Washington is home to 27% of the nation’s hydroelectric power generation facilities with a hydroelectric capacity of 21.2 gigawatts. Washington's total power generation capacity is 31.8 gigawatts. Washington produced 119.6 and consumed 90.2 terawatt-hours of electricity respectively in 2022.

The State of Washington has enacted measures to phase out gasoline passenger and light duty vehicles while requiring electric heating in all residential and commercial new construction. These changes reflect a definitive trend toward exclusive reliance on electric resources.

As of the 2021 census, there were 3.25 million housing units in Washington state. If all housing units were installed with level 2 EV chargers, 32 gigawatts of potential load would be added to the grid, peaking during evening hours. This load alone is more than Washington’s current generation capacity.

Washington Senate Bill 5116 (2019) requires that on or before December 31, 2025 electric utility eliminate coal-fired resources from its allocation of electricity. It also plans to transition the state's electricity supply to 100% carbon-neutral by 2030 and carbon-free by 2045.

However, shutting down the coal-fired TransAlta Centaralia plant will remove a total of 1.5 gigawatts of available capacity. Decommissioning 18 natural gas fired plants will weaken the grid capacity by another 4.1 gigawatts.

Electric grid load peaks have been in the 30 gigawatt range. Unstable power grids and rolling blackouts loom on the horizon. Demand response programs are a way to shave peak loads from the grid, but would require load shedding at the customer end. Smart home systems would allow utility providers to directly manage their customers loads, giving governing organizations the ability to shut down heat pumps, EV chargers, water heaters, etc. autonomously.

In June of 2021, an extreme heat wave caused the energy company, Avista, to instigate rolling blackouts. This event was abnormal but is a harbinger of what may become the new standard.

We expect to see the price of electricity in Washington state continue to sharply increase as the supply is whittled down by an ever increasing demand. The electric grid is strained by the continual addition of new high demand loads like electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps, and water heaters.

The electricity price escalation rate in Washington has increased by 4.27% annually over the last 25 years. This percentage varies per utility provider. For example, with residential consumers Avista Corp has shown a 5.15% annual escalation from 1998 to 2023. Still, when the average 3.35% inflation rate is compared between 1998 and 2022, it’s evident Washington energy prices are rapidly outpacing inflation.