A group of residents wants the east side of King County to stop using Puget Sound Energy. They call it the dirtiest utility in Washington state.

There's a petition to form a new public utility district for Bellevue, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Woodinville, and surrounding cities.

It would remove that area — approximately 500,000 — from Puget Sound Energy's service. The East King County Public Utility District would be operated by an executive board consisting of three locals.

If at least 35,000 people sign the petition by early July, a measure will be on the 2020 ballot.

Puget Sound Energy is the state's largest energy provider. 56% of its energy mix comes from coal and gas. But there are more environmentally sound alternatives, said David Schwartz, an organizer leading the effort to establish the East King County Public Utility District.

"A public utility would provide cleaner energy than [Puget Sound Energy] can, because they are heavily invested in natural gas, which is just as dirty as coal when you consider its entire life cycle", he said.