Media contact: 360-664-1116 or media@utc.wa.gov
Docket Number: UE-230877
Public comment hearing June 20
Lacey, WASH. — The Utilities and Transportation Commission is holding a public comment hearing on June 20 to discuss PacifiCorp’s proposal to amend its electric service rules and regulations that limit its liability to actual economic damage.
WHO
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
WHAT
Virtual public comment hearing
WHEN and WHERE
6 p.m. on Thursday, June 20
Join by Zoom (recommended) or by phone at 253-215-8782 with Meeting ID 828 6876 4338# and Passcode 629441#.
You can also submit public comments:
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by telephone at 888-333-9882,
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by email at comments@utc.wa.gov, and
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by mail to P.O Box 47250, Olympia, WA 98504-7250
Translation services are available at no cost to you. If possible, please inform the commission at least one business day before the meeting by calling 360-664-1140, or by emailing stacey.brewster@utc.wa.gov.
If you need reasonable accommodation to attend the meeting, please contact the UTC at least one business day before the meeting by calling 888-333-9882 or emailing consumer@utc.wa.gov.
BACKGROUND
In October 2023, PacifiCorp dba Pacific Power & Light Company filed revised tariff sheets to its WN U-76 tariff. PacifiCorp proposes to limit its liability to actual economic damage. By taking service, a customer would waive any and all claims for special, noneconomic, punitive, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages against PacifiCorp under any legal theory, regardless of PacifiCorp’s degree of culpability.
In November 2023, PacifiCorp filed additional revised tariff sheets. The following month, the UTC issued Order 01 suspending the November tariff filing, requiring a briefing to determine the legal question of whether PacifiCorp’s proposal is authorized by statute; and if so, whether the proposed limitation of liability aligns with public interest.
Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy of Des Moines, Iowa. The company provides electric service to about 130,000 customers in six Eastern Washington counties: Kittitas, Columbia, Garfield, Benton, Walla Walla, and Yakima. Cities in the company’s service territory include College Place, Dayton, Grandview, Naches, Pomeroy, Prescott, Selah, Sunnyside, Toppenish, Union Gap, Waitsburg, Walla Walla, Wapato, Yakima, and Zillah.
The UTC is the state agency that regulates private, investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities in Washington. It is the commission’s responsibility to ensure regulated companies provide equitable, safe, and reliable service to customers at reasonable rates, while allowing them the opportunity to earn a fair profit.
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