When demand is high and supplies are low, prices go up. These customers are somewhat insulated from rapid swings in energy prices. However, large industries that buy market-priced energy have been exposed to these higher prices. Several firms have made a business decision to close down their facilities rather than lose money operating at current energy prices. Demand has grown in Washington State because of regional population and economic growth.
Weather plays a role in our supply situation as well.
California restructuring . California restructured their electricity industry in 1996. It appears that California's new electricity market had several flaws that contributed to high prices, and these problems are being shifted to Washington utilities and consumers. Normally, the Northwest sends surplus energy to California in the summer, and imports surplus electricity from the southwest in the winter. California had an energy crisis last summer, and many generation plants ran continuously.