Great news on energy markets: California Assembly Bill 825 was signed into law in September, allowing the shift of oversight of a major regional energy market to a new, independent body governed by Western interests. A larger, interconnected Western market can help reduce utility bills, increase resilience, and provide more access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy.  

This is a huge win for our collective work on electricity markets, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped make it happen. 

The Bonneville Power Administration’s decision to join the smaller Markets+—despite a potential $4 billion in savings over the next decade—faces renewed scrutiny now that AB 825 resolves their primary governance concerns. We are urging BPA to reconsider its choice and do the right thing for Northwest customers.  

Read our statement here.

Less than two months until our Fall 2025 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference in Portland, Oregon!

Join utility leaders, policymakers, advocates, and energy experts from across the region to explore solutions for a reliable, equitable, and decarbonized energy future. This year’s conference will dive into some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the Northwest’s energy transition.

Check out our great lineup of speakers and learn more here: https://nwenergy.org/featured/fall-2025-clean-affordable-energy-conference/

Thank you to our conference sponsors:

Washington

Federal Impacts to Clean Energy

Over the summer, the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) opened a new docket to investigate the federal impacts on Washington clean energy. During the August 28 UTC Open Meeting, Chair Rybarik emphasized the need for urgent action to take advantage of federal tax credit benefits, and encouraged utilities and other parties to propose ideas for the Commission to consider in evaluating its own processes in support of those efforts. As a result, on September 10, the UTC issued a notice of opportunity for comments open to the public, with no comment deadline. NWEC expects to continue to engage in this docket. If you are interested in providing feedback to the UTC, you may do so in docket U-250534. Please reach out to charlee@nwenergy.org with any questions.

Data Center Workgroup Findings Adopted and Recommendations Are Under Discussion 

The Data Center Workgroup met on September 22 to adopt findings (read them here). All of the findings were adopted except the natural gas finding were voted down and the undersea cables finding was tabled due to some

inaccuracies. NWEC raised concerns around several of the findings missing important information.  

The Workgroup was also presented with the Draft Recommendations that were moved forward for public comment from the two subgroups—the Tax Revenue and Economic Development Subgroup and the Energy and Resource Impacts Subgroup. We raised concerns that the draft recommendations did not include all the recommendations that were offered in

the process; only the ones that made it out of subgroup votes. The draft

recommendations were posted right after the meeting with a public comment

period through October 6, 2025. 

There are many recommendations on the list, some of which contradict each other. More than 1,000 comments were received. Thank you to many of you who submitted comments! 

The two subgroups are meeting jointly through October 16 to work through the recommendations. It is likely that an updated set of recommendations will be

considered for adoption at the last scheduled meeting of the Workgroup on October 24. Workgroup members can submit minority reports by October 29 and the Workgroup report to the Governor is due by December 1. 

Providing Our Perspective at the Nuclear Energy Policy Summit  

NWEC spoke at the Washington Nuclear Energy Policy Retreat in Olympia, WA, on September 25-26. The event was organized by the National Governors Association, who is working with a select group of states (including Washington) to hold two-day nuclear convenings to explore the potential for advanced nuclear development.  

We were invited to provide the non-governmental organization (NGO) perspective. NWEC noted that there is a spectrum of perspectives on nuclear and that we could not speak for all NGOs but could share insights from our own rich history around nuclear.  

NWEC was forged during discussions around nuclear in Washington in the 1970s. At the time, Washington and the region were looking to build 20 nuclear plants. That plan ultimately unraveled and became the largest municipal bond default in history at the time—a default that customers in the region are still paying for today. For many in the region, it is referred to as “Whoops” both for the acronym of the Washington Public Power Supply System

(WPPSS) who was planning to build a number of those plants and for what

ultimately happened.  

Thanks to NWEC’s founders, many of the laws and practices that better guide energy planning and development in the Northwest today came out of that time. Those laws and practices, and new ones on the books, can help us assess the costs and benefits of advanced nuclear or other new emerging technologies. We encouraged continued dialogue around the region’s energy future and the importance of engaging other NGOs and perspectives in the discussion. 

