Regulation and Rates	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Regulation and Rates [Abstract]
Regulation and Rates	Regulation and Rates General Rate Case Filing In January 2017, PSE filed its general rate case (GRC) with the Washington Commission. The GRC filing included a required plan to address Colstrip Units 1 and 2 closures, requested that electric energy supply fixed costs be included in PSE's decoupling mechanism, and contained requests for two new mechanisms to address regulatory lag. The Washington Commission entered a final order accepting the multi-party settlement agreement and determined the contested issues in the case on December 5, 2017 and new rates became effective December 19, 2017. The settlement agreement provides for a weighted cost of capital of 7.6% or 6.55% after-tax, and a capital structure of 48.5% in common equity with a return on equity of 9.5%. The settlement also resulted in a combined electric tariff change that resulted in a net increase of $20.2 million, or 0.9%, annually, and a combined natural gas tariff change that resulted in a net decrease of $35.5 million, or 3.8%, annually. The GRC also re-purposed the benefit of PTCs and hydro-related treasury grants to fund and recover decommissioning and remediation costs for Colstrip Units 1 and 2. As the Company monetizes PTCs on its filed tax returns, the regulatory liability is transferred to a reserve for Colstrip Units 1 and 2 decommissioning and remediation costs. For further details regarding the 2017 GRC filing, see Note 3, "Regulation and Rates" to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of the Company’s Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2017. Decoupling Filings While fluctuations in weather conditions will continue to affect PSE's billed revenue and energy supply expenses from month to month, PSE's decoupling mechanisms assist in mitigating the impact of weather on operating revenue and net income. Since July 2013, the Washington Commission has allowed PSE to record a monthly adjustment to its electric and natural gas operating revenues related to electric transmission and distribution, natural gas operations and general administrative costs from most residential, commercial and industrial customers to mitigate the effects of abnormal weather, conservation impacts and changes in usage patterns per customer. As a result, these electric and natural gas revenues are recovered on a per customer basis regardless of actual consumption levels. PSE's energy supply costs, which are part of the PCA and PGA mechanisms, are not included in the decoupling mechanism. The revenue recorded under the decoupling mechanisms will be affected by customer growth and not actual consumption. During the rate plan, which ended in December 2017, the allowed decoupling revenue per customer for the recovery of delivery system costs increased by 3.0% for the electric customers and 2.2% for the natural gas customers on January 1 of each year. Following each calendar year, PSE will recover from, or refund to, customers the difference between allowed decoupling revenue and the corresponding actual revenue during the following May to April time period. On December 5, 2017, the Washington Commission approved PSE’s request within the 2017 GRC to extend the decoupling mechanism with several changes to the methodology that took effect on December 19, 2017. Electric and natural gas delivery revenues continue to be recovered on a per customer basis and electric fixed production energy costs are now decoupled and recovered on the basis of a fixed monthly amount. The allowed decoupling revenue for electric and natural gas customers will no longer increase annually each January 1 as occurred prior to December 19, 2017. Approved revenue per customer costs can only be changed in a GRC or expedited rate filing (ERF). Approved electric fixed production energy costs can also be changed in a power cost only rate case (PCORC). Other changes to the decoupling methodology approved by the Washington Commission include regrouping of electric and natural gas non-residential customers and the exclusion of certain electric schedules from the decoupling mechanism going forward. The rate test which limits the amount of revenues PSE can collect in its annual filings increased from 3.0% to 5.0% for natural gas customers but will remain at 3.0% for electric customers. The decoupling mechanism will be reviewed again in PSE’s first rate case filed in or after 2021, or in a separate proceeding, if appropriate. On September 30, 2018, PSE performed an analysis to determine if electric and natural gas decoupling revenue deferrals would be collected from customers within 24 months of the annual period, per ASC 980. If not, for GAAP purposes only, PSE would need to record a reserve against the decoupling revenue and regulatory asset balance. Once the revenue is forecasted to be collected within 24 months, the reserve can be reversed. The analysis indicated that $0.3 million of electric deferred revenue will not be collected within 24 months of the annual period; therefore, an adjustment was booked to 2018 decoupling revenue. The previously unrecognized decoupling deferrals of $20.8 million at December 31, 2016, was recognized as decoupling revenue in nine months ended September 30, 2017. Electric Regulation and Rates Storm Damage Deferral Accounting The Washington Commission issued a GRC order that defined deferrable storm events and provided that costs in excess of the annual cost threshold may be deferred for qualifying storm damage costs that meet the modified Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers outage criteria for system average interruption duration index. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, PSE incurred $8.9 million in storm-related electric transmission and distribution system restoration costs, of which no current year amount was deferred to a regulatory asset. This compares to $21.1 million incurred in storm-related electric transmission and distribution system restoration costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, of which $12.4 million was deferred to a regulatory asset. Under the December 5, 2017 Washington Commission order regarding PSE’s GRC, the following changes to PSE’s storm deferral mechanism were approved: (i) the cumulative annual cost threshold for deferral of storms under the mechanism increased from $8.0 million to $10.0 million effective January 1, 2018; and (ii) qualifying events where the total qualifying cost is less than $0.5 million will not qualify for deferral and these costs will also not count toward the $10.0 million annual cost threshold. Washington Commission Tax Deferral Filing The TCJA was signed into law in December 2017. As a result of this change, PSE re-measured its deferred tax balances under the new corporate tax rate. PSE filed an accounting petition on December 29, 2017 requesting deferred accounting treatment for the impacts of tax reform. The requested deferral accounting treatment results in the tax rate change being captured in the deferred income tax balance with an offset to the regulatory liability for deferred income taxes. Additionally, on March 30, 2018, PSE filed for a rate change for electric and natural gas customers associated with TCJA to reflect the decrease in the federal corporate income tax rate from 35.0% to 21.0%. The rate change filing did not address excess deferred taxes or the deferred balance associated with the over-collection of income tax expense of $34.6 million for the period January 1 through April 30, 2018 (the time period that encompasses the effective date of the TCJA through May 1, 2018, the effective date of the rate change). The $34.6 million tax over-collection decreased PSE's revenue and increased the regulatory liability for a refund to customers. PSE proposed in the rate change filing to address both the excess deferred taxes and the deferred balance associated with the over-collection of income tax expense in PSE’s accounting petition. The overall impact of the rate change, based on the annual period from May 2018 through April 2019, is a revenue decrease of $72.9 million, or 3.4% for electric and $23.6 million, or 2.7% for natural gas.

