WAC 480-96-020

The definitions below apply to all of this chapter.

(1) "Alternative lowest reasonable cost and reasonably available portfolio" means, for purposes of calculating the incremental cost of compliance in RCW 19.405.060(3), the portfolio of investments the large combination utility would have made and the expenses the large combination utility would have incurred, if not for the requirement to comply with RCW 19.405.040 and 19.405.050. The alternative lowest reasonable cost and reasonably available portfolio must include the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions in the resource acquisition decision in accordance with RCW 19.280.030 (3)(a).

(2) "Carbon dioxide equivalent" or "CO2e" means a measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential.

(3) "Clean energy action plan" or "CEAP" means the plan identified in RCW 19.280.030(2) and 80.86.020(6).

(4) "Clean energy implementation plan" or "CEIP" means the plan identified in RCW 19.405.060(1).

(5) "Commercially available" means that a resource is currently available for purchase, procurement, or installation, or is reasonably anticipated to be available within the integrated system plan's study period.

(6) "Commercially feasible" has the following meaning when applied to the conservation, energy efficiency, and demand response targets in RCW 80.86.020(4):

(a) The amount of conservation and energy efficiency resources and demand response that can be acquired by a large combination utility for a reasonable cost.

(b) At the conclusion of an emissions reduction period, a utility may demonstrate the requirements in RCW 80.86.020 (4)(e) and (g) were not technically or commercially feasible based on information gathered by the utility from sources such as pilots, evaluated program results, and vendors in requests for information and requests for proposal processes designed to identify all conservation and efficiency resources, demand response, and demand flexibility.

(c) For the purpose of long-term planning, a utility may substitute the technically achievable potential calculated in a conservation or demand response potential assessment for the percentage requirements of load and peak in RCW 80.86.020 (4)(e) and (g).

(7) "Commission" means the Washington utilities and transportation commission.

(8) "Conservation and efficiency resources" means any reduction in electric or natural gas consumption that results from increases in the efficiency of energy use, production, transmission, transportation, or distribution.

(9) "Cost-effective" means that a project or resource is, or is forecast to:

(a) Be reliable and available within the time it is needed; and

(b) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet or reduce the energy demand or supply an equivalent level of energy service, to the intended customers at an estimated long-term incremental system, cost no greater than that of the least-cost similarly reliable and available alternative project or resource, or any combination thereof, including the cost of compliance with chapter 70A.65 RCW, based on the forward allowance ceiling price of allowances approved by the department of ecology under RCW 70A.65.160.

(10) "Customer benefit indicator" means an attribute, either quantitative or qualitative, of resources or related distribution investments associated with customer benefits described in RCW 19.405.040(8).

(11) "Delivery system" includes any power line, pipe, equipment, apparatus, mechanism, machinery, instrument, or ancillary facility used by a large combination utility to deliver electricity or gas for ultimate consumption by a customer of the large combination utility.

(12) "Demand flexibility" means the capacity of demand-side loads to change their consumption patterns hourly or on another timescale.

(13) "Demand response" means changes in electric or natural gas usage by demand-side resources from their normal consumption patterns in response to changes in the price of electricity or natural gas service, or to incentive payments designed to induce lower electricity or natural gas use, at times of high wholesale market prices or when system reliability is jeopardized. Demand response may include measures to increase or decrease electricity production on the customer's side of the meter in response to incentive payments or messaging.

(14) "Distributed energy resource" or "DER" means a nonemitting electric generation or renewable resource or program that reduces electric demand, manages the level or timing of electricity consumption, or provides storage, electric energy, capacity, or ancillary services to a large combination utility and that is located on the distribution system, any subsystem of the distribution system, or behind the customer meter, including conservation and energy efficiency.

(15) "Electrical company" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 80.04.010.

(16) "Electrification" means the installation of energy efficient electric end-use equipment. Electrification programs may include weatherization and conservation and efficiency measures.

(17) "Electrification readiness" means the upgrades or changes required before the installation of energy efficient electric end-use equipment to prevent heat loss from homes including, but not limited to: Structural repairs, such as roof repairs, preweatherization, weatherization, and electrical panel and wiring upgrades.

(18) "Emissions baseline" means the actual cumulative greenhouse gas emissions of a large combination utility, calculated pursuant to chapter 70A.65 RCW, for the five-year period beginning January 1, 2015, and ending December 31, 2019.

(19) "Emissions reduction period" means one of five periods of five calendar years each, with the five periods beginning on January 1st of calendar years 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045, and 2050, respectively.

(20) "Emissions reduction target" means a targeted reduction of projected cumulative greenhouse gas emissions of a large combination utility approved by the commission for an emissions reduction period that is at least as stringent as the limits established in RCW 70A.45.020.

(21) "Energy assistance" means a program undertaken by a large combination utility to reduce the household energy burden of its customers.

(a) Energy assistance includes, but is not limited to, weatherization, conservation and efficiency services, and monetary assistance, such as a grant program or discounts for lower income households, intended to lower a household's energy burden.

(b) Energy assistance may include direct customer ownership in distributed energy resources or other strategies if such strategies achieve a reduction in energy burden for the customer above other available conservation and demand-side measures.

(22) "Energy assistance need" means the amount of assistance necessary to achieve an energy burden equal to six percent for large combination utility customers.

(23) "Energy burden" means the share of annual household income used to pay annual home energy bills.