Oregon

Energy Advocates Retreat

In September, we held our first-ever Energy Advocates retreat in Portland, in partnership with Green Energy Institute at Lewis & Clark College, Oregon Citizens' Utility Board, Oregon Solar + Storage Industries Association, Multnomah County, Verde, Clackamas Community College, and Climate Solutions.

The idea for the retreat followed the wins of the 2025 Oregon legislative session and the huge wave of implementation that’s now moving to the Oregon Public Utility Commission. With so many big laws on their way toward implementation, it felt important to create space for the Energy Advocates to step back and strategically think about how we can remain coordinated and proactive. We also wanted to be mindful of the current federal landscape and any short session opportunities coming up.   

We are so grateful to everyone who participated and look forward to more retreats in the future.

Idaho

Idaho Power Rate Hike and Integrated Resource Plan



NWEC is a party to Idaho Power's request to increase electricity rates by 13% in order to generate nearly $200 million in additional annual revenues.   

About half of Idaho Power’s planned spending includes repairs and wildfire-related hardening to the Transmission and Distribution lines that deliver power to homes and businesses. We reviewed these planned projects to ensure the utility is making wise investments to address wildfire threats while not “gold-plating” the system beyond what is reasonably required. 

Another half is tied to new solar and battery power plants and repowering coal plants to run on gas. We support investments in new clean energy projects while remaining skeptical of the continued use of fossil gas. 

A big issue for NWEC is Idaho Power’s proposal to increase the fixed monthly customer charge from $15 to $25. We strongly oppose high monthly fixed charges because this prevents people from lowering their power bill by making personal choices about how they use energy. 

This September, we joined settlement talks with all of the parties. These talks are encouraging, and we hope to address many of our issues through a negotiated resolution. 

We are also working closely with Renewable Northwest to address Idaho Power’s most recent 20-year resource plan. The plan includes substantial solar, wind, and batteries, along with significant increases in gas generation. In collaboration with experts at Grid Lab and Energy Strategies, we have determined that Idaho Power overstates the cost of new wind and understates the cost and risk of volatile gas generation.  

On the customer side, the plan sets minimum levels of efficiency targets and demand response programs. We believe there is more potential in this area and will encourage the utility to expand its existing suite of programs to help customers use energy wisely and flexibly. 

Idaho Counties Consider Ban on Solar Generation

Idaho has vast solar power opportunities to power our summer-time air conditioning and irrigation needs with local solar power.  Many proposed projects are located on private farmland as property owners face challenging economic conditions of falling prices for crops and rising costs for inputs. Developing solar projects can help families keep their lands intact and not sell out to housing developments.  

But concerns about losing farmland have caused Ada County to adopt new zoning rules that would prevent solar project development.  Other counties across southern Idaho are considering the same thing.  

We are working with local partners to find a balance—zoning rules that enable solar power while mitigating the perceived harm of changing from a rural landscape.  One hopeful development is in the area of agrivoltaics, a (building solar projects in ways where crops can still be grown). Shading from the solar panels can actually help produce higher-value crops and preserve valuable water.

Montana

NWEC at the Montana Public Service Commission

The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) was busy over the summer, with several open dockets that NWEC is tracking. In August, NorthWestern Energy—Montana’s largest investor-owned utility—submitted a new Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) to the PSC for approval. This was in response to passage of a new bill (HB 490) that requires all utilities in Montana to create a plan to reduce the chances of a utility-caused wildfire. 

While NWEC is supportive of these efforts, we opposed HB 490 because it also inoculates utilities from being held “strictly liable” for wildfires caused by their equipment and infrastructure. In our comments on NorthWestern’s WMP, we raised several issues, including a lack of detail on the costs of the plan. With proposed wildfire mitigation expenses expected to increase from around $63 million budgeted this fiscal year to more than $81 million in 2026 (and again in each of the following three years), we are urging Commissioners to request more detail on NorthWestern’s wildfire expenses. Like most utility expenditures, wildfire mitigation costs can be passed to customers via future rate increases, so it is important for regulators to ensure that those expenses are allocated appropriately and proportionately to wildfire risk and exposure. Learn more about our work on wildfire and utilities here.

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