Regulation and Rates

General Rate Case Filing

In January 2017, PSE filed its general rate case (GRC) with the Washington Commission. The GRC filing included a required plan to address Colstrip Units 1 and 2 closures, requested that electric energy supply fixed costs be included in PSE's decoupling mechanism, and contained requests for two new mechanisms to address regulatory lag. The Washington Commission entered a final order accepting the multi-party settlement agreement and determined the contested issues in the case on December 5, 2017 and new rates became effective December 19, 2017. The settlement agreement provides for a weighted cost of capital of 7.6% or 6.55% after-tax, and a capital structure of 48.5% in common equity with a return on equity of 9.5%. The settlement also resulted in a combined electric tariff change that resulted in a net increase of $20.2 million, or 0.9%, annually, and a combined natural gas tariff change that resulted in a net decrease of $35.5 million, or 3.8%, annually.

The GRC also re-purposed the benefit of PTCs and hydro-related treasury grants to fund and recover decommissioning and remediation costs for Colstrip Units 1 and 2. As the Company monetizes PTCs on its filed tax returns, the regulatory liability is transferred to a reserve for Colstrip Units 1 and 2 decommissioning and remediation costs.

For further details regarding the 2017 GRC filing, see Note 3, "Regulation and Rates" to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of the Company’s Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2017.

Decoupling Filings

While fluctuations in weather conditions will continue to affect PSE's billed revenue and energy supply expenses from month to month, PSE's decoupling mechanisms assist in mitigating the impact of weather on operating revenue and net income. Since July 2013, the Washington Commission has allowed PSE to record a monthly adjustment to its electric and natural gas operating revenues related to electric transmission and distribution, natural gas operations and general administrative costs from most residential, commercial and industrial customers to mitigate the effects of abnormal weather, conservation impacts and changes in usage patterns per customer. As a result, these electric and natural gas revenues are recovered on a per customer basis regardless of actual consumption levels. PSE's energy supply costs, which are part of the PCA and PGA mechanisms, are not included in the decoupling mechanism. The revenue recorded under the decoupling mechanisms will be affected by customer growth and not actual consumption. During the rate plan, which ended in December 2017, the allowed decoupling revenue per customer for the recovery of delivery system costs increased by 3.0% for the electric customers and 2.2% for the natural gas customers on January 1 of each year. Following each calendar year, PSE will recover from, or refund to, customers the difference between allowed decoupling revenue and the corresponding actual revenue during the following May to April time period.

