
power quality or integrity of its system; or 2
(ii) The consumer-owned utility is unable to comply with the 3
standard due to reasons beyond the reasonable control of the utility, 4
as set forth in subsection (6) of this section; and5
(iii) The consumer-owned utility has provided to the department a 6
plan demonstrating how it plans to achieve full compliance with the 7
standard, consistent with the findings of the report submitted to the 8
legislature under RCW 19.405.080. 9
(b) Upon request by the governing body of a consumer-owned 10
utility, a consumer-owned utility must be relieved of its 11
administrative penalty obligation under subsection (1) of this 12
section if the auditor issues a finding that: 13
(i) The governing body of the consumer-owned utility has properly 14
issued a temporary exemption under (a) of this subsection for a 15
period of time not to exceed six months; and 16
(ii) The governing body of the consumer-owned utility has 17
submitted to the department a plan to take specific actions to 18
achieve full compliance with the standard, consistent with the 19
findings of the report submitted to the legislature under RCW 20
19.405.080. 21
(c) Upon issuance of a finding by the auditor, the consumer-owned 22
utility must submit a progress report to the department on achieving 23
full compliance with the standard within the term authorized in the 24
temporary exemption. 25
(d) A consumer-owned utility may request an extension of a 26
temporary exemption granted under this subsection, subject to the 27
same requirements as provided in (a) through (c) of this subsection.28
(e) The attorney general may bring a civil action in the name of 29
the state for any appropriate civil remedy including, but not limited 30
to, injunctive relief, penalties, costs, and attorneys' fees, to 31
enforce compliance with this chapter: 32
(i) Upon the failure of the governing body of a consumer-owned 33
utility to comply with the conditions of a temporary exemption found 34
by the auditor to be properly adopted or extended; or35
(ii) Upon failure of the governing body of a consumer-owned 36
utility to comply with a finding by the auditor that a temporary 37
exemption is not properly granted. 38
p. 4 HB 2413
(f) This subsection does not permanently relieve a consumer-owned 1
utility of its obligation to comply with the requirements of this 2
chapter. 3
(6) To the extent an event or circumstance cannot be reasonably 4
foreseen and ameliorated, such events or circumstances beyond the 5
reasonable control of an electric utility may include but are not 6
limited to: 7
(a) Weather-related damage; 8
(b) Natural disasters; 9
(c) Mechanical or resource failure; 10
(d) Failure of a third party to meet contractual obligations to 11
the electric utility; 12
(e) Actions of governmental authorities that adversely affect the 13
generation, transmission, or distribution of nonemitting electric 14
generation or renewable resources owned or under contract to an 15
electric utility, including condemnation actions by municipal 16
electric utilities, public utility districts, or irrigation districts 17
that adversely affect an investor-owned utility's ability to meet the 18
standard established in RCW 19.405.030(1) and 19.405.040(1);19
(f) Inability to acquire sufficient transmission to transmit 20
electricity from nonemitting electric generation or renewable 21
resources to load; and 22
(g) Substantial limitations, restrictions, or prohibitions on 23
nonemitting electric generation or renewable resources.24
(7) An electric utility must notify its retail electric customers 25
in published form within three months of paying the administrative 26
penalty established under subsection (1) of this section. An electric 27
utility is not required to notify its retail electric customers when 28
making a payment in the amount of the administrative penalty as an 29
alternative compliance payment consistent with the requirements of 30
RCW 19.405.040(1)(b). 31
(8) Moneys collected under this section must be deposited into 32
the low-income weatherization and structural rehabilitation 33
assistance account created in RCW 70A.35.030. 34
(9) For an investor-owned utility, the commission must determine 35
compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 36
(10) For consumer-owned utilities, the auditor is responsible for 37
auditing compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under this 38
chapter that apply to those utilities and the attorney general is 39
responsible for enforcing that compliance. 40
p. 5 HB 2413
(11)(a) If the report submitted under RCW 19.405.080 demonstrates 1
adverse system reliability impacts from the implementation of RCW 2
19.405.040 and 19.405.050, the governor, consistent with the 3
emergency powers under RCW 43.21G.040, may suspend or delay 4
implementation of this chapter, or exempt an electric utility from 5
paying the administrative penalty under this section, for a period of 6
time sufficient to catalyze necessary investments in new electric 7
generating resources and until system reliability impacts can be 8
addressed. Adverse system reliability impacts may include, but are 9
