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Committee hears bill to create statewide energy assistance program funded from Climate Commitment Act revenues
Summary
House Bill 1903 would establish a statewide, Commerce-administered energy assistance program for low-income households, using Climate Commitment Act auction revenues as the primary funding source and allowing some utilities to opt out under conditions.
The House Environment & Energy Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1903, which would create a statewide monetary energy-assistance program for low-income households and set July 2026 as a target start date.
Megan McFadden, committee staff, described the bill's core design: Commerce would provide monetary assistance to gas and electric utilities to pass on to low-income residential customers on monthly bills; tiers would prioritize households with the greatest need; enrollment could include self-attestation and Commerce could set up verification partnerships; and Commerce must do outreach in multiple languages and establish a call center and advisory group. The bill identifies the Climate Commitment Act auction revenues as the intended funding source, and participating utilities would be deemed in compliance with Clean Energy Transformation Act low-income requirements.
Utility representatives and local PUD advocates voiced conditional support while urging fixes. Tacoma Power and other utilities signaled readiness to work with the sponsor but flagged program design and administrative costs. Commerce staff said the agency is finalizing a fiscal note and that the bill is not currently funded in the governor's budget. Community organizations, community action agencies and immigrant-service groups emphasized the program's potential to reach households experiencing energy burden and urged stable, long-term funding rather than reliance solely on Climate Commitment Act auction revenues.
The committee heard questions about the opt-out provisions: utilities may opt out if they certify they already serve at least 50% of low-income households, but witnesses and members pressed for clarity on whether utilities could drop existing programs to join the statewide program and how funding shortfalls would be handled. No final committee action was taken; witnesses asked for further work on funding sustainability and administrative details.
