Lawmakers and environmental groups urge UTC to disallow costs tied to Centralia coal-to-gas conversion

Several speakers asked the commission to disallow recovery of costs tied to a proposed conversion of the TransAlta Centralia coal plant to natural gas.

"Ratepayers should not be forced to foot the bill for a 17 year gas contract and hundreds of millions in outdated fossil fuel infrastructure," said Julian Santos of Washington Conservation Action. Multiple commenters argued that spending on new fossil infrastructure conflicts with Washingtons Climate Commitment Act and the clean-energy goals in state law and that the commission should require PSE to justify any gas-related investments as prudent and necessary.

Representative Beth Doleo told the commission the Decarbonization Act (House Bill cited in testimony) was intended to shrink gas use, not expand it. Other speakers asked the UTC to require PSE to evaluate non-pipeline alternatives — such as electrification and demand response programs — before allowing capital costs to be included in customer rates.

No PSE on-the-record rebuttal to these public comments was made during the public comment hearing; the commission will consider these points as part of the evidentiary record.