2023 Gas Utility IRP and Electric Progress Report

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) plans years in advance to ensure we have the supply and infrastructure necessary to deliver clean, safe and reliable energy. An Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is a 20-plus year view of PSE’s energy resource needs, which is developed through a planning process that evaluates how a range of potential future outcomes could affect PSE’s ability to meet our customers’ electric and natural gas supply needs. The analysis considers policies, costs, economic conditions and the physical energy systems, and proposes the starting point for making decisions about what resources may be procured in the future.

PSE filed its first Electric Progress Report in 2023 as an update to the 2021 IRP. A product of the CETA, it is designed to streamline reporting as we work toward our clean energy goals. This report is also our first opportunity to reinforce the commitments in PSE’s 2021 Clean Energy Implementation Plan (CEIP), which includes eliminating coal-fired resources by 2025, achieving greenhouse gas neutrality by 2030, and supplying 100 percent renewable and non-emitting electric energy by 2045.

The 2023 Gas Utility Integrated Resource Plan (2023 Gas Utility IRP) is a planning exercise that evaluates how a range of potential future outcomes could affect our ability to meet our customers’ natural gas supply needs. The analysis considers policies, costs, economic conditions, and the physical energy system. This 2023 Gas Utility IRP proposes the starting point for deciding what future resources we may or may not procure.


2023 Electric Progress Report

PSE is committed to reaching the goals of the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) by achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and carbon-free electric energy supply by 2045 and ensuring the transition to clean electricity is equitable. The 2023 Electric Progress Report is new and will provide a two-year progress report on the 2021 IRP as required by CETA.

In accordance with WAC 480-100-625 integrated resource plan development and timing, the progress report must include the following.

  • Updates to:
    • Load forecast
    • Demand-side resource assessment, including a new conservation potential assessment
    • Resource costs
    • Portfolio analysis and preferred portfolio
  • Address the results of changing state or federal requirements, or significant changes to economic and market forces.
  • Updates for elements found in its 2021 Clean Energy Implementation Plan, as described in WAC 480-100-640.

The electric progress report will include many elements of an IRP, listed above, but will not be a complete IRP. The electric progress report process will be divided into the following steps: 1. Establish Resource Needs; 2. Planning Assumptions and Resource Alternatives; 3. Updated Resource Plan from 2021 IRP and 2021 CEIP.

PSE filed the final 2023 Gas Utility IRP and 2023 Electric Progress Report with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on March 31, 2023.

2023 Gas Utility IRP

The 2023 Gas Utility IRP will focus on the needs of PSE’s 900,000 natural gas sales customers from 2023 to 2044, including the significant acquisition of conservation necessary to meet all future customer needs, natural gas delivery system analysis, and meeting PSE’s aspirational goal of being a Beyond Net Zero Carbon company by 2045. The plan is being developed in accordance with the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 480-90-238, the IRP rule for natural gas utilities.

The Gas Utility IRP process is divided into five cyclical steps: 1. Establish Resource Needs; 2. Planning Assumptions and Resource Alternatives; 3. Analyze Alternatives and Portfolios; 4. Analyze Results; and 5. Develop Resource Plan.

On April 1, 2022, PSE filed the work plan for the 2023 Gas Utility IRP with the UTC (Docket UG-220242). The work plan includes a description of the public participation plan, summary of methods for assessing resources, and an outline of IRP content.

On March 31, 2023, PSE filed the final 2023 Gas Utility IRP with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

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