Jan. 1, 2026 — Redmond, Wash. Puget Sound Energy (PSE), Washington state’s largest utility serving Redmond and surrounding areas, implemented rate increases approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, raising electric rates approximately 12% and natural gas rates 7% for residential customers.
The changes, effective immediately, add about $17 per month to the average electric bill for customers using 800 kilowatt-hours and $6.50 for natural gas users consuming 64 therms who connected before July 25, 2021, according to the UTC’s Dec. 31 press release and coverage in the Redmond Reporter.
The UTC approved PSE’s requests on Dec. 23, 2025, across multiple dockets. For electric service, the net impact totaled a 12.18% increase or $16.84 monthly, including adjustments for Climate Commitment Act (CCA) power costs, bill discounts, no-cost allowances, and clean energy expansions. Natural gas saw a 6.68% rise or $6.59 monthly.
PSE asked the UTC to recover costs related to its actions to:
• Comply with the Climate Commitment Act (CCA).
• Expand clean energy provided to customers.
• Pay for investments to increase reliability and safety for customers.
• Address low-income bill assistance costs.The CCA caps greenhouse gas emissions, with utilities receiving partial no-cost allowances from the state Department of Ecology, per the UTC. PSE is also aligning its portfolio with Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) mandates while maintaining grid reliability.
Commission staff verified the requests as justified, approving them after input from customers and commenters, as detailed in the Redmond Reporter.
These hikes follow January 2025 increases from PSE’s general rate case, where residential electric bills rose 12% or $13.08 monthly and gas 9.4% or $7.56, per the UTC’s Jan. 15 approval. Over two years, electric bills for typical users increased to $129.83 from a pre-2025 base, with gas at $89.86.
“The commission’s decision supports state laws focused on transitioning to clean energy while ensuring fairness for customers and encouraging utilities to consider their impact on low-income households,” the UTC stated.
PSE’s general rate case page outlines ongoing adjustments filed in 2024, with the UTC regulating rates for investor-owned utilities. PSE serves 1.2 million electric and 900,000 natural gas customers across 10 Central and Western Washington counties, including King County, home to Redmond.
