by Dr. Patrick Jones
Measured by electricity source, the greater Wenatchee area is one of the greenest in the state. As Trends indicator 4.3.2 reveals, nearly all of the electricity consumed in the two counties comes from hydro. For the most recently available year, 2020, data compiled by the Washington State Department of Commerce show that 99.7% of all electricity consumed was hydro based.
For the state overall in 2020, hydro provided 55% of all consumption and renewables another 6%. Even the area’s Eastern Washington neighbors, many owning and operating dams, show a different electricity profile.
For example, consider the neighboring county to the east, Grant. In 2020, its consumption mix included 62% hydro and 2% renewables. Compare to Wenatchee’s metro neighbor to the south, the Tri Cities. In 2020, its green consumption mix amounted to 80% hydro and 3% renewables. And contrast to a neighbor further to the east, Spokane County. In 2020, the many utilities serving Spokane showed only 44% of their electricity consumption supplied by hydro with 6% by renewables. Making up the difference for these four counties was electricity produced by coal, natural gas and nuclear fuels.
So Chelan and Douglas Counties might feel a bit smug about their green credentials. But not so fast. As Trends indicator 4.3.1 reveals, electricity consumed here, or in the language of the data source, the Washington Department of Commerce, the “claims on power plants,” was far above the state average, on a per capita basis. In 2020, it amounted to nearly 21,800 kilowatt hours (kWh) per person. The state value in 2020? About 11,000 kWh per person.
Actual power generated in the two counties was far greater than the claims reported to Commerce. For example, the annual report of Chelan PUD #1 notes that 8.8 million megawatt hours were generated in 2020. Annual consumption that year in Chelan County, as shown in Trends indicator 4.3.1, amounted to about 1.7 million megawatt hours.
The greater Tri Cities reported per capita rates higher than the Washington average as well. But the amount of “claims”, at 16,000 kWh per person, is far below that of the greater Wenatchee area in 2020. Spokane, too, shows consumption higher than the Washington average, with the 2020 per capita “claims” equal to 13,920 kWh.
Denting green bragging rights further is the local consumption trend. In Chelan and Douglas Counties, it has been slightly positive over the past decade, moving from about 19,700 kWh per capita in 2010 to 21,800 kWh per capita in 2020. Throughout Washington, in contrast, consumption has fallen, from about 13,200 kWh per person in 2010 to about 11,000 kWh in 2020. That’s true for the Tri Cities and Spokane County.
At first glance, this is a puzzle. Why have claims or consumption trended slightly upward in the two counties, contrary to other geographies? A large user in Chelan County, Alcoa, is shuttered. No large electricity user, to our knowledge, has appeared to replace it, in either county.
The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) gives us a likely answer: price. For 2021, the average price, in $/kWh charged by the Chelan PUD to residential customers was $0.034. By the Douglas County PUD: $0.031. These are unambiguously the lowest residential rates in the state. Compare to Avista’s average of $0.10 per kWh. Or to Puget Sound Energy’s average rate of $0.115 per kWh.
For commercial customers in 2021, the same price disparity held. The EIA reported an average rate of $0.037 per kWh for Chelan County PUD customers, and an average rate $0.029 per kWh for Douglas County PUD commercial users. For industrial customers of the counties’ utilities, the results are analogous: the lowest rates in the state.
In Econ 101, we learn that when prices are high, consumers typically purchase less. When prices are low, consumers purchase more. This seems to describe energy “market” of the greater Wenatchee area. With the lowest rates in the entire state for all user classes, it should be no surprise that electricity consumption, measured on a per capita basis, is among the highest, if not the highest, in Washington.
The abundance of cheap electricity is a blessing for the local economy. And as our society continues to electrify all uses of energy, this blessing will only grow. Along the way, however, don’t be surprised if local rates move up, a least a bit.