Lawmaker warns of rising blackout risk in Washington amid push for clean energy
As 2026 approaches, a Republican state lawmaker is raising alarm bells about possible energy shortfalls amid extreme conditions — with potential reliability problems hitting as early as next year.
State Sen. Matt Boehnke is calling for action in the weeks before winter strikes.
The Kennewick Republican told McClatchy that, as the ranking member of the upper chamber’s Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee, he’s heard mounting concern about reliability issues facing the grid — citing factors including the state’s push toward clean energy, new data centers and the shuttering of coal plants.
Pointing to a recent study, Boehnke noted that the Northwest’s power supply deficit is set to broaden by about 1,300 megawatts next year and nearly 8,700 megawatts by 2030. The analysis from the San Francisco-based consulting firm Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) was presented at a joint meeting between the Washington State Department of Commerce and the Utilities and Transportation Commission in September.
By another metric, that’s a nearly 9 gigawatt resource gap by 2030, or roughly the load used by the entire state of Oregon, the report found.
A perfect storm for an energy shortfall, per Boehnke: a year with an extended cold winter wave and low output of hydropower met by simultaneous low solar and wind production.
“You see more and more of those demands coming as the AI boom continues,” Boehnke said, adding: “We have to do something at the state level, and we need to do it pretty quick.”
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is among the coalition of organizations that commissioned the E3 study, spokesperson Melanie Coon said via email. The findings indicate that the region requires the addition of more power-generation resources to keep up with demand and avoid blackouts.
Since 2019, PSE has added more than 2,600 megawatts of new solar, wind and battery storage capacity, Coon said, and more is expected to be added in the years ahead to meet the state’s “ambitious clean energy laws.”
“The region will also need natural gas as a critical backstop for reliability when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining,” she continued. “These are peaking plants — they are intended to run only for a short period to meet customer demand when it spikes, such as a cold winter day.”
Last month, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation stated in a separate report that the Northwest region’s winter peak demand is projected to be 9.3% higher compared with last year. The area also faces an elevated reliability risk during extreme winter weather, NERC found.
Meanwhile, Washington officials and business leaders are going all in on AI. But the power-hungry data centers needed to fuel the technology have raised questions about resource strain and the cost to ratepayers.
In winter 2024, a cold snap led certain Washington and Oregon energy utilities to ask households to limit use of electricity and gas after the region’s biggest natural-gas storehouse went offline, KUOW reported at the time. Boehnke said utilities in the state are concerned they’ll need to put out contingency plans should a similar event strike. He said he wants to make sure Washington is protected against energy catastrophes such as the 2021 power crisis that plummeted Texas into darkness.
Boehnke worries that while Washington is working toward its clean-energy goals, it doesn’t have a solid, proactive transition plan for how to get there.
Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office told McClatchy that the Democratic governor is dedicated to ensuring energy reliability. Crucial to the state’s clean-energy goals and economy is the improvement of its transmission capacity, spokesperson Brionna Aho said in an email.
“This is one of the most urgent issues facing our state,” Aho said. “Our team is working with tribes, stakeholders and legislators to help support this mission in a way that works for Washington.”
Population growth is boosting the region’s electricity demand needs, as are spikes in air-conditioning loads and the adoption of electric vehicles, according to a recent news release from Boehnke’s office. AI, cloud infrastructure and data center expansion is also a leading contributor. Washington requires speedier permitting and transmission build-out, the senator argued.
“We’re not building as fast as we should, and we want to be accountable to … make sure this doesn’t increase costs to our ratepayers,” Boehnke said in a Monday call.
The lawmaker contends that the energy sector may need to ramp up investments in storage, transmission, backup generation and demand-management programs. At the same time, in his view, the state’s policymakers have to weigh the realities of ensuring grid reliability against Washington’s clean-energy aims.
UTC spokesperson Tiffany Johnson noted that oversight of statewide or regional power supply adequacy isn’t a commission responsibility, instead resting with the commerce department’s Energy Policy Office and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. But UTC is aware of worries about the state’s resource supply and is working with utilities and others to “balance reliable, affordable energy while implementing state energy policies,” she said.
Johnson said that, according to certain recent assessments, the region has a low chance of supply deficit. But, she added, reliability could be tested by extreme weather events affecting both generation and demand.
UTC-regulated utilities vary in their outlook, Johnson said.
Within four years, Avista expects a minor capacity shortfall, and it plans to obtain new resources, according to Johnson. She said that PSE doesn’t anticipate shortfalls but, if necessary, will tap short-term markets. PacifiCorp mostly forecasts adequate supply, though there could be risks if infrastructure projects get tabled or big new loads are added.
“Additionally, there are possible power cost impacts,” Johnson said. “For example, during below-normal temperature periods when natural gas use rises and increasing costs could be passed to ratepayers.”
PSE has also broadened its demand response programs, known jointly as PSE Flex, Coon said. Residents who choose to limit the power they use during specific periods can earn rewards. PSE launched its 2025-26 winter season this week, and had a “Flex Event” on Dec. 3.
More than half of PSE’s electric customers take part in demand response to help PSE skip having to buy expensive power to keep up with need. Still, she said, such response is more fitting for handling brief surges in energy need than managing heightened demand amid cold snaps spanning multiple days.
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