Climate Commitment Act
Climate Commitment Act
The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) is a Washington State law intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Washington by setting aggressive annual carbon emissions reduction targets for industries associated with carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions, including natural gas utilities.
This law impacts you through the addition of a WA Climate Act Fee and, possibly, a WA Climate Act Credit showing up as new line items on your bill as of May 1, 2024.*
* Exceptions Apply
The CCA requires CO2e emitting industries (including Cascade Natural Gas) to meet annual emissions reduction targets through reduced natural gas sales, offset projects, or allowances available for purchase through the Department of Ecology-run emissions allowance auction.
The Department of Ecology provides eligible utilities with no-cost allowances each year. A portion of these allowances may be used to meet the utilities’ annual compliance goals while the remaining portion must be consigned to auction and the revenues from their sale must offset the cost impact of CCA compliance to customers.
In simple terms, the CCA imposes a cost on activities that generate greenhouse gases, and that cost is intended to discourage Washington State residents from using equipment that generates greenhouse gas emissions.
- The allowances bought to comply with CO2e reduction goals result in the WA Climate Act Fee that is passed onto customers as the social cost of carbon in Washington State.
- The allowances sold at auction result in the WA Climate Act Credit which, in many instances, reduces the cost impact of the WA Climate Act Fee.
Here are other requirements of the WA Climate Act Fee and the WA Climate Act Credit:
- Known-Low-Income customers, identified by their participation in the Company’s Cascade Arrearage Relief and Energy Savings (CARES) program, are not financially affected by CCA compliance. The WA Climate Act Credit will fully offset their WA Climate Act Fee.
- With the exception of known-low-income customers, customers served at sites where natural gas service was installed after July 25, 2021, will not receive a WA Climate Act Credit. This aligns with the intent of CCA, which is to discourage additional CO2e emissions.
- The residential (Schedule 503) and the small commercial (Schedule 504) WA Climate Act Credit is different each month. The monthly credit is designed to ensure these residential and small commercial customers, who tend to use natural gas for space heating, will receive approximately the same percentage of an offsetting credit toward their WA Climate Act Fee each month regardless of how much their usage increases during cold temperatures.
- For all customers eligible for the WA Climate Act Credit, the WA Climate Act Credit shall be the lesser of 80% of a customer’s WA Climate Act Fee as billed that month or the maximum monthly credit amount as listed in proposed Schedule 700 as filed in Advice No. W24-03-01.
- Certain customers are exempt from the WA Climate Act Fee and the WA Climate Act Credit. Exempt customers include military sites associated with national security, designated as covered entities by the Department of Ecology, and customers identified by the Department of Ecology as Emissions-Intensive-Trade-Exposed per RCW 70A.65.110.
To learn more about the CCA, visit Climate Commitment Act – Washington State Department of Ecology.
Cascade’s CCA Cost Recovery and Credit Filing
On March 1, 2024, Cascade filed with Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for approval to bill a WA Climate Act Fee and WA Climate Act Credit. This filing has a requested effective date of May 1, 2024.
Expected bill impacts of this filing are provided in the table below:
- The third and fourth column show the proposed monthly change in bills and the proposed bill impacts for customers served at locations where natural gas service was installed on or before July 25, 2021.
- The final two columns are the proposed monthly change in bills and the proposed bill impacts for customers served at locations where natural gas service was installed after July 25, 2021. Since the CCA seeks to incentivize the reduction of greenhouse gas emission, service accounts connected after July 25, 2021, do not receive a cost mitigating WA Climate Act Credit.
| Pre July 2021 Locations | Post July 2021 Locations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Class | Current Monthly Bill | Proposed Monthly Difference | Proposed Bill Impact | Proposed Monthly Difference | Proposed Bill Impact |
| Known-Low-Income Residential (Sch. 503) | $76.72 | $0 | 0% | $0 | 0% |
| Non-Known-Low-Income Residential (Sch. 503) | $76.72 | $2.83 | 3.69% | $19.13 | 24.93% |
| Commercial (Sch. 504) | $348.28 | $14.78 | 4.24% | $95.62 | 27.45% |
| Industrial Firm (Sch. 505) | $2,497.79 | $115.31 | 4.62% | $753.86 | 30.18% |
| Com-Ind Dual Svc. (Sch. 511) | $14,209.95 | $634.23 | 4.46% | $4,418.85 | 31.10% |
| Interruptible (Sch. 570) | $24,600.66 | $1,460.29 | 5.94% | $8,433.30 | 34.28% |
| Transport (Sch. 663) | $8,372.34 | $7,354.14 | 87.84% | $46,116.49 | 550.82% |
The WUTC will review this filing and has the authority to set final rates that may vary from Cascade’s requests, either higher or lower, depending on the results of its investigation.
For additional information, please call the Company at 888-522-1130, email Cascade at [email protected], or write to: Cascade Natural Gas Corporation 8113 W. Grandridge Blvd Kennewick, WA 99336-7166
The Commission has the authority to set final rates. You can comment on the case by using the “Submit a Comment” feature at the Commission’s website (www.utc.wa.gov) or by mailing a comment to:
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
Post Office Box 47250
Olympia, WA 98504-7250
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: 1-888-333-WUTC (9882)
Commission Staff will make a recommendation to the Commissioners at an open meeting which you may attend. You will have an opportunity to provide your comments at this meeting either in person or remotely. If you intend to listen or participate remotely, call 360-664-1234 at least a day before the open meeting for instructions and to sign in. You should also call this number if you plan to attend in person to verify that the case has not been rescheduled to a later open meeting date. The Commission’s street address is 621 Woodland Square Loop SE, Lacey, WA.
The WUTC is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for participants with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in this open meeting, please contact the Commission at 1-888-333-9882 or email [email protected]. Please include your name and mailing address, reference Cascade Natural Gas Corporation and Advice No. W24-03-01.
A link to the filing, listed as Advice No. W24-03-01, may be here.
Save Money on Your Bill
Bill Assistance Program
If you are having difficulty paying your natural gas bill, the CARES bill assistance program may be the right solution for you. Applying for CARES is easy. You simply self-declare your household income and the number of residents in your home to establish your eligibility. You may apply for assistance by completing an online application, calling a Community Action agency representative, or mailing Cascade a downloadable hardcopy application, available in English or Spanish. The information for each of these enrollment methods can be found here.
Energy Saving Tips
Practical bill reducing, energy saving tips can be found here.
Energy Efficiency Programs
Retrofitting your home with insulation or replacing gas-fired equipment with high efficiency models is a great way to reduce your gas usage and bring down your monthly bill. Check out the Company’s Energy Efficiency programs to see the rebates available to you.