On December 5, 2017, the Washington Commission approved PSE’s request within the 2017 GRC to extend the decoupling mechanism with several changes to the methodology that took effect on December 19, 2017. Electric and natural gas delivery revenues continue to be recovered on a per customer basis and electric fixed production energy costs are now decoupled and recovered on the basis of a fixed monthly amount. The allowed decoupling revenue for electric and natural gas customers will no longer increase annually each January 1 as occurred prior to December 19, 2017. Approved revenue per customer costs can only be changed in a GRC or expedited rate filing (ERF). Approved electric fixed production energy costs can also be changed in a power cost only rate case (PCORC). Other changes to the decoupling methodology approved by the Washington Commission include regrouping of electric and natural gas non-residential customers and the exclusion of certain electric schedules from the decoupling mechanism going forward. The rate test which limits the amount of revenues PSE can collect in its annual filings increased from 3.0% to 5.0% for natural gas customers but will remain at 3.0% for electric customers. The decoupling mechanism will be reviewed again in PSE’s first rate case filed in or after 2021, or in a separate proceeding, if appropriate.

On September 30, 2018, PSE performed an analysis to determine if electric and natural gas decoupling revenue deferrals would be collected from customers within 24 months of the annual period, per ASC 980. If not, for GAAP purposes only, PSE would need to record a reserve against the decoupling revenue and regulatory asset balance. Once the revenue is forecasted to be collected within 24 months, the reserve can be reversed. The analysis indicated that $0.3 million of electric deferred revenue will not be collected within 24 months of the annual period; therefore, an adjustment was booked to 2018 decoupling revenue. The previously unrecognized decoupling deferrals of $20.8 million at December 31, 2016, was recognized as decoupling revenue in nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Electric Regulation and Rates

Storm Damage Deferral Accounting

The Washington Commission issued a GRC order that defined deferrable storm events and provided that costs in excess of the annual cost threshold may be deferred for qualifying storm damage costs that meet the modified Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers outage criteria for system average interruption duration index. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, PSE incurred $8.9 million in storm-related electric transmission and distribution system restoration costs, of which no current year amount was deferred to a regulatory asset. This compares to $21.1 million incurred in storm-related electric transmission and distribution system restoration costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, of which $12.4 million was deferred to a regulatory asset. Under the December 5, 2017 Washington Commission order regarding PSE’s GRC, the following changes to PSE’s storm deferral mechanism were approved: (i) the cumulative annual cost threshold for deferral of storms under the mechanism increased from $8.0 million to $10.0 million effective January 1, 2018; and (ii) qualifying events where the total qualifying cost is less than $0.5 million will not qualify for deferral and these costs will also not count toward the $10.0 million annual cost threshold.

Washington Commission Tax Deferral Filing

The TCJA was signed into law in December 2017. As a result of this change, PSE re-measured its deferred tax balances under the new corporate tax rate. PSE filed an accounting petition on December 29, 2017 requesting deferred accounting treatment for the impacts of tax reform. The requested deferral accounting treatment results in the tax rate change being captured in the deferred income tax balance with an offset to the regulatory liability for deferred income taxes. Additionally, on March 30, 2018, PSE filed for a rate change for electric and natural gas customers associated with TCJA to reflect the decrease in the federal corporate income tax rate from 35.0% to 21.0%. The rate change filing did not address excess deferred taxes or the deferred balance associated with the over-collection of income tax expense of $34.6 million for the period January 1 through April 30, 2018 (the time period that encompasses the effective date of the TCJA through May 1, 2018, the effective date of the rate change). The $34.6 million tax over-collection decreased PSE's revenue and increased the regulatory liability for a refund to customers. PSE proposed in the rate change filing to address both the excess deferred taxes and the deferred balance associated with the over-collection of income tax expense in PSE’s accounting petition. The overall impact of the rate change, based on the annual period from May 2018 through April 2019, is a revenue decrease of $72.9 million, or 3.4% for electric and $23.6 million, or 2.7% for natural gas.