not limited to, the inability of electric utilities or transmission 10
operators to meet reliability standards mandated by federal or state 11
law and required by prudent utility practices. 12
(b)(i) The department, for consumer-owned utilities, or the 13
utilities and transportation commission, for investor-owned 14
utilities, must, upon petition by an electric utility, consider 15
whether resource adequacy metrics indicate that a resource adequacy 16
crisis exists. Upon petition, the department or the utilities and 17
transportation commission must determine that a resource adequacy 18
crisis exists if one of the following three criteria is in place:19
(A) The northwest power and conservation council estimate for 20
loss of load events for the region including Washington is greater 21
than triple their threshold target of 0.1, and the peak magnitude 22
exceeds their threshold target of 1,200 megawatts;23
(B) A loss of load event greater than the northwest power and 24
conservation council's thresholds for duration, or eight hours, and 25
magnitude, or 1,200 megawatts, occurs in Washington; or26
(C) In a resource plan or integrated resource plan filed and 27
approved under chapter 19.280 RCW, an electric utility determines a 28
greater than five percent loss of load probability without new 29
resources within a four-year planning period.30
(ii) The department or the utilities and transportation 31
commission is not required to find that a criterion specified in 32
(b)(i)(A), (B), or (C) of this subsection is in place if the 33
department or the utilities and transportation commission has clear 34
and convincing evidence that the assumptions, calculations, or 35
methodology used in determining those criteria were inaccurate and 36
should not be the basis for the declaration of a resource adequacy 37
crisis.38
(iii) In the event that the department or the utilities and 39
transportation commission determines the existence of a resource 40
p. 6 HB 2413
adequacy crisis under (b)(i) of this subsection, an electric utility 1
may designate an amount, in megawatt hours, and duration, of up to 30 2
years, for electricity generated from natural gas to meet reliability 3
targets without being in violation of RCW 19.405.040(1) or 4
19.405.050(1). 5
(12) Notwithstanding RCW 54.16.020, the fair market value 6
compensation for an asset that is condemned by a municipal electric 7
utility, public utility district, or irrigation district and that is 8
either demonstrated in an electric utility's clean energy action plan 9
or clean energy implementation plan to be used or acquired after May 10
7, 2019, to meet the requirements of RCW 19.405.040 and 19.405.050, 11
or an asset that generates electricity from renewable resources or 12
nonemitting electric generation, must include but not be limited to a 13
replacement value approach. Additionally, the electric utility may 14
seek, and the court may award, damages attributable to the severance, 15
separation, replacement, or relocation of utility assets. The trier 16
of fact may also consider other damages, as well as offsetting 17
benefits, that it finds just and equitable. 18
(13) An entity that establishes or extends service to the 19
premises of a customer who is being served by an electric utility or 20
was served by an electric utility prior to May 7, 2019, must serve 21
those premises in a manner that complies with the requirements of 22
chapter 288, Laws of 2019 and with chapter 19.285 RCW, if applicable. 23
An electric utility or other entity that fails to comply with the 24
requirements of this subsection must pay the administrative penalty 25
under subsection (1) of this section for each megawatt-hour of 26
electric generation used to serve load that does not meet the terms 27
of this subsection. 28
Sec. 3. RCW 19.405.040 and 2019 c 288 s 4 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
(1) It is the policy of the state that all retail sales of 31
electricity to Washington retail electric customers be greenhouse gas 32
neutral by January 1, 2030. 33
(a) For the four-year compliance period beginning January 1, 34
2030, and for each multiyear compliance period thereafter through 35
December 31, 2044, an electric utility must demonstrate its 36
compliance with this standard using a combination of nonemitting 37
electric generation and electricity from renewable resources, or 38
alternative compliance options, as provided in this section. To 39
p. 7 HB 2413
achieve compliance with this standard, an electric utility must: (i) 1
Pursue all cost-effective, reliable, and feasible conservation and 2
efficiency resources to reduce or manage retail electric load, using 3
the methodology established in RCW 19.285.040, if applicable; and 4
(ii) use electricity from renewable resources and nonemitting 5
electric generation in an amount equal to one hundred percent of the 6
utility's retail electric loads over each multiyear compliance 7
period. An electric utility must achieve compliance with this 8
standard for the following compliance periods: January 1, 2030, 9
through December 31, 2033; January 1, 2034, through December 31, 10
