(1) Beginning January 1, 2022, every general rate case filing of a gas or electrical company must include a proposal for a multiyear rate plan as provided in this chapter. The commission may, by order after an adjudicative proceeding as provided by chapter 34.05 RCW, approve, approve with conditions, or reject, a multiyear rate plan proposal made by a gas or electrical company or an alternative proposal made by one or more parties, or any combination thereof. The commission’s consideration of a proposal for a multiyear rate plan is subject to the same standards applicable to other rate filings made under this title, including the public interest and fair, just, reasonable, and sufficient rates. In determining the public interest, the commission may consider such factors including, but not limited to, environmental health and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, health and safety concerns, economic development, and equity, to the extent such factors affect the rates, services, and practices of a gas or electrical company regulated by the commission.

(2) The commission may approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications any proposal to recover from ratepayers up to five percent of the total revenue requirement approved by the commission for each year of a multiyear rate plan for tariffs that reduce the energy burden of low-income residential customers including, but not limited to: (a) Bill assistance programs; or (b) one or more special rates. For any multiyear rate plan approved under this section resulting in a rate increase, the commission must approve an increase in the amount of low-income bill assistance to take effect in each year of the rate plan where there is a rate increase. At a minimum, the amount of such low-income assistance increase must be equal to double the percentage increase, if any, in the residential base rates approved for each year of the rate plan. The commission may approve a larger increase to low-income bill assistance based on an appropriate record.

(3)(a) If it approves a multiyear rate plan, the commission shall separately approve rates for each of the initial rate year, the second rate year and, if applicable, the third rate year, and the fourth rate year.

(b) The commission shall ascertain and determine the fair value for rate-making purposes of the property of any gas or electrical company that is or will be used and useful under RCW 80.04.250 for service in this state by or during each rate year of the multiyear rate plan. For the initial rate year, the commission shall, at a minimum, ascertain and determine the fair value for rate-making purposes of the property of any gas or electrical company that is used and useful for service in this state as of the rate effective date. The commission may order refunds to customers if property expected to be used and useful by the rate effective date when the commission approves a multiyear rate plan is in fact not used and useful by such a date.

(c) The commission shall ascertain and determine the revenues and operating expenses for rate-making purposes of any gas or electrical company for each rate year of the multiyear rate plan.

(d) In ascertaining and determining the fair value of property of a gas or electrical company pursuant to (b) of this subsection and projecting the revenues and operating expenses of a gas or electrical company pursuant to (c) of this subsection, the commission may use any standard, formula, method, or theory of valuation reasonably calculated to arrive at fair, just, reasonable, and sufficient rates.

(e) If the commission approves a multiyear rate plan with a duration of three or four years, then the electrical company must update its power costs as of the rate effective date of the third rate year. The proceeding to update the electrical company’s power costs is subject to the same standards that apply to other rate filings made under this title.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, the commission may by order establish terms, conditions, and procedures for a multiyear rate plan and ensure that rates remain fair, just, reasonable, and sufficient during the course of the plan.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4) of this section, a gas or electrical company is bound by the terms of the multiyear rate plan approved by the commission for each of the initial rate year and the second rate year. A gas or electrical company may file a new multiyear rate plan in accordance with this section for the third rate year and fourth rate year, if any, of a multiyear rate plan.

(6) If the annual commission basis report for a gas or electrical company demonstrates that the reported rate of return on rate base of the company for the 12-month period ending as of the end of the period for which the annual commission basis report is filed is more than .5 percent higher than the rate of return authorized by the commission in the multiyear rate plan for such a company, the company shall defer all revenues that are in excess of .5 percent higher than the rate of return authorized by the commission for refunds to customers or another determination by the commission in a subsequent adjudicative proceeding. If a multistate electrical company with fewer than 250,000 customers in Washington files a multiyear rate plan that provides for no increases in base rates in consecutive years beyond the initial rate year, the commission shall waive the requirements of this subsection provided that such a waiver results in just and reasonable rates.

(7) The commission must, in approving a multiyear rate plan, determine a set of performance measures that will be used to assess a gas or electrical company operating under a multiyear rate plan. These performance measures may be based on proposals made by the gas or electrical company in its initial application, by any other party to the proceeding in its response to the company’s filing, or in the testimony and evidence admitted in the proceeding. In developing performance measures, incentives, and penalty mechanisms, the commission may consider factors including, but not limited to, lowest reasonable cost planning, affordability, increases in energy burden, cost of service, customer satisfaction and engagement, service reliability, clean energy or renewable procurement, conservation acquisition, demand side management expansion, rate stability, timely execution of competitive procurement practices, attainment of state energy and emissions reduction policies, rapid integration of renewable energy resources, and fair compensation of utility employees.

(8) Nothing in this section precludes any gas or electrical company from making filings required or permitted by the commission.

(9) The commission shall align, to the extent practical, the timing of approval of a multiyear rate plan of an electrical company submitted pursuant to this section with the clean energy implementation plan of the electrical company filed pursuant to RCW 19.405.060.

(10) The provisions of this section may not be construed to limit the existing rate-making authority of the commission.

Legislative directive—2021 c 188: “1) To provide clarity and certainty to stakeholders on the details of performance-based regulation, the utilities and transportation commission is directed to conduct a proceeding to develop a policy statement addressing alternatives to traditional cost of service rate making, including performance measures or goals, targets, performance incentives, and penalty mechanisms. As part of such a proceeding, the utilities and transportation commission must consider factors including, but not limited to, lowest reasonable cost planning, affordability, increases in energy burden, cost of service, customer satisfaction and engagement, service reliability, clean energy or renewable procurement, conservation acquisition, demand side management expansion, rate stability, timely execution of competitive procurement practices, attainment of state energy and emissions reduction policies, rapid integration of renewable energy resources, and fair compensation of utility employees.

(2) In developing its policy statement, the utilities and transportation commission must in its proceeding allow for participation and consultation with regulated utilities, the attorney general’s office, and other interested stakeholders including, but not limited to, residential, industrial, commercial, and low-income customers and organizations, as well as environmental or community organizations and stakeholders.

(3) By January 1, 2022, the utilities and transportation commission shall notify the chairs and ranking members of the appropriate committees of the legislature of the process to date, the expected duration of, and work plan associated with this proceeding.” [ 2021 c 188 § 1.]