Washington state begins phasing out coal

July 30, 2012 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and TransAlta have entered into a power purchase contract for coal transition power from the Centralia generating station.

If approved by state utility regulators, the agreement would benefit PSE customers by providing them another source of low-cost power, while providing momentum to a separate TransAlta agreement to phase out coal-fired power generation in Washington by 2025.

PSE will buy 180 MW of firm, base-load coal transition power from TransAlta starting in December 2014. In the following 12 months the contract increases to 280 MW. From December 2016 to December 2024 the contract is for 380 MW, and in the last year the contract volume drops to 300 MW.

The TransAlta-PSE power transaction is awaiting approval by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

In 2011, the state legislature passed a bill codifying a collaborative agreement between TransAlta, lawmakers, environmentalists and labor representatives to enable the state to make the transition to cleaner fuels, while preserving the family-wage jobs and economic benefits associated with the low-cost, reliable power provided by the Centralia plant. The legislation allows long-term contracts, through 2025, for sales of coal transition power associated with the 1,340 MW Centralia facility -- Washington's only coal-fired plant.

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