MEDIA RELEASE: Puget Energy announces Sustainable Financing Framework to fund clean energy commitment

Bellevue, Wash., May 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Puget Energy, the parent company of Puget Sound Energy, has established a Sustainable Financing Framework to enable Puget Energy or any of its subsidiaries to issue Green, Sustainable or Social Bonds or other financial instruments for investment in new or existing projects or assets that are aligned with the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and that meet the eligibility requirements outlined in the Framework. 

Sustainable financing proceeds will be allocated to eligible project categories including renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, water and wastewater management, pollution prevention and control, green innovation and socio-economic advancement. Investment in renewable energy and associated infrastructure is in alignment with and driven by the requirements of Washington State’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), Climate Commitment Act (CCA) and Clean Fuel Standard (CFS).

“The clean energy transition is both the challenge and the opportunity of our time,” said Mary Kipp, chief executive officer of Puget Energy and Puget Sound Energy. “PSE is committed to transforming our energy systems in a way that benefits all communities and preserves our environment for generations to come.”

“The Sustainable Financing Framework aligns our financing strategies to our operational strategies for decarbonizing our energy resources to meet Washington state’s clean energy policies and our own aspirational, climate-leading goals,” said Kazi Hasan, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Puget Energy. “We expect that an increasing share of future financings of our decarbonization investments will be conducted under this framework.”

Puget Energy received a second-party opinion from Sustainalytics, an independent global provider of ESG ratings and research, expressing its opinion that the Framework is credible and impactful and aligns with the Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021, Green Bond Principles 2021, Social Bond Principles 2021, Green Loan Principles 2023 and the Social Loan Principles 2023.

Establishing our first Sustainable Financing Framework is an important milestone in accelerating our progress towards a cleaner energy future and being a Beyond Net Zero Carbon energy company by 2045. 

About Puget Energy: Puget Energy, a subsidiary of Puget Holdings LLC, is a Bellevue, Washington-based company whose core business is Puget Sound Energy, a regulated utility, providing electric and natural gas service to Western Washington.

Puget Energy's focus is to concentrate on its core business: retail electric and natural gas utility service within a regulated environment. The company's strategy emphasizes meeting the energy needs of the growing PSE customer base through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, low-cost procurement of energy resources and far-sighted investment in energy-delivery infrastructure.

As Washington state's oldest local energy company, with a 6,000-square-mile service area stretching across 10 Washington counties, primarily in the Puget Sound region, PSE serves approximately 1.2 million electric customers and 900,000 natural gas customers.

Forward-Looking Statements
Puget Energy and Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (PSE) include the following cautionary statements in this press release to make applicable and to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Puget Energy or PSE. This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are statements of expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives and assumptions of future events or performance. Words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “continues,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “future,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will likely result,” “will continue” or similar expressions are intended to identify certain of these forward-looking statements and may be included in discussion of, among other things, business plans and prospects, sustainable financing plans, and other future expectations.

Forward-looking statements reflect current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed. There can be no assurance that Puget Energy’s and PSE’s expectations, beliefs or projections will be achieved or accomplished.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made and, except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.  New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of any such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.  For further information, see our periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

###

Media Contact:
Andrew Padula, 1-888-831-7250, [email protected]

Puget Sound Energy is proud to serve our neighbors and communities in 10 Washington counties.
We’re the state’s largest utility, supporting approximately 1.2 million electric customers and 900,000 natural gas customers.
We aspire to be a beyond net zero carbon energy company by 2045.
For more about us and what we do, visit pse.com. Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Andrew Padula
Puget Sound Energy
888-831-7250
[email protected]