PSE Prevails in Newcastle In late April, a battle that has dragged on for eight years ended abruptly when a Hearing Examiner engaged by the City of Newcastle approved a land use permit for the South Segment of Puget Sound Energy’s “Energize Eastside” project. If you live in Renton or [...]

PSE’s unprecedented money grab Puget Sound Energy wants to raise residential electric rates by 17% during the next three years. Higher rates would offset the rising cost of natural gas used to generate electricity and fund some large infrastructure projects.But the company’s proposal contains unpleasant surprises. For example, a [...]

Newcastle indecisive on Energize EastsideToo many unanswered questions and insufficient dataOn Friday, the City of Newcastle released a long awaited 94-page report (PDF) on Energize Eastside. Many residents were astounded to learn that Newcastle will defer decisions on PSE’s permit application to the city’s hired Hearing Examiner.Here are [...]

Trial by fire As temperatures surpassed 110 degrees in many Eastside locations on Monday, June 28, 2021, the electric grid faced an unprecedented challenge. Demand for electricity was almost 10% higher than the previous summer record set in 2017. Dozens of power outages sometimes impacted more than 10,000 [...]

Pushback in East Bellevue On Tuesday evening (June 1, 2021), PSE updated members of the East Bellevue Community Council on the company’s plans to build Energize Eastside. PSE simply recycled the same arguments we’ve heard for the past seven years:“Look at these old photos! Isn’t it amazing how much the [...]

Next Steps for Energize Eastside - North Segment As explained in our previous update, PSE has filed for permits for the North segment of Energize Eastside proposed to run through East and North Bellevue and Redmond. (PSE has not received full approval for the South segment, as permit review [...]

Energize Eastside in North Bellevue and Redmond PSE’s efforts to build the South Segment of the proposed transmission line have temporarily stalled in Newcastle. Undeterred, PSE has now submitted a permit application to build the North Segment of the project through central and north Bellevue and Redmond, impacting residential [...]

This is the first in a series of bi-monthly newsletters from CENSE to Newcastle residents. We hope to prepare the Newcastle community for an upcoming public hearing about PSE’s Energize Eastside project. Please forward this newsletter to your Newcastle neighbors and friends. Anyone can sign [...]

PSE asks for Higher Rates due to Lower Consumption In a recent bill insert, PSE says it will ask the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to approve an increase in residential electric rates by 3.5%. PSE says decreasing customer electricity usage is one reason why the company needs to [...]

Big News on Virtual Power Plants Here's a surprise: PSE, CENSE, and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) all agree that “Virtual Power Plants” are an essential investment for grid modernization. At a hearing held on March 25, 2021, the UTC accepted PSE's plan to postpone competitive [...]

CENSE Appeals King County Superior Court Decision CENSE has appealed a recent decision by King County Superior Court upholding Bellevue's approval of PSE's Energize Eastside project. The judge failed to address CENSE's request that PSE disclose data proving the project is needed. PSE incorrectly stated that such disclosures violate [...]

CENSE Appeals to Superior Court Late last year, the City of Bellevue approved a land use permit that would allow PSE to build "Energize Eastside" - a major upgrade of transmission lines running through dozens of Eastside neighborhoods.CENSE appealed the decision of the Hearing Examiner to the Bellevue City [...]

CENSE heads to Superior Court Late last year, the City of Bellevue approved a land use permit that would allow PSE to construct "Energize Eastside," a major upgrade to high-voltage transmission lines that run through dozens of Eastside neighborhoods. CENSE appealed the decision to King County Superior Court. A [...]

Lake Hills Transmission Line Update As you may have seen, PSE has finished cutting down 300 trees on 148th Avenue and NE 8th Street to build the redundant Lake Hills Transmission Line. PSE intends to install poles and wires in coming weeks. A CENSE partner organization, 300trees.org, [...]

Update - May 2020 The debate over PSE's "Energize Eastside" transmission line project continues, although the virus outbreak has slowed things down. We continue to prepare for the crucial land use hearing in the City of Newcastle. The city has postponed the hearing until an undetermined date when it [...]

Renton decision on Energize Eastside CENSE will ask for reconsideration The Hearing Examiner for Renton has issued his decision on the permit for Energize Eastside. In a 40-page decision focused mostly on pipeline safety, the Examiner concluded that Renton's land use codes required him to ignore fundamental questions about [...]

Energize Eastside in Renton The document "Energize Eastside in Renton" focuses on the Renton perspective of PSE's Energize Eastside project. It addresses three main topics:Energize Eastside’s impacts on RentonAssumptions used to justify Energize EastsideWinners and losers created by the projectWritten by CENSE members, this document gives an clear and [...]

Renton Hearing Report A summary of the Energize Eastside public hearing held in Renton on Jan 8, 2020, By Don Marsh.Dozens of CENSE supporters wearing orange shirts attended the five-hour hearing in Renton, sitting politely together with dozens of business owners and civic organizations that PSE had recruited to [...]

Renton Hearing - Wednesday Jan 8th Renton's land use hearing for Energize Eastside is on Wednesday, January 8, at 5:00 pm at Renton City Hall (details below). You can arrive after 5:00 if necessary.CENSE will present compelling information to show that PSE's project would increase safety risks in Renton [...]

Bellevue Appeal, Renton Hearing Jan. 8 CENSE has appealed Bellevue's decision to approve a 3.3 mile segment of Energize Eastside running through the Eastgate, Somerset, and Newport Hills neighborhoods in South Bellevue.The appeal describes two problems with PSE's application. First, the City did not require PSE to provide historical [...]