Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health on the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s purchase of a stake in Puget Sound Energy

Originally posted July 8, 2021 at https://www.shiftaction.ca/news-updates

For Immediate Release: July 8, 2021

Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health on the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s Purchase of a stake in Puget Sound Energy

Toronto, ON - Yesterday, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) announced that it is partnering with Macquarie Asset Management to purchase a 31.6% stake in Puget Sound Energy (PSE) from CPP Investments. While PSE certainly has the potential to become part of the solution to the climate crisis, that is not the case today. There are significant barriers that could undermine the value of the company and concerning signs that PSE is working actively to delay the rapid action that is needed to ensure a safe climate future.

The OTPP will own 15.8% of the Washington State-based integrated electric and gas utility. Notably, three other Canadian pension funds also own stakes in PSE, including British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (20.9%), Alberta Investment Management Corporation (13.6%), and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (23.9%).

OTPP claims that the PSE investment is aligned with its 2050 net-zero commitment and critical to decarbonizing Washington State’s power generation. Despite its lofty “beyond net-zero by 2045” commitment and laudable investments in climate solutions, PSE generates nearly two-thirds of its electricity from fossil fuels, is embroiled in litigation over the costs of decommissioning the coal plant it owns in Montana, is actively trying to build a fossil gas export terminal in Tacoma, and recently waged a sophisticated public relations and lobbying campaign to block legislative efforts to ban fossil gas hook-ups in new buildings in Washington cities.

These are not the actions of a utility fully committed to a climate safe future.

If PSE’s and OTPP’s net-zero commitments are to be taken seriously, the OTPP and PSE’s other pension fund owners must immediately move to end PSE’s efforts to expand fossil fuel infrastructure and delay Washington’s ambitious climate policies. To protect the retirement savings of Canadian pension plan members and align their investments with a safe climate future, PSE’s pension fund owners must rapidly accelerate the utility’s pathway to decarbonization.

Background info on Puget Sound Energy

Contact information for media requests:

Adam Scott, Director, Shift Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health 

adamscott@shiftaction.ca

416-347-3858

Patrick DeRochie, Manager, Shift Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health

patrick@shiftaction.ca

416-576-2701

Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health is a charitable initiative that monitors the fossil fuel and climate-related investments of Canadian pension funds and works to protect pensions and the climate by bringing together beneficiaries and their pension funds to engage on the climate crisis. 

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Originally posted July 8, 2021 at https://www.shiftaction.ca/news-updates

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