California — pass regional power grid legislation

As governor of Washington state, I’ve traveled around the country and around the world and have been encouraged at the momentum that’s building for climate action and the recognition of the West Coast states as climate leaders. California has already achieved its 2020 greenhouse gas reduction goals four years early. Now, California has another opportunity to shape the energy future of the West, by joining neighboring states to design a regional electricity market that is fair, transparent and efficient.

A well-designed market would protect the role for states in setting energy policy, and making decisions regarding energy resources. A robust and transparent regional grid system, which recognizes the carbon-free resources of participating states, such as hydropower, wind, geothermal and energy storage, can help us accomplish our clean energy goals by optimizing the use of these resources on a regional basis.

California produces an abundance of solar power during the day. While solar power provides low-cost, clean, renewable energy that can be generated close to where it is needed, it isn’t able to meet California’s peak electricity demand when solar power production falls. At these times, it is necessary to rely on other generation sources.

The Pacific Northwest is blessed with a wealth of hydropower and other carbon-free energy resources, which can be ready and available when they are needed, and coordinated to complement California’s own renewable energy production and demand.

To maximize the benefits of sharing our resources, it is clear that a new regional entity must be created to take advantage of the abundant clean energy resources in our region. And, as with any sharing agreement, all of us will have to agree on the path forward. This is a change, but we are not afraid of change on the West Coast. This change comes with enormous opportunity: improved coordination of our energy resources that can help the West Coast states meet our long-term carbon reduction goals and save consumers money.

Washington and California have benefited from the sharing of electricity resources for decades. Building on this tradition, we can pave the way for a more efficient, clean, modern energy grid. Let our states work together to design the electricity market we all want, one that moves us away from fossil fuels and toward a carbon-free future.