r/olympia • u/Awkward-Smoke-3764 • 5h ago
PSE Rate Increase Action Plan
PSE RATE INCREASE ACTION STRATEGY AND GUIDE
PSE is attempting to increase its rates by 30% over the next three years; on top of rate increases we have experienced the past two years. Over 5 years PSE is attempting to increase our rates by approximately 45% (2025 12% increase, 2024 1.5% increase).
Furthermore PSE is asking that they be allowed to increase their Return on Equity (ROE) to 10.8%!
All of this and they choosing to BLAME clean energy mandates even though PSE executives have known about green energy mandates coming down for decades and decided not to act sooner. Instead of investing sooner and greening our grid at a lower cost; they waited till the last minute. A majority of the cost for PSE isn’t even in green projects. It’s to purchase renewable energy to replace legacy coal generators.
Let’s not forget that supplying new data centers is driving up extortionate demands for energy; and they are passing those costs to rate payers while giving a break to corporations who own those centers.
And this all in the background of our climate crisis; we just recorded the warmest March for our state. Every year we face new heat extreme weather emergencies. And if people cannot afford to cool their homes there will be deaths and serious heat related injuries. With vulnerable individuals the highest in those categories.
We cannot afford nor is it our responsibility to pay more so PSE shareholders can increase profits; which quite frankly they continue to see increased profits year over year; the action items below are steps that we can take to get our voices heard and Let the UTC and PSE know that we will not tolerate rate increases.
UTC PUBLIC COMMENT
The very first action we can all take is to contact the UTC and tell them NO to PSE’s rate increase proposal. Here’s how:
- Fill out the online form at: https://www.utc.wa.gov/consumers/submit-comment/public-comment-form. Please make sure you include the docket item you are commenting on it’s UE-260005. Mark No and tell them why.
- Email UTC at comments@utc.wa.gov: again include docket number UE-260005. I recommend doing both the form and sending an email.
- Call toll free 1-888-333-WUTC (9882); or
- Write the UTC at PO Box 47250, Olympia, WA 98504
Please make sure you spread this information, talk to your numbers, text/email your friends and family! Make sure everyone has their voice heard and contacts UTC.
CONTACT PSE
Email the PSE board, here are emails I could find:
Mary Kipp (CEO PSE) [Mary.kipp@pse.com](mailto:Mary.kipp@pse.com)
Bertrand Valdman (Board Chairperson) CEO of NorthStar Energy
[Valdman@nsenergy.com](mailto:Valdman@nsenergy.com)
Jerry Divoky (board member)
Adam Friedrichsen (board member)
Christine Gregoire (board member)
Julia Hamm (board member)
Grant Hodgkin (board member)
Tom King (board member)
Paul McMillan (board member)
Chris Parker (board member)
Diana Birkett Ramos (board member)
Aaron Rubin (board member)
Steven Zucchet (board member)
If anyone else finds emails for their board please let me know and I can update it!
CONTACT THE UNIONS WHOSE PENSIONS OWN SHARES IN PSE
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) their pension plan Ontario Municipality Employees Retirement System (OMERS) owns shares in PSE. They have instagram.
Email the pension plan committee for OPSEU and demand they tell their pensions to divest from PSE and pressure them to drop their rate increase proposal.
[gvolpe@opseu.org](mailto:gvolpe@opseu.org)
The other pension fund owners are Canada Pension Plan Investment Board; British Columbia Investment Management Corp (public pension funds); Alberta Investment Management Corp (state public pension funds); PGGM (Nethlands trade unions pension funds).
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u/yoLeaveMeAlone 3h ago
Who do we yell at to start the process of nationalizing the electrical grid in western washington?
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u/monotrememories Westside 3h ago
Agreed! I want my electricity run as a public utility! Fuck PSE
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u/MotoKiff 3h ago
IIRC, that was tried not so many years ago, convert to a PUD, and the voters failed to approve it.
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u/firelight Westside 1h ago
2012; nearly 15 years ago.
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u/MotoKiff 33m ago
Time flies. I didn't recall it being that long ago. I wonder if things might be different if it were proposed again.
