Janet A. in Tacoma. I'm trying to understand Puget Sound Energy's Schedule 49 Time-of-Use rate and their Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) clause. The base rate shows $0.087/kWh for off-peak, but when I look at recent bills the effective rate is coming out to $0.103/kWh. Is the PCA really adding 1.6 cents per kWh? That seems excessive compared to other utilities I work with. Has anyone else seen PSE's fuel adjustments running this high?
PSE Schedule 49 TOU - Fuel Adjustment Confusion
Randy Dawson here. Janet, PSE's Power Cost Adjustment mechanism is indeed running higher than historical averages. The PCA is updated quarterly and filed with the Washington UTC. For Q4 2024, PSE's PCA was approximately $0.0159/kWh, which matches what you're seeing. This reflects higher natural gas prices and increased power purchase costs due to regional transmission constraints. You can find the current PCA rate on PSE's website under their "Power Cost Adjustment" page, or in UTC Docket UE-240001. The high adjustment is legitimate, though painful for customers. Many Pacific Northwest utilities are seeing similar increases due to regional market conditions.
Iris C. in Boise here. We're seeing similar fuel adjustment impacts with Idaho Power. Their Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) hit $0.0142/kWh last quarter. Randy, do you know if there's regional coordination on these adjustments, or is each utility calculating independently? The timing seems very similar across the Northwest.
Thanks Randy, that confirms what I was calculating. Iris, I've noticed the regional pattern too - even Avista's Schedule 1 rates in eastern Washington have similar fuel adjustment magnitudes. Makes sense given the shared transmission grid and wholesale power markets. Janet A.