On Tuesday, June 23, Seattle City Council approved City Light’s new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). This is an important milestone for the utility and our customers who depend on reliable, clean, and affordable electricity. The IRP helps us understand the evolving energy landscape and serves as a roadmap for how we’ll sustainably and reliably meet demand over the next 20 years.
What Is an Integrated Resource Plan?
Washington state law requires electric utilities to file an IRP report every two years (alternating between a full report and progress report), but the IRP is much more than a regulatory requirement. It’s a core planning tool that helps us prepare for rising energy demand and secure reliable, clean, and affordable power for the future. The IRP process includes public outreach and stakeholder engagement to reflect our commitment to transparency and community involvement.
To build the IRP, we model different scenarios to reflect how energy use may shift in the future. Changes in the weather, new technology, population growth, and shifts in how homes, businesses, and vehicles use energy all affect our future load or energy need. The IRP explores what kinds of power resources we’ll need to keep the lights on for decades to come.
Why the IRP matters
Electricity demand in our region is increasing. More people are moving to the area, demand for electric vehicles is increasing, and more homes and businesses are using electricity for heating and cooling. These changes are good for the environment, but they also put pressure on the grid, especially during cold snaps or heat waves.
Recent studies warn that the Pacific Northwest could face energy shortages during extreme weather, and planning ahead is critical to keeping our system reliable:
- Resource Adequacy and the Energy Transition in the Pacific Northwest — The Public Generating Pool
- 2026 PNUCC Northwest Regional Forecast
- 9th Power Plan | Northwest Power and Conservation Council
- 2025 Western Assessment
- Long Term Reliability Assessment
What the 2026 IRP Tells Us
The 2026 IRP confirms what we saw in our 2024 IRP progress report: We will need a significant amount of new energy resources.
Here are the key takeaways:
- Customer energy needs are growing. We expect electricity use to keep rising over the next 20 years, especially during winter peak hours.
- We need new, clean power sources. Today, about 75-90% of our energy comes from hydropower. To support future growth, we will need to add new resources like wind, solar, batteries, and improved transmission lines to reliably meet demand.
- Extreme weather is adding new pressures. Winter cold snaps and summer heat waves make it harder to keep supply and demand in balance. Drought conditions can also reduce hydropower production.
- New technologies will play a key role. To support reliability, future studies will explore firm energy options like enhanced geothermal energy, hydrogen, long‑duration energy storage, and small modular reactors.
- Conservation is still essential. Saving energy remains one of the most effective tools we have. Between 2026 and 2035, we plan to achieve more than 100 megawatts of customer-side programs, helping reduce strain on the grid and lower customer costs.
Engaging with community
Our success depends on the active participation and support of our communities. We gather valuable input through public meetings, surveys, and other collaborative efforts. This feedback from community members, advisory groups, and subject matter experts helped shape the 2026 IRP, and their contributions improved our forecasts and helped us align our plans with community priorities.
Looking ahead
Technology, customer needs, and the energy landscape are changing quickly across the entire region. New growth, industry, and rapid electrification will continue to shape how much energy we need and when we need it. That’s why the IRP is not a one‑time project. We update it every two years to make sure we are planning responsibly and preparing for a clean, reliable future.
We are committed to leading the way as our energy system evolves. Our 2026 IRP is a strong, forward‑looking foundation to help us meet the challenges ahead and support a sustainable energy future for all our customers.