HB1623 – Requires the next annual meeting of Commerce, the UTC, electric utilities, and other stakeholders to specifically address the extent to which we’re at risk of rolling blackouts and power supply inadequacy events.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Mosbrucker (R; 14th District; Klickitat County) (Co-sponsor Rep. Fitzgibbon – D)
Current status – Vetoed by the Governor.
Next step would be – Dead bill.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

In the House – Passed
Had a hearing in the House Committee on Environment & Energy January 11th; replaced by a substitute eliminating language in the findings stressing risks and adding language about the benefits of transitioning off fossil fuels and steps that are reducing risks, and passed out of committee January 14th. Referred to Rules, and passed by the House February 10th.

In the Senate – Passed
Had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy and Technology February 16th, and passed out of committee the 22nd. Referred to Rules, and passed by the Senate March 1st.

Summary –
RCW 19.280.065 requires the Department of Commerce and the UTC to convene a meeting with utilities and other stakeholders at least once a year to discuss the current, short-term, and long-term adequacy of energy resources to serve the state’s electric needs, and address specific steps the utilities can take to coordinate planning. The convenors provide a summary of each meeting, and any recommended actions, to the Governor and the Legislature.

This bill would require the meeting in 2022 to address the extent to which we’re at risk of rolling blackouts and power supply inadequacy events; survey stakeholders for recommendations on policy options to prevent severe blackouts; focus discussion on the extent to which an aggressive timeline for building and transportation system electrification may require new state policies for resource adequacy; and seek to identify regulatory and statutory incentives to enhance and ensure resource adequacy and reliability during a clean energy transition. (It would also make the requirement for annual meetings expire January 1, 2030 rather than January 1, 2025.)