2037; January 1, 2038, through December 31, 2041; and January 1, 11
2042, through December 31, 2044. 12
(b) Through December 31, 2044, an electric utility may satisfy up 13
to twenty percent of its compliance obligation under (a) of this 14
subsection with an alternative compliance option consistent with this 15
section. An alternative compliance option may include any combination 16
of the following: 17
(i) Making an alternative compliance payment under RCW 18
19.405.090(2); 19
(ii) Using unbundled renewable energy credits, provided that 20
there is no double counting of any nonpower attributes associated 21
with renewable energy credits within Washington or programs in other 22
jurisdictions, as follows: 23
(A) Unbundled renewable energy credits produced from eligible 24
renewable resources, as defined under RCW 19.285.030, which may be 25
used by the electric utility for compliance with RCW 19.285.040 and 26
this section as provided under RCW 19.285.040(2)(e); and27
(B) Unbundled renewable energy credits, other than those included 28
in (b)(ii)(A) of this subsection, that represent electricity 29
generated within the compliance period; 30
(iii) Investing in energy transformation projects, including 31
additional conservation and efficiency resources beyond what is 32
otherwise required under this section, provided the projects meet the 33
requirements of subsection (2) of this section and are not credited 34
as resources used to meet the standard under (a) of this subsection; 35
or 36
(iv) Using electricity from an energy recovery facility using 37
municipal solid waste as the principal fuel source, where the 38
facility was constructed prior to 1992, and the facility is operated 39
in compliance with federal laws and regulations and meets state air 40
p. 8 HB 2413
quality standards. An electric utility may only use electricity from 1
such an energy recovery facility if the department and the department 2
of ecology determine that electricity generation at the facility 3
provides a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to any 4
other available waste management best practice. The determination 5
must be based on a life-cycle analysis comparing the energy recovery 6
facility to other technologies available in the jurisdiction in which 7
the facility is located for the waste management best practices of 8
waste reduction, recycling, composting, and minimizing the use of a 9
landfill. 10
(c) Electricity from renewable resources used to meet the 11
standard under (a) of this subsection must be verified by the 12
retirement of renewable energy credits. Renewable energy credits must 13
be tracked and retired in the tracking system selected by the 14
department. 15
(d) Hydroelectric generation used by an electric utility in 16
meeting the standard under (a) of this subsection may not include new 17
diversions, new impoundments, new bypass reaches, or expansion of 18
existing reservoirs constructed after May 7, 2019, unless the 19
diversions, bypass reaches, or reservoir expansions are necessary for 20
the operation of a pumped storage facility that: (i) Does not 21
conflict with existing state or federal fish recovery plans; and (ii) 22
complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.23
(e) Nothing in (d) of this subsection precludes an electric 24
utility that owns and operates hydroelectric generating facilities, 25
or the owner of a hydroelectric generating facility whose energy 26
output is marketed by the Bonneville power administration, from 27
making efficiency or other improvements to its hydroelectric 28
generating facilities existing as of May 7, 2019, or from installing 29
hydroelectric generation in pipes, culverts, irrigation canals, and 30
other man-made waterways, as long as those changes do not create 31
conflicts with existing state or federal fish recovery plans and 32
comply with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.33
(f) Nonemitting electric generation used to meet the standard 34
under (a) of this subsection must be generated during the compliance 35
period and must be verified by documentation that the electric 36
utility owns the nonpower attributes of the electricity generated by 37
the nonemitting electric generation resource. 38
p. 9 HB 2413
(g) Nothing in this section prohibits an electric utility from 1
purchasing or exchanging power from the Bonneville power 2
administration. 3
(h) An electric utility is not in violation of the requirements 4
of this subsection (1) as a result of using electricity generated 5
consistent with a declared resource adequacy crisis under RCW 6
19.405.090(11)(b).7
(2) Investments in energy transformation projects used to satisfy 8
an alternative compliance option provided under subsection (1)(b) of 9
this section must use criteria developed by the department of 10
ecology, in consultation with the department and the commission. For 11
the purpose of crediting an energy transformation project toward the 12
standard in subsection (1)(a) of this section, the department of 13
ecology must establish a conversion factor of emissions reductions 14
