WA HB2275

Establishes the Washington Wildfire Prevention and Protection Council (15 members) to oversee a new fund that reimburses electric utilities for damages from wildfires caused by utility negligence, with claims eligible for covered wildfires occurring after July 1, 2021

Creates the Wildfire Prevention and Protection Account in the state treasury, funded by mandatory contributions from investor-owned utilities and optional participation from consumer-owned utilities; investment earnings transfer annually to the existing wildfire response, forest restoration, and community resilience account

Requires participating utilities to maintain approved wildfire mitigation plans, pay annual contributions set by the council, and maintain commercially reasonable wildfire insurance; utilities may collect surcharges from customers (with discounted rates for low-income customers) to cover contributions

Sets damages thresholds for each utility based on high-risk customers served and transmission line miles; utilities must exceed their threshold before seeking fund reimbursement, and must repay funds if found grossly negligent or acting intentionally

Amends existing law to require electric utility wildfire mitigation plans to incorporate recommendations from a 2025 work group report after January 1, 2027, and adds the new protection account to the list of treasury accounts receiving proportionate investment earnings