Fuel Mix Disclosure 2019
Fuel Mix Disclosure reporting has begun.
The objective of the fuel mix disclosure process is to inform customers and policy makers about the characteristics of the electricity delivered by each utility to consumers and businesses.
Most utilities use electricity from multiple sources, even if they operate their own power plants. In some cases, they obtain power without knowing the specific generation source.
Utilities are providing the following information in megawatt-hours (MWh):
- Total electricity retail sales including line losses.
- Amount of electricity purchased from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
- Purchases or use of electric energy from specific generating units (i.e., declared resources), where the generating unit used to supply the energy is known, based on power plant ownership or a contract.
- Purchases of electric energy to serve retail load, where the generation source is unspecified (also called a market purchase).
- Use of Renewable Energy Certificates in compliance with the Energy Independence Act (I-937).
- Claims of ownership or contract output from distributed generation.
Power serving Washington utilities comes from three sources:
- Specific power plants.
- The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
- Unspecified sources of electric power.
Unspecified power is electricity obtained in a transaction where the seller does not identify a specific generating source, typically through short-term transactions in the bulk power markets.
The Fuel Mix Disclosure law, RCW 19.29A, requires Washington state utilities to report to electricity consumers the sources of power they use to serve them. The Washington State Energy Office collects data supporting this effort. Fuel mix values and associated carbon dioxide emissions are calculated and summarized for utility and state level mix information.
The 2019 Legislative session passed an update (HB 1428) to the Fuel Mix Disclosure law. The update added a new utility report category for “unspecified sources” of electric power. The update requires utilities to report all known electricity sources. Utilities are not allowed to make renewable energy claims if they have transferred or sold the renewable energy certificates (REC) associated with the electricity. Renewable electricity that does not have a REC is to be reported as unspecified power.