Washington lawmakers passed a bill to establish a transmission authority intended to help the state improve system capacity and meet growing demand by reducing the timeline to complete new projects.
The Senate passed SB 6355, as amended by the House, in a 32-17 vote on March 12, and the bill now goes to Gov. Bob Ferguson for his signature. As of March 18, the bill has yet to appear on the governor’s website for signing.
State Rep. Alex Ramel (D) told RTO Insider the governor’s office has been “very helpful in thinking through the details of the bill.”
Ramel, a member of the House Environment and Energy Committee, supported the creation of a Washington transmission authority (TA), pointing to similar setups in states like Colorado and New Mexico, saying those have worked “really well.”
Ramel said the TA will “help eliminate risk on getting transmission projects up and running.”
The TA would not replace “traditional players” like utilities or independent developers, but will instead address challenges that exist in the early stages of a project, such as routing and cost issues, according to Ramel.
“By having a development authority get the ball rolling when there’s all that risk and doubt, we can shave years off of the development timeline for new transmission projects,” Ramel said. This is “absolutely” necessary “to both meet the growing electricity demands, especially in western Washington, and build out renewable energy resources in places where transmission infrastructure currently doesn’t reach,” he added.
If signed by the governor, the TA would be a public body folded into the state’s Department of Commerce with the goal of improving transmission reliability, resilience and affordability, according to the bill.
The TA is intended to provide development transmission services, siting and permitting coordination, and engagement with state and federal stakeholders.
The bill outlines a host of goals for the TA, including improving reliability and resilience, providing access to low-cost renewable energy, meeting clean energy targets and working toward implementing new technologies to reduce wildfire risk.
The bill also cites the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition’s (WestTEC) recent 10-year outlook. Specifically, the TA would be required to identify “high-priority transmission corridors from those identified in the western transmission expansion coalition’s west-wide transmission needs study 10-year horizon report published in February 2026.”
WestTEC’s outlook found that the West must build or upgrade 12,600 miles of transmission at a cost of about $60 billion to meet the region’s forecasted 30% increase in peak demand and other needs by 2035. (See West Needs $60B in Transmission Ahead of 2035, WestTEC Finds.)
The anticipated 30% increase in peak demand — from 168 GW in 2024 to 219 GW in 2035 — is more than three times greater than what the region has experienced over the past decade, according to WestTEC.
SB 6355 notes this, finding that Washington, which has set out to completely decarbonize its grid by 2045, could struggle to meet those targets with demand for electricity increasing due to electric vehicles, home heating, cooling, manufacturing and data centers.
“There are significant federal, state and private investments in clean energy development, including wind, solar and battery storage, that support decarbonization goals and supply new electrical load,” the bill states. “However, Washington’s existing transmission system lacks the capacity to accommodate the growing demand for clean electricity.”
Oregon faces a similar challenge and lawmakers in the Beaver State are exploring the creation of a transmission authority that would coordinate with Washington. (See Northwest Lawmakers Explore Building Transmission Without BPA’s Help.)
Public Power Concerns
However, the prospects of TAs in the Pacific Northwest have faced some resistance.
Lauren Tenney Denison, director of market policy and grid strategy at Public Power Council, said there could be some benefits if the TA is limited to focusing on identifying potential corridors for transmission development. She declined to comment specifically on SB 6355.
“We are concerned about a transmission authority scoped with broader authorities such as planning, owning and especially operating transmission,” Tenney Denison said. “A transmission authority that is empowered to develop a binding cost allocation methodology for proposed transmission is also concerning.”
She added it is “critical” the TA “ensures input from and coordination” with large entities like the Bonneville Power Administration and consumer-owned utilities.
The TA will consist of a 10-member board appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate by Jan. 1, 2027. The board must have an executive director in place by June 30, 2027, according to SB 6355.
