Jan. 2025 Newsletter – Save the date for our spring conference, regional updates and more
Spring 2025 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference: Missoula, May 7
Save the date to join us in Missoula for our Spring 2025 Clean and Affordable Energy Conference:
Wednesday May 7, 2025
10:30 – 5:00 PM
University of Montana, UC Grand Foyer Building, North Ballroom
Join us for a day of hearing from experts on energy issues in our region, networking and learning from others in the clean energy field, and working together to move us toward a secure, affordable and resilient energy future.
Registration will be live on our website soon along with information on panel topics and speakers, the conference agenda, and all other details. Coalition members are encouraged to join us before the conference begins from 8:00 – 10:00 AM at the North Ballroom to attend the Member Meeting.
NEEA Efficiency Exchange: May 20-21 in Portland
Efficiency Exchange (EFX) is a networking and learning conference for energy efficiency professionals from across the Northwest put on by Bonneville Power Administration, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Regional and national attendees from public and private utilities, consulting and research firms, and government and non-profit organizations come together to learn and connect to help the region more effectively achieve its energy efficiency goals. This event is in person and virtual. More information here.
Congratulations to our Executive Director Nancy Hirsh for public recognition for her leadership
On December 5, 2024, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) hosted its 10th annual Leadership in Energy Efficiency Awards ceremony, and NWEC Executive Director Nancy Hirsh was awarded the Tom Eckman Lifetime Achievement Award.
Also, at NWEC’s 2024 Fall Clean and Affordable Energy Conference in November in Seattle, Maura Brueger, Director of Government & Legislative Affairs for Seattle City Light, presented Nancy with a City of Seattle Proclamation, issued by Mayor Bruce Harrell, declaring November 13, 2024, to be Nancy Hirsh Day.
Congratulations, Nancy!
We’re hiring: Join the NWEC team!
The NW Energy Coalition is seeking a strategic and farsighted individual to join our Coalition team and lead our work on critical Northwest regional policy and planning issues as well as coordinating our work with state policymakers and agencies. While location preference is for Seattle area or Portland area, we can discuss options for other Northwest locations. Applications are currently being reviewed. Read full job description.
Regulatory tools to advance affordability
Last fall, former NWEC Senior Policy and Regulatory Counsel Mike Goetz presented at the Joint CREPC-WIRAB Meeting on the topic of implementing regulatory tools to advance affordability in a time of rising energy costs. In an article on our website, he details how regulators must consider costs and revenues and set rates on a holistic basis; the necessity of empowering customers to participate in the ratemaking process; and additional strategies the utility commissions can utilize under existing authorities. Read the full article.
State and regional updates
Regional
NW Energy Coalition continues to support the development of western energy market options. At the end of 2024, the Pathways Initiative, of which NWEC is a core member, recommended creating an independent entity to take over governing the western energy markets – the Western Energy Imbalance Market and the Enhanced Day Ahead Market. NWEC advocated for a governance structure that gives public interest voices equivalent influence to commercial interest, creating an Office of Public Participation dedicated to educating and empowering impacted entities, and ensuring the overall package is likely to attract all western energy stakeholders into the marketplace. We focus on a market with a west-wide footprint because that is likely to deliver the benefits of power cost control, increased reliability, and integrating more clean energy resources.
For 2025, the Pathways Initiative has three main foci: A Formation Committee will establish the Regional Organization and seat a Board of Directors; the California Legislature will pass legislation enabling CA Independent System Operator to participate in the regional market; and local utilities will decide to join a day ahead market. NWEC is engaged in each area and will be working with members throughout the year on successful implementation in the west.
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) continues with their process to evaluate the day-ahead market options in the west NWEC is engaged in the process to hold the agency accountable to using rigorous analysis and quantifiable factors in its decision making. NWEC’s analysis, along with many diverse parties in the region shows that BPA should defer any definitive decision while the two market options continue to evolve.
Oregon
The 2024 Energy Justice Community Cohort wrapped up their work together in November 2024 and have made progress and passed milestones. Originally born out of organizing around and implementing clean energy bill HB 2021, the Clean Energy for All bill in Oregon’s 2021 legislative session, the cohort continued its second iteration of working together to combine people, advocacy and knowledge power.
Organizations involved in facilitating this group: Coalition of Communities of Color, NW Energy Coalition, Multnomah County Office of Sustainability, Verde and Oregon Just Transition Alliance. Check out the cohort’s 2024 accomplishments!