resulting from energy transformation projects to megawatt-hours of 15
electricity from nonemitting electric generation that is consistent 16
with the emission factors for unspecified electricity, or for energy 17
transformation projects in the transportation sector, consistent with 18
default emissions or conversion factors established by other 19
jurisdictions for clean alternative fuels. Emissions reductions from 20
energy transformation projects must be: 21
(a) Real, specific, identifiable, and quantifiable;22
(b) Permanent: The department of ecology must look to other 23
jurisdictions in setting this standard and make a reasonable 24
determination on length of time; 25
(c) Enforceable by the state of Washington; 26
(d) Verifiable; 27
(e) Not required by another statute, rule, or other legal 28
requirement; and 29
(f) Not reasonably assumed to occur absent investment, or if an 30
investment has already been made, not reasonably assumed to occur 31
absent additional funding in the near future. 32
(3) Energy transformation projects must be associated with the 33
consumption of energy in Washington and must not create a new use of 34
fossil fuels that results in a net increase of fossil fuel usage.35
(4) The compliance eligibility of energy transformation projects 36
may be scaled or prorated by an approved protocol in order to 37
distinguish effects related to reductions in electricity usage from 38
reductions in fossil fuel usage. 39
p. 10 HB 2413
(5) Any compliance obligation fulfilled through an investment in 1
an energy transformation project is eligible for use only: (a) By the 2
electric utility that makes the investment; (b) if the investment is 3
made by the Bonneville power administration, by electric utilities 4
that are preference customers of the Bonneville power administration; 5
or (c) if the investment is made by a joint operating agency 6
organized under chapter 43.52 RCW, by a member of the joint operating 7
agency. An electric utility making an investment in partnership with 8
another electric utility or entity may claim credit proportional to 9
its share invested in the total project cost. 10
(6)(a) In meeting the standard under subsection (1) of this 11
section, an electric utility must, consistent with the requirements 12
of RCW 19.285.040, if applicable, pursue all cost-effective, 13
reliable, and feasible conservation and efficiency resources, and 14
demand response. In making new investments, an electric utility must, 15
to the maximum extent feasible: 16
(i) Achieve targets at the lowest reasonable cost, considering 17
risk; 18
(ii) Consider acquisition of existing renewable resources; and19
(iii) In the acquisition of new resources constructed after May 20
7, 2019, rely on renewable resources and energy storage, insofar as 21
doing so is consistent with (a)(i) of this subsection.22
(b) Electric utilities subject to RCW 19.285.040 must demonstrate 23
pursuit of all conservation and efficiency resources through 24
compliance with the requirements in RCW 19.285.040.25
(7) An electric utility that fails to meet the requirements of 26
this section must pay the administrative penalty established under 27
RCW 19.405.090(1), except as otherwise provided in this chapter.28
(8) In complying with this section, an electric utility must, 29
consistent with the requirements of RCW 19.280.030 and 19.405.140, 30
ensure that all customers are benefiting from the transition to clean 31
energy: Through the equitable distribution of energy and nonenergy 32
benefits and reduction of burdens to vulnerable populations and 33
highly impacted communities; long-term and short-term public health 34
and environmental benefits and reduction of costs and risks; and 35
energy security and resiliency. 36
(9) Affected market customers must comply with the standard 37
established under subsection (1) of this section. 38
(10) A market customer that purchases electricity exclusively 39
from carbon-free resources and eligible renewable resources, as 40
p. 11 HB 2413
defined in RCW 19.285.030 as of January 1, 2019, pursuant to a 1
special contract with an investor-owned utility approved, prior to 2
May 7, 2019, by order of the commission is subject to the 3
requirements of such an order and not to the standard established in 4
this section. For purposes of interpreting any such special contract, 5
chapter 19.285 RCW, as in effect on January 1, 2019, is not, either 6
directly or indirectly, amended or supplemented. 7
(11) To reduce costs for utility customers or avoid exceeding the 8
cost impact limit in RCW 19.405.060(3)(a), a multistate electric 9
utility with fewer than two hundred fifty thousand customers in 10
Washington may apply the total amount of megawatt-hours of coal-fired 11
resources eliminated from the utility's allocation of electricity 12
before December 31, 2025, as an equivalent amount of megawatt-hours 13
of nonemitting electric generation or electricity from renewable 14
resources required to comply with subsection (1)(a) of this section. 15
The utility must demonstrate that for every megawatt-hour of early 16
action compliance credit there is a real, permanent reduction in 17
