Coal power in WA Legislature’s crosshairs after talk of Centralia plant’s revival

By: Tom Banse

Outlets: Washington State Standard

Published: February 13, 2026

Words: 967

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago

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The Washington House of Representatives on Thursday approved a new coal tax that targets a single company.

It’s meant to thwart a surprise move by the Trump administration to keep the last coal-fired power plant in the Pacific Northwest operational.

The fast-moving bill would saddle TransAlta Corporation’s Centralia coal plant with extra costs that would make it highly uncompetitive in the electricity marketplace were it to restart. TransAlta idled the power plant …

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