(24) "Equitable distribution" means a fair and just, but not necessarily equal, allocation of benefits and burdens from the large combination utility's transition to clean energy. Equitable distribution is based on disparities in current conditions. Current conditions are informed by, among other things, the assessment described in RCW 19.280.030 (1)(k) from the most recent integrated resource plan or the equivalent assessment included in the integrated system plan.

(25) "Gas company" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 80.04.010.

(26) "Geographically targeted electrification" means the geographically targeted transition of a portion of gas customers of the large combination utility with an intent to electrify loads of such customers and, in conjunction, to reduce capital and operational costs of gas operations of the large combination utility serving such customers.

(27) "Greenhouse gas" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 70A.45.010.

(28) "Highly impacted community" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 19.405.020.

(29) "Integrated resource plan" or "IRP" means an analysis describing the mix of generating resources, conservation, methods, technologies, and resources to integrate renewable resources and, where applicable, address overgeneration events, and efficiency resources that will meet current and projected needs at the lowest reasonable cost to the utility and its ratepayers and that complies with the requirements specified in RCW 19.280.030(1).

(30) "Integrated system plan" or "ISP" means a plan that the commission may approve, reject, or approve with conditions pursuant to RCW 80.86.020.

(31) "Implementation period" means the four years after the approval of each integrated system plan, except for the first two integrated system plans. The implementation period for the first integrated system plan will be April 1, 2027, through December 31, 2030. The implementation period for the second integrated system plan will be January 1, 2031, through December 31, 2033.

(32) "Large combination utility" means a public service company that is both an electrical company and a gas company that serves more than 800,000 retail electric customers and 500,000 retail gas customers in the state of Washington as of June 30, 2024.

(33) "Low-income" has the same meaning as provided in WAC 480-109-060(22).

(34) "Lowest reasonable cost" means the lowest cost mix of demand side and supply side resources and decarbonization measures determined through a detailed and consistent analysis of a wide range of commercially available resources and measures. At a minimum, this analysis must consider long-term costs and benefits, market-volatility risks, resource uncertainties, resource dispatchability, resource effect on system operation, the risks imposed on the large combination utility and its ratepayers, public policies regarding resource preference adopted by Washington state or the federal government, the cost of risks associated with environmental effects including potential spills and emissions of carbon dioxide, and the need for security of supply.

(35) "Named communities" means all communities identified as a highly impacted community, vulnerable population, or an overburdened community.

(36) "Natural gas" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 19.405.020.

(37) "Nonemitting electric generation" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 19.405.020.

(38) "Nonpipeline alternative" means activities or investments that delay, reduce, or avoid the need to build, upgrade, or repair gas plant, such as pipelines or service lines.

(39) "Nonwires solutions" means activities or investments that delay, reduce, or avoid the need to build or upgrade components of an electric distribution system, transmission system, or both.

(40) "Nonpower attributes" means all environmentally related characteristics, exclusive of energy, capacity reliability, and other electrical power service attributes, that are associated with the generation of electricity including, but not limited to, the facility's fuel type, geographic location, vintage, qualification as a renewable resource, and avoided emissions of pollutants to the air, soil, or water, and avoided emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Nonpower attributes does not include any aspects, claims, characteristics, and benefits associated with the on-site capture and destruction of methane or other greenhouse gases at a facility through a digester system, landfill gas collection system, or other mechanism, which may be separately marketable as greenhouse gas emission reduction credits, offsets, or similar tradable commodities. However, these separate avoided emissions may not result in or otherwise have the effect of attributing greenhouse gas emissions to the electricity.

(41) "Overburdened community" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 70A.65.010.

(42) "Overgeneration event" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 19.280.020.

(43) "Renewable energy credit" or "REC" means a tradable certificate of proof of one megawatt-hour of a renewable resource. The certificate includes all of the nonpower attributes associated with that one megawatt-hour of electricity and the certificate is verified by a renewable energy credit tracking system selected by the Washington department of commerce.

(44) "Renewable resource" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 19.405.020.

(45) "Resource" includes, but is not limited to, generation, conservation, distributed generation, demand response, efficiency, storage. "Resource" also includes natural gas and renewable natural gas supplied to natural gas customers.

(46) "Resource need" means any current or projected deficit to reliably meet energy demands created by changes in demand, changes to system resources, or their operation to comply with state or federal requirements. Such demands or requirements may include, but are not limited to, capacity and associated energy, capacity needed to meet peak demand in any season, fossil-fuel generation retirements, equitable distribution of benefits or reduction of burdens, cost-effective conservation and efficiency resources, demand response, and renewable and nonemitting resources.

(47) "Social cost of greenhouse gas emissions" or "SCGHG" is the inflation-adjusted costs of greenhouse gas emissions as required by RCW 80.28.395 and 80.28.405, the updated calculation of which is published on the commission's website.

(48) "Supply side resource" means, as applicable:

(a) Any resource that can provide capacity, electricity, or ancillary services to the large combination utility's electric delivery system; or

(b) Any resource that can provide conventional or nonconventional gas supplies to the large combination utility's gas delivery system.

(49) "System cost" means actual direct costs or an estimate of all direct costs of a project or resource over its effective life including, if applicable: The costs of transmission and distribution to the customers; waste disposal costs; permitting, siting, mitigation, and end-of-cycle decommissioning and remediation costs; fuel costs, including projected increases; resource integration and balancing costs; and such quantifiable environmental costs and benefits and other energy and nonenergy benefits as are directly attributable to the project or resource, including flexibility, resilience, reliability, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and air quality.

(50) "Vulnerable populations" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 19.405.020(39).