PSE Praises Congressional Action on Climate Change

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Puget Sound Energy, the nation’s second-largest utility owner of wind power, supports recent action by the U.S. House of Representatives in passing the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) of 2009, and believes lawmakers are taking steps today that will benefit both the environment and the economy for the future.

“New ways of thinking about how we produce and use energy are vital for both combating climate change and sparking the innovations that will boost our economy,” said Stephen P. Reynolds, CEO and president. “Our customers have told us they support renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, and their elected representatives in the House have heard that message and taken action.”

All House of Representatives members from Western Washington voted in favor of ACES, including Rep. Jay Inslee, who led efforts to ensure the legislation’s carbon emissions allocations treat Northwest utility customers fairly and also worked successfully to include improvements to the nation’s electric transmission capabilities. Rep. Dave Reichert, whose 8th District constituents are nearly all served by PSE, brought a focus to the national security benefits of greater energy independence.

The ACES legislation includes a renewable energy standard that may be met through energy efficiency, which is well-aligned with PSE’s commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency for both business and residential customers. Further, the ACES legislation includes a greenhouse gas emissions allocation methodology that minimizes the economic impact of reducing carbon emissions.

“PSE is committed to keeping energy costs reasonable for its customers, and the mechanisms in ACES are well-designed for cutting carbon emissions but balancing customer needs, in particular those who are low-income or are in energy-intensive industries,” Reynolds noted. “The American Clean Energy and Security Act puts us on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also investing in the smart grid infrastructure and other technologies for greater energy efficiency.”

PSE owns and operates two wind facilities in Washington, Hopkins Ridge and Wild Horse, with a combined capacity of 386 megawatts (MW), and is adding 44 MW of increased capacity at Wild Horse through an expansion currently underway. PSE is also developing the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project in Columbia and Garfield counties in Southeast Washington, which is slated for initial energy production in 2011 and a potential capacity of 1432 MW when completed. According to the American Wind Energy Association, 1 MW of wind capacity is equal to the electric needs of 225 to 300 average U.S. homes.

“Combining both renewable energy and energy efficiency is the right step for both the climate and our customers,” said Reynolds. “We’ve seen first-hand that both areas can create new, green jobs and other benefit from renewable energy credits as well as help our customers better manage their energy costs through using natural gas and electricity wisely.”

PSE’s existing wind facilities account for approximately $2.5 million in property and sales taxes, making them the largest taxpayers in their respective counties (Kittitas County for the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility and Columbia County for the Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility), as well as creating approximately 175 temporary jobs during construction periods and 50 permanent, full-time jobs for operations and maintenance.

The utility’s energy efficiency programs have had a similar impact on both the economy and climate change. In 2008, PSE customers took advantage of grants and rebates from the utility that will enable them to save approximately $30 million annually on their energy costs by reducing their natural gas use by the equivalent of 4,000 homes’ yearly consumption and their electric use by the equivalent of 23,000 homes’ yearly consumption. The energy conservation measures are estimated to have created 450 new jobs throughout Western Washington, some through direct employment with the utility and others through hiring done by local contractors, installers and retailers seeing increased customer interest in energy efficiency. The energy efficiency measures taken by PSE customers in 2008 will help reduce their carbon footprint by more than 450 million pounds – or the equivalent of taking 38,000 cars off the road.

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