Editing Puget Sound Energy (section)

== History ==

PSE was formed in 1997 when two of its largest ancestral companies – Puget Sound Power & Light Company and Washington Energy Company – merged.<ref>{{cite news |title=Puget Sound-Washington Energy Merger Approved |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/06/business/puget-sound-washington-energy-merger-approved.html |access-date=March 16, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=February 6, 1997}}</ref> Puget Sound Power and Light was itself preceded by several companies that were founded in the 1870s and 1880s and built the region's first [[hydroelectric plant]] at [[Snoqualmie Falls]] in 1898.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our history |url=https://www.pse.com/en/about-us/our-history |publisher=Puget Sound Energy |accessdate=July 11, 2024}}</ref> Puget Sound Power had attempted a merger with [[Washington Water Power]] in 1952, but it was blocked by a [[superior court]] judge.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court Bans Puget Sound Power Sale |work=The Seattle Times |date=October 25, 1952 |page=3}}</ref>

In October 2007, the company announced that it would be sold to foreign investors led by [[Macquarie Group]], an Australian funds manager, and three Canadian [[pension fund]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last=DeSilver |first=Drew |date=October 26, 2007 |title=PSE, state's largest utility, to be acquired |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/pse-states-largest-utility-to-be-acquired/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=July 11, 2024}}</ref> Groups in three northwestern counties—Island, Jefferson, and Skagit—filed [[ballot measure]]s for the November 2008 election to establish [[public utility district]]s in response to the planned buyout.<ref>{{cite news |last=González |first=Ángel |date=November 5, 2008 |title=Jefferson County favors independence from Puget Energy |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/jefferson-county-favors-independence-from-puget-energy/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=July 11, 2024}}</ref> The measure was approved in Jefferson County, which formed a public utility district in 2013 and paid PSE $103&nbsp;million for its assets in the county.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Scott |date=April 14, 2023 |title=Public power vote in 2008 set up PUD's 10th anniversary in 2023 |url=https://www.ptleader.com/stories/public-power-vote-in-2008-set-up-puds-10th-anniversary-in-2023,115666 |work=The Leader |url-access=limited |accessdate=July 11, 2024}}</ref>

The sale to Macquarie and the pension funds, conducted through a leveraged private equity buyout, was approved in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/2008/12/31/581321/puget-sound-energy-sold-to-foreign.html |title=Puget Sound Energy sold to foreign investors &#124; MORE TOP BIZ - the News Tribune |access-date=2012-06-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204065221/http://www.thenewstribune.com/2008/12/31/581321/puget-sound-energy-sold-to-foreign.html |archive-date=2013-02-04 }}</ref> Puget Holdings, the U.S. title of this group of long-term infrastructure investors, merged with Puget Energy, PSE's parent company to form the current business structure. Puget Energy is a holding company incorporated in the State of Washington. All of its operations are conducted through its utility subsidiary, PSE, which is regulated by [[Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission]].

In 2018, Macquarie sold its ownership stake in PSE. PSE's current owners are [[Alberta Investment Management Corporation]], [[British Columbia Investment Management Corporation]], [[OMERS]], and [[PGGM]].<ref>{{Cite web| title = OMERS, PGGM Acquire Puget Sound Stake from Macquarie| access-date = 2018-12-02| url = https://www.ai-cio.com/news/omers-pggm-acquire-puget-sound-stake-macquarie/}}</ref>

The PSE began construction on the controversial [[Energize Eastside]] power line project in 2020.

=== Clean Energy Transformation Act ===
In 2019, Governor Jay Inslee signed the Clean Energy Transformation Act into law, requiring that all utilities phase out coal power by 2025, be carbon neutral by 2030 and be carbon free by 2045. All investor owned utilities, including PSE, are required to create a Clean Energy Implementation Plan (CEIP) every four years starting in 2022. In PSE's first CEIP, they set a goal to achieve 63% renewable energy by 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PSE {{!}} CEIP Process |url=https://www.cleanenergyplan.pse.com/ceip-library |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.cleanenergyplan.pse.com |language=en}}</ref>