u/369OneofaKind

Spent the last few weeks going through WUTC filings and case law after wondering about my own power bill. Short version: PSE is owned by six investors, mostly pension funds, based in Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia, none in Washington or the US. Rate increases are locked in for 2026, and the pending case asks for electric increases of 15.15% in 2027, 3.74% in 2028, and 8.7% in 2029. I also checked whether the monopoly could be challenged legally. It's a harder no than most people assume, for two separate legal reasons. There's a virtual public comment hearing on the rate request on October 7, and written comments are open too. I wrote the full piece with sources (I'm the author), link in the comments.

Figured this sub would care since PSE covers a lot of Tacoma and South Hill along with Thurston County. Spent the last few weeks digging into ownership records and rate filings after my own bill kept going up.

Short version: PSE is privately owned by six pension funds, none of them US-based. There's a current rate case requesting roughly 15% more on electric in 2027 alone, tied to $3.2 billion in planned spending. Also found $200M+ in wildfire mitigation costs that weren't in PSE's own filed plan, only came out when a reporter asked directly. I also looked into whether the monopoly status itself could be legally challenged, the honest answer surprised me.

There's an open public comment period on the current rate case if anyone wants to actually have input before it's decided.

Article: https://tinyurl.com/y9tmtdum

Public Records: https://tinyurl.com/4k3t4ybm

Substack: https://tinyurl.com/yejt5uae

Who actually owns PSE? Investors in Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia. I read the filings.

PSE serves most of Pierce County too, here's who actually owns the company and why rates keep climbing