Electricity rates in Washington

Washington has an unusually large public power sector: Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power, numerous public utility districts and cooperatives serve much of the state, many of them buying federal hydropower from the Bonneville Power Administration, with rates set by local boards. Investor-owned utilities, chiefly Puget Sound Energy, Avista and Pacific Power, are regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Residential customers do not choose a supplier.

Hydropower from the Columbia River dams dominates generation, supplemented by natural gas, wind and one nuclear plant, and state law requires utilities to phase out coal and move to carbon-neutral supply. Electric heating is common, especially in the mild, wet western part of the state, where air conditioning has historically been less widespread. Net metering is available statewide.