greenhouse gas emissions in the western interconnection directly 18
associated with that credit. A multistate electric utility must 19
request to use early action compliance credit in its clean energy 20
implementation plan that is submitted under RCW 19.405.060. The 21
multistate electric utility must specify in its clean energy 22
implementation plan the compliance years to which the early action 23
compliance credit will apply, but in no event may the multistate 24
electric utility use the early action compliance credits beyond 2035. 25
The commission must establish conditions for use of early action 26
compliance credits, including a determination of whether action 27
constitutes early action, before the multistate electric utility's 28
use of early action compliance credits in a clean energy 29
implementation plan. 30
Sec. 4. RCW 19.405.050 and 2019 c 288 s 5 are each amended to 31
read as follows: 32
(1) It is the policy of the state that nonemitting electric 33
generation and electricity from renewable resources supply one 34
hundred percent of all sales of electricity to Washington retail 35
electric customers by January 1, 2045. By January 1, 2045, and each 36
year thereafter, each electric utility must demonstrate its 37
compliance with this standard using a combination of nonemitting 38
electric generation and electricity from renewable resources.39
p. 12 HB 2413
(2) Each electric utility must incorporate subsection (1) of this 1
section into all relevant planning and resource acquisition practices 2
including, but not limited to: Resource planning under chapter 19.280 3
RCW; the construction or acquisition of property, including electric 4
generating facilities; and the provision of electricity service to 5
retail electric customers. An electric utility is not in violation of 6
the requirements of subsection (1) of this section by using 7
electricity generated consistent with a declared resource adequacy 8
crisis under RCW 19.405.090(11)(b).9
(3) In planning to meet projected demand consistent with the 10
requirements of subsection (2) of this section and RCW 19.285.040, if 11
applicable, an electric utility must pursue all cost-effective, 12
reliable, and feasible conservation and efficiency resources, and 13
demand response. In making new investments, an electric utility must, 14
to the maximum extent feasible: 15
(a) Achieve targets at the lowest reasonable cost, considering 16
risk; 17
(b) Consider acquisition of existing renewable resources; and18
(c) In the acquisition of new resources constructed after May 7, 19
2019, rely on renewable resources and energy storage, insofar as 20
doing so is consistent with (a) of this subsection.21
(4) The commission, department, energy facility site evaluation 22
council, department of ecology, and all other state agencies must 23
incorporate this section into all relevant planning and utilize all 24
programs authorized by statute to achieve subsection (1) of this 25
section. 26
(5)(a) Hydroelectric generation used by an electric utility to 27
satisfy the requirements of this section may not include new 28
diversions, new impoundments, new bypass reaches, or expansion of 29
existing reservoirs constructed after May 7, 2019, unless the 30
diversions, bypass reaches, or reservoir expansions are necessary for 31
the operation of a pumped storage facility that: (i) Does not 32
conflict with existing state or federal fish recovery plans; and (ii) 33
complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.34
(b) Nothing in (a) of this subsection precludes an electric 35
utility that owns and operates hydroelectric generating facilities, 36
or the owner of a hydroelectric generating facility whose energy 37
output is marketed by the Bonneville power administration, from 38
making efficiency or other improvements to its hydroelectric 39
generating facilities existing as of May 7, 2019, or from installing 40
p. 13 HB 2413
hydroelectric generation in pipes, culverts, irrigation canals, and 1
other man-made waterways as long as those changes do not create 2
conflicts with existing state or federal fish recovery plans and 3
comply with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.4
(6) Nothing in this section prohibits an electric utility from 5
purchasing or exchanging power from the Bonneville power 6
administration. 7
(7) Affected market customers must comply with the obligations of 8
this section. 9
(8) Any market customer that purchases electricity exclusively 10
from carbon-free resources and eligible renewable resources, as 11
defined in RCW 19.285.030 as of January 1, 2019, pursuant to a 12
special contract with an investor-owned utility approved, prior to 13
May 7, 2019, by order of the commission is subject to the 14
requirements of such an order and not to the standards established in 15
this section. For the purposes of interpreting such a special 16
contract, chapter 19.285 RCW, as in effect on January 1, 2019, is 17
not, either directly or indirectly, amended or supplemented.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act may be known and cited as the 19
clean and reliable energy act.20
--- END ---
p. 14 HB 2413