Climate Commitment Act

The CCA requires CO2e emitting industries (including Cascade Natural Gas) to meet annual emissions reduction targets through reduced natural gas sales, offset projects, or allowances available for purchase through the Department of Ecology-run emissions allowance auction.

The Department of Ecology provides eligible utilities with no-cost allowances each year. A portion of these allowances may be used to meet the utilities’ annual compliance goals while the remaining portion must be consigned to auction and the revenues from their sale must offset the cost impact of CCA compliance to customers.

In simple terms, the CCA imposes a cost on activities that generate greenhouse gases, and that cost is intended to discourage Washington State residents from using equipment that generates greenhouse gas emissions.

• The allowances bought to comply with CO2e reduction goals result in the WA Climate Act Fee that is passed onto customers as the social cost of carbon in Washington State.
• The allowances sold at auction result in the WA Climate Act Credit which, in many instances, reduces the cost impact of the WA Climate Act Fee.

Here are other requirements of the WA Climate Act Fee and the WA Climate Act Credit:

• Known-Low-Income customers, identified by their participation in the Company’s Cascade Arrearage Relief and Energy Savings (CARES) program, are not financially affected by CCA compliance. The WA Climate Act Credit will fully offset their WA Climate Act Fee.
• With the exception of known-low-income customers, customers served at sites where natural gas service was installed after July 25, 2021, will not receive a WA Climate Act Credit. This aligns with the intent of CCA, which is to discourage additional CO2e emissions.
• The residential (Schedule 503) and the small commercial (Schedule 504) WA Climate Act Credit is different each month. The monthly credit is designed to ensure these residential and small commercial customers, who tend to use natural gas for space heating, will receive approximately the same percentage of an offsetting credit toward their WA Climate Act Fee each month regardless of how much their usage increases during cold temperatures.
• For all customers eligible for the WA Climate Act Credit, the WA Climate Act Credit shall be the lesser of 80% of a customer’s WA Climate Act Fee as billed that month or the maximum monthly credit amount as listed in proposed Schedule 700 as filed in Advice No. W24-03-01.
• Certain customers are exempt from the WA Climate Act Fee and the WA Climate Act Credit. Exempt customers include military sites associated with national security, designated as covered entities by the Department of Ecology, and customers identified by the Department of Ecology as Emissions-Intensive-Trade-Exposed per RCW 70A.65.110.

To learn more about the CCA, visit Climate Commitment Act – Washington State Department of Ecology.