After nearly three years of rulemaking, the Department of Commerce has filed the final set of rules for the implementation of the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), signed into law in 2019 and committing Washington to an electricity supply free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Commerce’s rules apply to consumer-owned utilities, including public utility districts, municipal electric utilities, and electric cooperatives. The rules ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of the law and address wholesale market transactions and the prohibition on double counting. Specifically, they:

• Clarify the requirement that a utility use renewable or non-emitting electricity sources in an amount equal to 100% of the utility’s retail electric load;
• Explain the requirement that a utility supply 100% of all sales of electricity to Washington retail electric customers using electricity from renewable or non-emitting sources;
• Establish specification, verification, and reporting requirements for (i) wholesale market purchases and (ii) the prohibition of double counting of non-power attributes; and
• Clarify the treatment of storage resources under the law.

CETA is a monumental law and the participation of stakeholders and members of the public in the rulemaking process was essential to ensuring the law’s implementation and enforcement.

The latest rulemaking order and accompanying explanatory statement can be found on the CETA Rulemaking webpage under Rulemaking Orders. The rules take effect July 18.