by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard
September 12, 2024
Nearly 700,000 Washington households received a $200 credit on their electricity bills in recent weeks – one of the state’s most visible investments to date under a climate law that is now in the hands of voters.
State Department of Commerce officials estimated 685,113 low- and moderate-income households got the one-time credit as of Thursday, roughly 10,000 more than predicted when Gov. Jay Inslee launched the program in July.
“We embraced technology and new solutions to ensure the funds reached as many households as possible, with minimal effort required from them,” Deputy Assistant Director Cheryl Chan Hardee wrote in an email. “Given the short timeframe, we were able to impact countless families, and that’s what makes this accomplishment truly special.”
Washington used $150 million of proceeds from the state’s auction of pollution allowances to pay for the Washington Families Clean Energy Credits program. The auctions are a centerpiece of the Climate Commitment Act, a 2021 state law intended to drive down carbon emissions. Opponents of the law are targeting it for repeal with Initiative 2117 on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The Climate Commitment Act requires the state’s largest producers of air pollution – like oil refineries, paper mills and utilities – to meet state-prescribed emission limits or buy allowances to offset emissions. Money collected is to be spent on programs to fight the costs and effects of climate change.
Critics say the law is driving up energy costs for consumers and that the credits are too paltry to be of much help.
The reality is that $200 will only cover a month’s electricity bill or a couple of tanks of gas, said Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia.
“It is not going to come close to making things right for the families,” he said, adding the doling out the rebates so close to voting on the measure seemed to be a “thinly veiled attempt to influence the election.”
The state Department of Commerce distributed $135 million in grants to participating electric utility companies, which awarded credits to eligible customer accounts. The remaining $15 million went to utilities to cover their administrative costs though some redirected a portion to cover more customers.
In late July, utilities started applying the one-time rebates which were limited to one per household. They had to be applied no later than Sept. 15. Those households already enrolled in a utility company’s low-income assistance program automatically got the credit. Anyone else who may fit the criteria had to apply.
Puget Sound Energy, which serves 1.2 million electric customers in 10 western Washington counties, said it received $43.5 million and distributed credits to 217,961 households. It used $2.2 million of its administrative fee allotment to provide an additional 11,155 customers with a rebate.
Avista Corp. which has roughly 418,000 electricity customers, applied a $200 credit to the accounts of 50,500 customers with the $10.1 million state grant it received and another roughly 2,500 households with administrative dollars it did not spend.
PSE customers received notices explaining the one-time assistance came through a state program funded by the climate law.
“This program holds industries accountable for their emissions and uses the revenue to fund initiatives that help families and businesses reduce energy costs, switch from fossil fuel and keep our air clean,” reads a note sent to PSE customers. “It’s a win-win situation. You get help with your electric bill and the state uses the fund to promote a cleaner environment.”
Customers also had the option to not have the credit applied toward their balance, PSE said.
Six small utilities declined to participate or opted out. The largest was Modern Electric Water Co. in Spokane Valley, which declined a $394,930 grant that could have gone to 1,876 customers. The smallest, Northern Lights Inc., passed up a sum that would have credited 10 households.
Officials of the nonprofit Washington State Community Action Partnership, a network of 30 Community Action Agencies serving low-income individuals and families across the state, kept close watch on the program to ensure credits reached those in economic need.
Shaylee Stokes, director of The Energy Project, wrote in an email that the group will be seeking robust data on “how widespread utility participation was throughout the state and whether there were any potential geographic gaps for access to the credits.”
Early results were “reassuring” that only a handful of tiny utilities decided not to participate.
The partnership is supportive of such credits “as a direct and impactful way for limited income households to benefit from Climate Commitment Act revenue while reducing energy burdens,” she wrote. They would support actions similar to the credit program in the future “provided its iterations are transparent, equitable, and leverage past learnings.”
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