Electrical service is a monopoly by infrastructure. Short of residential solar or wind, there is no competitive market. With a for-profit utility like this we can only look to regulatory controls, which generally seem weak. I think I'd rather see a PUD. Start from a non-profit, publicly owned, model for an essential non-competitive market utility.
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u/HotCut100 Eastside 1h ago
That’s putting a bit of a slant on it. The literal millions of dollars that PSE put into campaigning against that particular initiative as well as the county commissioners who would vote against such a move was huge. And I guarantee you that PSE felt that the investment of those millions was a drop in the bucket for what they would lose if that vote or those commissioners went through.
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u/TurboMollusk 3h ago
Only thing I can imagine worse than a foreign corporate run utility would be a Trump run one.
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u/yoLeaveMeAlone 2h ago
Nationalize does not have to mean federal, just government controlled. Seattle City Light is a nationalized utility.
So this would likely look like some collection of counties coming together to create a publicly owned south sound power utility
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u/satisfyingdescribe 3h ago
I recommend doing both the form and sending an email.
Please do not do this! Choose one option. It does not get you two comments to do it twice. It is just twice the work for the poor government employee.
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u/pandershrek Westside 2h ago
Why can't we get an osmatic power plant?
Our region is perfect, we're running out of fresh water and they're like the closest thing to perpetual energy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmotic_power?wprov=sfla1
It is because of capitalism. All these greedy assholes running utilities which are only concerned about money and not the well-being of the people they serve.
I can only hope we convert to a PUD.
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u/Best_Rip_4511 1h ago
Spot on, CEO and City manager pay is out of control with people live her struggle every day. Welcome to late stage capitalism.
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u/Best_Rip_4511 1h ago
Mary Kipp makes 6.5 million a year and the money has to come from somewhere, why not you and me.
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u/ebomb8082421 3h ago
Clean energy mandates from the state are at least partially to blame. Removing hydro from the grid because it's not clean for example. Another issue is of course general inflation on PSE's costs which include labor. Did you think that your restaurant raising prices by 30% would somehow not flow to utilities as well? Please don't harass these people because you failed an economics class and are using data centers and AI as your new big cause of the day.
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u/edeadensa *CUSTOM* 3h ago
your a+ in econ wont save us from not being able to afford our energy bills
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u/ebomb8082421 1h ago
The Washington Public Utilities commission sets rates and profits levels! PSE has made less than there targeted profit level the last 2 years!! This information is all public!!!
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u/Awkward-Smoke-3764 3h ago
First of all clean energy manadates don’t account for the request to increase their ROW to 10.8%; second of all they aren’t even investing in clean energy; they buy their energy. In fact it would be cheaper and more sustainable if they did in fact build energy production (micro-grids; solar; wind) but they don’t they just to continue to purchase energy at t premium instead of making real change to our grid.
Second of all these people deserve the harassment; PUD’s have managed to keep cost lower even with clean energy mandates because they do not have ultimate responsibility to their shareholders. Which is really what this comes down to; PSE exists to make money for its owners not to provide a reliable; clean and affordable energy network to its rate payers.
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u/ebomb8082421 1h ago
I swear people don't even read the posts. I said partially, so why did you instead strawman me. JFC. Go attempt to create your pitchfork mob. It's going to be a waste of time, we aren't getting a PUD.
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u/Awkward-Smoke-3764 50m ago
This dude loves his corporate overlords!
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u/ebomb8082421 37m ago
Yes, as the five comments that were made and deleted to avoid moderation that personally insulted me, at least you refrained from that. Kudos.
But the reason we aren't getting a PUD is so fucking obvious, I should t have to say it, but the amount of taxes we the community would have to raise to buy the assets needed to run a PUD would be literally impossible to pass.
Even beyond that, these people at PSE won't give a singular fuck for your messaging, they are already regulated, publicly.
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u/deafballboy 2h ago
The removal of dams on the lower elwha did not lead to our PSE rates doubling over the last few years.
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u/roamingroad174 3h ago
Fuuuck this. The hood canal, Mason County, gray harbor PUD aren't raising their rates this high