“I congratulate Puget Sound Energy, the Sierra Club, and the other signatories to today’s multiparty settlement for taking a big step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting climate change. This landmark settlement serves as an example of how electric utilities, environmental advocates, ratepayers, and impacted communities can work together to find solutions to climate change that grow our economy and build a better future.
“PSE investors will benefit from greater certainty around the closure of the Colstrip, Montana plant and the mechanisms for financing this closure and cleanup. Ratepayers will be protected from sharp future rate increases to pay for an out-of-date generation facility and will have greater access to home weatherization programs. The Colstrip community will be supported with an investment of $10 million for a fair transition. And future generations of Washingtonians and Montanans will enjoy cleaner air and contribute less to the dangerous warming of Earth’s atmosphere.
“This has been the driest summer in Washington’s history. Both Washington and Montana are combatting huge wildfires exacerbated by unprecedented hot, dry weather. A record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season points towards a future impacted by more and more extreme weather events. The impacts of climate change on our states are already endangering lives. But this multiparty settlement shows there is a path forward that involves cleaner air and a more stable future. I applaud Puget Sound Energy, the Sierra Club, and all the parties to the settlement for achieving this major success.”