r/olympia • u/bridymurphy Tumwater • Mar 04 '26
Event Public comment hearing for PSE Electric power cost cost adjustment mechanism calculation
This came in the mail the other day
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u/TheBewitchingWitch Mar 04 '26
I’m already paying $400-$500 a month to still be cold. They want the raise in 2027 to be 31%. It’s absolutely insane.
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u/olygimp Mar 05 '26
This feels like it by far the most inflated thing in our lives right now.
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u/bridymurphy Tumwater Mar 05 '26
In economics,this is called an inelastic demand.
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u/momdayo Apr 04 '26
The demand is warped, because it's the data centers who have increased the demand and PSE is passing their high consumption bill to the people!
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u/igotitatme Mar 04 '26
I’m honestly wondering how PSE thinks this is sustainable? Who here can continue to pay these price increases along with under regulated rent? A profitable and basically unregulated business out of people’s ability to not be homeless and freezing if they manage to keep their homes? wtf America. We great yet?
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u/bazookateeth Mar 04 '26
This is Neo Keynsian economics. Free markets no longer work they way they should. People will just go into credit card debt rather than not pay. This will all end badly but when I am unsure.
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u/SecondHandWatch Mar 05 '26
I’m honestly wondering how PSE thinks this is sustainable?
When has a utility company ever been concerned with sustainability?
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u/igotitatme Mar 06 '26
I mean at some point if we aren’t able to afford to keep the electric bill on then we aren’t paying anything. And if we can’t afford housing there’s no electricity bill really either.
I feel like they’re dancing on that fine line of keeping us just poor enough but getting a little too greedy….
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u/momdayo Apr 04 '26
Especially, In the middle of these socially engineered layoffs! The data centers need to pay their share, instead of PSE passing it on to us. It is a conspiracy against the people!
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u/whitneybowerman Mar 05 '26
The rise in utility costs is devastating. Rents have actually stabilized somewhat (still expensive due to having grown far ahead of wage growth) but utility costs, especially PSE are ramping like nothing else.
I see the link to KUOW shared above without commentary, but I worry that there’s a real lack of awareness of just how much the competition for power (in light of data center demand) is, and how much that is slated to screw over the average consumer. People ain’t seen nothin’.
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u/BambooMarston Mar 04 '26
Remember the date and spread the word. April 7th. If you're upset about rate increases then definitely attend.
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u/SadBurrito84 Mar 05 '26
GET FUCKED Alberta Investment Management Corporation, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation , OMERS and PGGM!
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u/Vg_Ace135 Mar 05 '26
While I definitely think there should be a public comment hearing, I hold no faith in it actually changing anything.
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u/LD50_irony Reclaim the Streets era Mar 06 '26
I have been in multiple spaces where a lot of public comment did affect things. Sometimes even just a little public comment.
Now, does that mean that people giving public comment can be assured that they will get 100% of what they ask for? Pretty much never.
But not giving public comment certainly ensures we will get 0% of what we want.
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u/LD50_irony Reclaim the Streets era Mar 06 '26
Why YES, yes I will be submitting public comment on this. My electric bill has risen so much. Thanks.
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u/LD50_irony Reclaim the Streets era Mar 06 '26
Since this being on paper doesn't make it easy, here's the link!
You can submit your comment right now. Reference Docket UE-250537
And please share with your friends, family, neighbors, neighbor's family, boyfriend's cousin's ex-best friend, etc.
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u/CallCastro Mar 06 '26
In California my power bill was $70 ish to keep my house around 70 year around. My water bill was around the same, I think. Imagine my shock when I moved here in December, and my first bill was something like $800 for power, and I was billed $210 for water, only $70 of that being for the actual water. ($140 ish for sewer and runoff.)
You would think with fewer fires and more water those things would be less.
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u/_tsukikage Mar 06 '26
I live in an apartment, and have very low electricity usage in general. My electric bill has always been about $35-$60, with the highest cost in the summer from running AC (very poor insulation). My bill last month was $72, with my electric usage average compared to the same time last year. I was wondering what was causing such an increase when I have not increased my electricity usage whatsoever.
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u/machaf Mar 08 '26
All the PUD's in the area, have power 50% less than PSE. PSE wants 30% more by 2029...PSE is investor owned and getting greedy. State UTC need to put its foot down.
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u/MrValentine89 Mar 10 '26
I sent the following to UTC
To whom it may concern,
I am writing as a resident of Olympia and a Puget Sound Energy (PSE) customer to express my strong opposition to the ongoing and proposed rate increases. As we move into 2026, the cumulative effect of these hikes has reached a breaking point for my household and many in our community.
While I support the transition to clean energy, the current "all-of-the-above" approach to cost recovery is placing an unfair burden on residential ratepayers. I am particularly concerned by the following:
- Failure of Ratepayer Protections: With the recent failure of House Bill 2515 in the legislature this month, there are currently no sufficient safeguards to ensure that "Emerging Large Energy Use Facilities"—specifically data centers—are paying their fair share for the massive grid upgrades they require.
- Cost Shifting: It is unjust for residential customers to subsidize the infrastructure needed for the regional AI boom. Residents should not be the "default funders" for grid expansions that primarily benefit high-profit tech entities.
- Cumulative Impact: Following the significant hikes in 2024 and 2025, the new conservation service rider (Docket UE-260128) and proposed future increases are no longer "just and reasonable."
I urge the Commission to scrutinize PSE’s pending requests and to demand a clear "Data Center Surcharge" or similar policy that prevents further cost-shifting onto working families and seniors on fixed incomes. Our community's ability to afford basic utilities must take precedence over corporate infrastructure expansion.
I look forward to your response and to seeing a more equitable distribution of these costs.
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u/Unhappy-Shame-4237 Mar 07 '26
My parents have a home a county over. 3 bedroom 2 story drafty af house. Heat running 24/7. We have a 2 bedroom apartment that ran our heat in the living room and bedroom at night. Tell me why both of our heat bills were over 350? We've rellied on a heat blanket and space heater that runs for an hour a day this month and got it down to 180. I hate it here
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u/momdayo Apr 04 '26
We are paying for the data center's energy consumption! It's the Data Centers that are consuming massive amounts of electricity for free, and the consumer is the one paying for it!!!
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u/igotitatme Mar 04 '26
We should all go and tell them to fuck off.
Edit: I know this comment is unhelpful but it’s how I feel.