Demand an independent review of a bad energy plan
The Issue
I'm Don Marsh, chair of the Washington Clean Energy Coalition. For more than a decade, our volunteers have tracked energy plans of our state's largest utility, Puget Sound Energy (PSE).
PSE is currently preparing a 20-year plan that makes gas customers pay billions for continued emissions. PSE forecasts gas costs will be five times higher by 2050. Renters and low-income families will be especially harmed because they can’t switch to less expensive electric heat pumps.
PSE’s plan for the electric grid proposes to build 20 gas plants and a nuclear plant. PSE's own numbers show a clean geothermal plant arriving five years sooner and 14% cheaper than the nuclear reactor, but the company picked the reactor anyway.
PSE makes money on what it builds, not for reducing your bill or emissions. PSE tested only one clean alternative: a single-technology portfolio built on an enormous number of short-duration batteries. When that failed, PSE used it as evidence that clean portfolios can't do the job and big capital projects are the only way forward.
We disagree! We developed an alternative without all the gas and nuclear. Compared to PSE’s plan, our proposal would produce lower monthly bills for converted homes, far lower emissions, and comparable overall cost. It uses less speculative technology, preferring solutions that are available today. You can read the details here: wacleanenergy.org/news/2026-06-pse-2027-isp-response
After we sent our analysis to PSE, the company thanked us and said our ideas would be valuable in its modeling. But despite our explicit request, PSE never shared our analysis with its public advisory group.
We ask state regulators to commission an independent review of PSE's plan before it is finalized. A 20-year energy plan must not be approved based solely on the company's own math.
Public comment on PSE’s plan opens in December 2026, but by then the assumptions are locked in. Regulators must initiate the review before questionable assumptions become permanent.
In addition to signing this petition, Washington residents can send a comment to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. It takes two minutes and becomes part of the public record regulators must consider.
- Go to the comment form: utc.wa.gov/consumers/submit-comment/public-comment-form
- Mention Puget Sound Energy and its Integrated System Plan. (You can add Docket U-240841, but it isn't required.)
- In your own words, ask for an independent review of PSE's plan before the modeling is finalized. If your energy bill has gone up, say so — personal comments carry more weight than form letters.
Share this with friends and family. We're grateful for signers in Washington State and other states. Unbiased reviews of utility plans are needed wherever private utility companies could be tempted to prioritize profits for their shareholders over the basic needs of their customers.
Don Marsh
Chair, Washington Clean Energy Coalition
wacleanenergy.org
151
The Issue
I'm Don Marsh, chair of the Washington Clean Energy Coalition. For more than a decade, our volunteers have tracked energy plans of our state's largest utility, Puget Sound Energy (PSE).
PSE is currently preparing a 20-year plan that makes gas customers pay billions for continued emissions. PSE forecasts gas costs will be five times higher by 2050. Renters and low-income families will be especially harmed because they can’t switch to less expensive electric heat pumps.
PSE’s plan for the electric grid proposes to build 20 gas plants and a nuclear plant. PSE's own numbers show a clean geothermal plant arriving five years sooner and 14% cheaper than the nuclear reactor, but the company picked the reactor anyway.
PSE makes money on what it builds, not for reducing your bill or emissions. PSE tested only one clean alternative: a single-technology portfolio built on an enormous number of short-duration batteries. When that failed, PSE used it as evidence that clean portfolios can't do the job and big capital projects are the only way forward.
We disagree! We developed an alternative without all the gas and nuclear. Compared to PSE’s plan, our proposal would produce lower monthly bills for converted homes, far lower emissions, and comparable overall cost. It uses less speculative technology, preferring solutions that are available today. You can read the details here: wacleanenergy.org/news/2026-06-pse-2027-isp-response
After we sent our analysis to PSE, the company thanked us and said our ideas would be valuable in its modeling. But despite our explicit request, PSE never shared our analysis with its public advisory group.
We ask state regulators to commission an independent review of PSE's plan before it is finalized. A 20-year energy plan must not be approved based solely on the company's own math.
Public comment on PSE’s plan opens in December 2026, but by then the assumptions are locked in. Regulators must initiate the review before questionable assumptions become permanent.
In addition to signing this petition, Washington residents can send a comment to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. It takes two minutes and becomes part of the public record regulators must consider.
- Go to the comment form: utc.wa.gov/consumers/submit-comment/public-comment-form
- Mention Puget Sound Energy and its Integrated System Plan. (You can add Docket U-240841, but it isn't required.)
- In your own words, ask for an independent review of PSE's plan before the modeling is finalized. If your energy bill has gone up, say so — personal comments carry more weight than form letters.
Share this with friends and family. We're grateful for signers in Washington State and other states. Unbiased reviews of utility plans are needed wherever private utility companies could be tempted to prioritize profits for their shareholders over the basic needs of their customers.
Don Marsh
Chair, Washington Clean Energy Coalition
wacleanenergy.org
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Petition created on August 20, 2026