Transmission towers carry electricity through southwest Washington. Washington utilities liken keeping the grid reliable as the state transitions to green energy as a "moon shot."

Washington public and investor-owned utilities warn the surging demand for electricity will be hard to meet as the state makes a transition to green energy, likening the challenge of maintaining reliable service to a “moon shot.”

Avista, PacificCorp, Puget Sound Energy and eight public utilities outlined their concerns in a recent letter to the state Department of Commerce and Utilities and Transportation Commission.

The utilities called for an “objective discussion” to assess whether utilities will be able to generate and transmit enough electricity to serve customers, while also serving new energy-intensive businesses, such as data centers.

“I think what we meant by ‘moon shot’ is that this is something unprecedented,” said Mary Wiencke, executive director of the Public Generating Pool, an association formed by the eight public utilities.

“It’s more of a problem statement than saying, ‘Your lights are going to go out,’” she said.

Electricity demand will increase by more than 30% in the next 10 years, the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee forecasts. It’s the equivalent of enough electricity for seven Seattles.

At the same time, Washington utilities by law must wean themselves off fossil fuels, a source of electricity more stable than wind or solar power, which depend on the weather and are prone to “energy droughts,” lasting hours or days.

Gov. Jay Inslee has stressed building more wind and solar installations to meet future energy demands. The utilities asked for more discussions on “clean firm” energy options, such as nuclear and renewable natural gas.

“You do need to add capacity, but you also need to think about when that additional capacity might be generating and when it might not be generating,” Wiencke said.

Commerce Department energy policy director Glenn Blackmon noted utilities have until 2045 to get off fossil fuels entirely. The transition will be hard, but they can do it, he said.

“It’s definitely stressing the industry out, but I haven’t seen the concerted effort that I think of with the control room in Houston — those guys in their short-sleeve white shirts and narrow ties sweating it out,” he said.

“The demand for electricity is definitely increasing, and that is happening to a power system that’s not really accustomed to rapid growth,” Blackmon said. “People are a little bit out of practice planning for and meeting our growth in electricity demand.

“I think they have the tools to do that. I think it’s going to take a lot of hard work,” he said. “We’ve also just got to go out and build some stuff.”

The Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) committing Washington to carbon-free electricity by 2045 passed in 2019. Since then, data centers, high-tech industries, electric vehicles and building codes have or are expected to increase demand for electricity.

The utilities said there should be a new look at whether it’s realistic to keep up with the demand. The region came “dangerously close” to not having enough electricity during a cold snap last January, according to the utilities.

Utilities and Transportation Commission chairman David Danner said the state has been having objective discussions about the job ahead.

“CETA is the law. My job as a regulator is to implement that law,” he said. “I don’t want to minimize the challenges we have with resource adequacy. The characterization of it being a ‘moon shot,’ I don’t necessarily agree with that.”