- Reviewed Oregon’s disconnection policies so people are informed about their customer protections;
- Discussed Oregon’s different energy sources, how they work, and their impacts;
- Connected the cohort work to a Just Transition framework;
- Held its first field trip to a community solar project in Portland and learned about their low-income participation with solar credits;
- Learned about resilience hubs, solar, storage, and other community-based energy projects across Oregon;
- Acted out an Oregon Public Utilities Commission hearing and testified at real ones, especially around the rate cases;
- Attended the Citizens’ Utility Board conference.
Montana
On December 18, 2024, the Montana Supreme Court upheld a district court ruling, Held vs Montana, filed in 2020 by 16 youth. In the nation’s first constitutional climate change trial, the historic ruling affirms that the youth plaintiffs have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment” while revoking two Montana statutes.
“This decision affirms that Montanans’ constitutional right to a ‘clean and healthful environment’ includes the impacts of climate change,” said Derek Goldman, Montana Policy Associate for the NW Energy Coalition. “Montanans are already dealing with the ever-increasing impacts of climate change—from wildfire to dwindling summer streamflows. Our state environmental laws are critical tools to ensure polluters don’t make things worse.”
Now that the 2025 Montana Legislative Session has commenced, we fully expect to see an effort by polluting industries to undermine the Held ruling. We anticipate efforts to change Montana’s independent judiciary and further erode the Montana Environmental Policy Act. The Coalition will work with our member groups and allies to oppose these efforts.
Read more on the Held ruling in this Daily Montanan article.
Washington
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) issued a revised Final Order on December 23, approving a two-year multi-year rate plan for Avista (UE-240006). The rate plan continues the revenue decoupling mechanism and implements revenue increases for both electric and gas services.
Electric rates will rise by $11.882 million (2.01%) in the first year and $44.4 million (7.51%) in the second year, while gas revenues will increase by $14.2 million (11.15%) in the first year and $4.0 million (2.81%) in the second year. The approved Return on Equity (ROE) is 9.80%, with a Rate of Return (ROR) of 7.32% and a cost of debt at 4.99%. The Commission raised the residential customer charge by $1 and adopted the Non-Pipeline Alternative (NPA) framework from the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC).
Key proposals from NWEC and other advocates were rejected, including rate spread for Colstrip, a targeted electrification pilot and line extension allowance adjustments, and low-income policy recommendations. The Commission also declined to modify the Energy Recovery Mechanism (ERM) or include a forecast error adjustment for power costs. However, it directed Avista to collaborate with advisory groups to improve disconnection policies, develop a multilingual strategy, and enhance demographic data collection for distributed energy resource programs. Performance-based ratemaking metrics were also streamlined, reducing reporting requirements from 92 to 33 metrics to eliminate redundancies.
Also in December, NWEC supported Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE) 2025 programmatic spending for a decarbonization initiative. PSE is channeling funds to facilitate the direct installation of customer-side resources aimed at helping its natural gas customers reduce their carbon emissions. The 2025 programs provide full or partial financial assistance and incentives to all low-income natural gas customers and those in named communities, encouraging them to take steps toward electrifying their energy use.
The electrification efforts in 2025 are anticipated to cut down approximately 5,333 metric tons of CO2 equivalent over the lifespan of the equipment installed.
Additionally, PSE shared insights on its electrification spending in 2024. They discovered that swapping out natural gas furnaces for electric heat pumps led to an average annual savings of $75 on utility bills. Moreover, this transition decreased customer emissions by 19.7% compared to natural gas. The electrification program also provided customers with efficient centralized cooling options.
Staff winter fun
No time like winter in the Northwest to get out and make the most of the daylight hours we have! Here are some glimpses of what NWEC staff got up to over the holidays.
Thank you for your support!
Thank you for helping us start 2025 out strong with your year-end donations! Contributions totaled over $40,000.
Looking ahead to 2025, we will continue to lead efforts to advance clean, affordable, and equitable energy policies. With the challenges brought by the new federal Administration, regional and state action is more important than ever. We are working hard to support smarter power system planning in the face of growing electric loads, the need to restore salmon, and decarbonize our energy system. We will continue to focus on customer resources, affordability, equity and reliability in all our advocacy and analysis.
Thank you again for your support.