Small Utilities Webinar Summary

On Monday, April 6, 2020 the Washington Department of Commerce held a webinar on Small Utilities Reporting and Planning .

The presentation outlined the requirements of the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) and the ways which utilities can meet the 100% renewable goal by 2045. The goal of the legislation is to benefit all customers and there is a provision so that the policy doesn’t impose unreasonable costs on the consumer or hurt the system so that it can’t meet demands.

The key difference in reporting between large and small utilities is that large utilities, which is defined as a utility with more than 25,000 accounts, must create an Integrated Resource Plan, whereas small utilities create a Resource Plan, which requires less paperwork and is meant to be less burdensome.

During the Q and A portion of the webinar, a number of good questions were raised including ‘how do the rules apply to utilities based in other states that have a small presence in Washington?’ and ‘can Commerce think about distinguishing between small and very small utilities so that the very small ones don’t have as big of an administrative burden?’

Commerce takes comments on a rolling basis so if you would like to have your voice heard or if you want to know more about upcoming CETA workshops, click here.