Puget Sound Energy Rate Increase 2027: $28 a Month Requested

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is asking Washington regulators for an electric rate increase that would add $28.31 a month in 2027 for a home using 800 kWh, according to PSE’s customer notice. Two more steps would follow: $6.58 in 2028 and $15.69 in 2029. Nothing is approved. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) is reviewing the request, and PSE’s proposed rates would start in February 2027.

The request would come on top of the January 2026 changes covered in our Washington electric rates and solar overview, which also explains how public utilities such as Seattle City Light set their own rates. This article covers PSE residential customers only.

What PSE Is Asking For

PSE filed a three-year rate plan on Feb. 27, 2026, in docket UE-260005 for electric service and UG-260006 for natural gas. The figures below are PSE’s own, from its public comment hearing notice.

The 800 kWh bill was $159.46 when PSE filed, with a basic charge of $7.49. The 2027 bill uses PSE’s proposed February 2027 rates. Status: requested, not approved.

Two things stand out. The 2027 bill change at 800 kWh, 17.8% by our arithmetic ($28.31 ÷ $159.46), is larger than the 15.2% overall rate increase PSE cites for all customers. The two are different measures, but they suggest residential bills would rise faster than the average. Some news reports cite a 16.75% residential increase for 2027; our 17.8% is the change in PSE’s own 800 kWh bill example. And by 2029 the 800 kWh bill would be $50.58 higher than at filing, or 31.7%.

PSE says it “needs to invest more than $3.2 billion in its gas and electric systems” and points to the state law milestone that requires it to supply 80% of its electricity from renewable or non-emitting resources by 2030-2033.

Natural Gas Customers Would Pay More Too

PSE’s notice shows the gas side, for a home using 64 therms a month:

The gas bill at filing was $105.37. The gas basic charge would rise from $14.00 to $18.12 in February 2027. A home with both PSE electric and gas service at these usage levels would see $41.94 a month more in 2027 under the full request ($28.31 + $13.63).

The Basic Charge Matters for Solar

The basic charge is the fixed amount you pay each month no matter how much power you use. PSE proposes taking it from $7.49 to $20.00 over three years. That is $12.51 of the $50.58 increase at 800 kWh, about a quarter. In 2027 alone, $5.01 of the $28.31 increase comes from the basic charge.

Solar panels cannot reduce a fixed charge. PSE’s net metering tariff, Schedule 150, says customer-generators still pay the basic charge of the rate schedule they would otherwise be on. Our explainer on fixed charges and solar savings shows why a bigger fixed share lowers the value of a solar system.

The rest of the bill still rises, though. As a rough guide, here is the average non-fixed cost per kWh at 800 kWh, our arithmetic from PSE’s bill totals (bill minus basic charge, divided by 800):

These are averages across the whole bill, not PSE’s per-kWh rates, so the cents saved per kWh depend on your usage and season.

What It Means for Homes With Solar

Under Schedule 150, surplus solar kWh you send to the grid are credited as kWh that offset your use on later bills. On March 31 each year, any unused credits are “granted to the Company, without compensation.” Schedule 150 covers systems up to 100 kW AC.

That means a kWh your panels cover, either directly or through a banked credit, avoids PSE’s per-kWh charges. If the full request were approved, a system covering 500 kWh a month of a home’s use would avoid about $110 a month at the 2027 average (500 × 21.9¢), compared with about $95 at filing rates (500 × 19.0¢). These are illustrations, not bill quotes.

One caution for new solar buyers: the version of Schedule 150 on PSE’s website (effective Feb. 29, 2024) says new service under it is available “until December 31, 2025, or when a replacement Net Metering schedule is in place for new Net Metered Customers, whichever is later.” Ask PSE or your installer which schedule a new system would join before you sign. Our guide to the net metering true-up explains how an annual credit reset works.

What Happens Next

PSE’s notice says the UTC review “may take up to 11 months” and that the UTC can approve rates “higher or lower than PSE’s request.” Counting from the Feb. 27 filing, that points to a decision by about the end of January 2027. FOX 13 Seattle reported in September that a decision is expected in January.

Other parties have pushed back. In rebuttal testimony filed Sept. 15, PSE witness Michelle Vargo responded to commission staff witness Misare, who “recommends excluding the full $290 million for the Cable Remediation program from rate recovery,” and to Public Counsel witness Holloway, who recommends reducing the multiyear rate plan; PSE disputes the size of that reduction. We know these positions only as PSE describes them. We found no settlement in the documents we reviewed.

PSE scheduled public comment hearings for Sept. 29 in Lacey and Oct. 7 online. The notice lists these ways to comment: by email at [email protected], by phone at 1-888-333-9882, or by mail to P.O. Box 47250, Olympia, WA 98504. Include your name, contact information and dockets UE-260005 and UG-260006. MyNorthwest reported on Oct. 8 that customers “have until Nov. 12 to submit written testimony on the charges”; we did not confirm that date with the UTC. For how a request like this moves from filing to final order, see how electric rate cases work.

Sources and verification

Limitations

The bill figures are PSE’s examples at 800 kWh and 64 therms; your change depends on your usage and rate schedule. We did not find a UTC procedural order with a hearing or decision date, or a staff total revenue recommendation. The per-kWh averages spread all non-fixed charges evenly across 800 kWh and are rough. We will update this article when the UTC rules.