The Chelan County PUD and Puget Sound Energy have signed a new contract for renewable hydropower from the PUD’s two projects on the Columbia River. The 20-year contract increases PSE's carbon-free resources toward its future renewable energy goals, as well as contributes flexible capacity to identified needs in Washington.
The contract provides Puget Sound Energy with 25% of the output from the PUD’s Rock Island and Rocky Reach hydropower projects from 2031 to 2051. PSE’s current contracts with Chelan PUD, expiring in 2026 and 2031, provide a portion of the output from the two Columbia River projects.
At last Monday's PUD Commission meeting, General Manager Kirk Hudson said the contracts continue a long-standing relationship:
Speaking from Bellevue, Puget Sound Energy CEO Mary Kipp:
Chelan PUD offers a mix of short-term market-based and long-term cost-based products. Both types of contracts are based on selling a “slice” of the PUD's hydropower output. The value of hydropower has increased as a carbon-free renewable source of energy. Those environmental attributes are in demand as companies look to satisfy new regulatory requirements through the Climate Commitment Act and Clean Energy Transformation Act.
The contract was negotiated over the past 18 months and includes both carbon-free energy attributes provided by hydropower as well as flexible capacity to help PSE meet peak energy needs during high customer usage times.