Puget Sound Energy, Avista on track to meet renewable energy targets

An assessment by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission recently found that investor-owned electric utilities Puget Sound Energy and Avista are on track to supply at least 9 percent of their loads through renewable resources this year.

That goal is set by the state’s Energy Independence Act (EIA), which requires utilities to provide a certain percentage of their electricity from eligible renewable resources. Wind, solar and hydro power are all eligible under the 2006 law. In this case, both companies exceeded their approved targets.

Puget Sound Energy had a commission-approved target of 1.89 million megawatt hours (MW) of renewable power this year and ended up acquiring more than 2.5 million. Avista, in turn, had a target of 514,144 MW, but has so far acquired more than 800,000 MW of renewable power. Both had to file reports detailing their renewable portfolios with the commission earlier this year.

The electric utilities are also required to obtain 15 percent of their electricity from renewable generation by 2020, under the EIA.

The commission determines whether such utilities meet set targets, and will require a final compliance report from the companies by 2021 showing exactly what resources were used to meet the targets and if they succeeded.

A third investor-owned electric utility, Pacific Power, will have its compliance reviewed by the commission at a meeting on Sept. 12.