Latest news with #HouseBill2475
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Kotek seeks answers from state utility commission amid public outcry over rising utility rates
Demand for electricity in the Northwest is expected to grow at its fastest pace in decades. Demand in Oregon is being driven by an influx of large data centers in the region. (Photo by Robert Zullo/States Newsroom) Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek's office has heard from thousands of Oregonians concerned with utility rate increases that have gone up for most by about 50% in the last five years. Kotek detailed this and her own concerns in a March 20 letter to the three governor-appointed chairs and executive director of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, which is charged with regulating the rates of investor-owned, monopoly electric and gas utilities operating in the state. She also laid out her expectations for the commission in the letter, including honoring the state's climate commitments while considering requests for rate increases from utilities. She asked that members provide information by Aug. 1 about their ability going forward to keep electricity and gas services affordable for Oregonians, handle the impacts of new heavy users such as data centers and ensure sound investments are being made in modernizing grid and distribution systems so Oregonians get reliable energy deliveries. 'It is imperative to balance these pressures with smart policy choices that ensure reliable energy while not breaking the bank for consumers,' Kotek wrote. Zachariah Baker, a policy adviser for the Oregon Public Utility Commission, said in an email the group is preparing a response to Kotek's request for more information and is in general agreement with the expectations she's laid out. 'We appreciate the governor's focus on the critical issues facing utility customers. The PUC shares these priorities and will continue to make progress on these issues with the stakeholder community,' Baker wrote. Kotek acknowledged both electric and natural gas utilities have and continue to face increasing insurance costs from the threat of catastrophic wildfires, inflationary pressures and volatile fuel prices. Everyday customers face those challenges, too. 'These challenges are clearly a burden for Oregonians struggling with a steep increase in the cost of living — from groceries, to housing, to health care. Day-to-day life is quite simply becoming more and more expensive,' she said in her letter. Kotek had three main requests for information that fall under the categories of affordability, large user growth and grid modernization and reliability. First, the governor asked for an update on the commission's ongoing implementation of House Bill 2475, passed in 2021, which gave the commission the authority to enforce a rate differential for low-income customers of the utilities and made grants available to organizations hoping to represent low-income customers in rate-case hearings, which can be technical, time consuming and expensive for everyday people to participate in. Baker of the commission said in the last four years, commissioners have passed rules requiring private utilities to offer bill discounts for income-qualifying residential customers and prohibited disconnections for elderly Oregonians and Oregonians with disabilities who fall behind on payments. Since 2021, the commission has also required utilities to report the number of disconnections they execute each year. In 2024, the state's investor-owned utilities disconnected a record number of Oregonians, according to those reports. Portland General Electric and Pacific Power — the two largest electric utilities in the state, serving nearly 75% of all Oregonians — collectively shut off power for nonpayment to nearly 10,000 Oregonians in 2024, nearly twice as many as the year prior. NW Natural, the state's largest private gas utility, turned off gas to 376 Oregonians in 2024 – a 30% increase since 2023. In the last five years, residential rates for customers of all three utilities have risen by about 50%, and the Oregon's Public Utility Commission has approved rate hikes requested by the utilities nearly every year. When it comes to new heavy energy users such as data centers, Kotek asked the commission, along with the Oregon Department of Energy, to investigate impacts and risks of these industrial users and their large energy demand on residential customers, and how the state's monopoly utilities expect to meet that projected load growth. Oregon's data center market is the fifth largest in the nation, according to Chicago-based commercial real estate group Cushman & Wakefield. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and X, formerly named Twitter, have massive data centers in eastern Oregon as well as in The Dalles, Hillsboro and Prineville that require enormous amounts of energy to operate. 'The PUC and our stakeholder community recognize that planning and cost allocation practices need to be examined in the face of unprecedented growth in the electric sector,' Baker said. The commission is considering several new rules that would ensure new large load users pay their 'fair share of infrastructure costs' related to getting them their power, according to Baker. Lastly, Kotek asked for more information on efforts, opportunities and barriers to utilities obtaining cost-effective clean energy and to maintaining system reliability while they seek to comply with the state's Climate Protection Program. That program, first passed in 2021 and reinstated in late 2024, mandated a 50% reduction in the state's greenhouse gas pollution by 2035 and a 90% reduction by 2050 to confront the growing threat of climate change. To get there, electric utilities and fossil fuel companies operating in Oregon will have to gradually decarbonize their energy supply, largely by shifting away from petroleum and natural gas, and incorporating more renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels — made from captured gas and decomposing matter — into their energy offerings. 'My administration is committed to implementing Oregon's Comprehensive Climate Action Plan to accelerate the clean energy transition, modernize our energy grid, and help lower energy bills for low-income Oregonians,' Kotek said in her letter. 'I expect utilities to match our commitment to meeting customers' needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our state's targets.' 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Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
After tragic losses, mothers push for stronger driving laws in Virginia
Pictured from left are mothers Tammy McGee and Christy King holding images of their late sons who died in car crashes. (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury) Two Virginia mothers who lost their children in car crashes are turning their grief into action, working with state lawmakers to push for stricter driver and passenger safety laws. Their efforts could lead to new penalties for unlicensed minors driving, expanded driver education in public schools, and a requirement for all adults in a vehicle to wear seat belts. 'We have a long way to go and this is just the start,' said Christy King, whose son, Christopher, died in a car crash in 2020. She spoke this week before a House Transportation subcommittee in support of House Bill 2475, carried by Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax, which would amend current law to require all adult passengers to wear seatbelts, not just those in the front seats. Christopher King had just graduated when he was thrown from the backseat of a convertible, unbuckled, as the driver sped at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone when he hit a ditch. Three others survived, including Fred Hannah, who supports the bill. 'It's a good thing that they're pushing it forward because … seatbelts save lives and it could save so many more lives into the future,' Hannah said. 'So for them to do this, it's a good start.' While lawmakers agreed to advance road safety legislation, they did so with some compromises. The language in Keys-Gamarra's bill was modified so that failing to buckle up would not be a primary offense, meaning law enforcement could not stop a vehicle for that violation. The measure includes a $25 fine and has been sent to the full House for consideration. The push for stronger seatbelt laws comes as Virginia was ranked worst in the nation for seatbelt use in 2023, with just 73.2% of residents buckling up, far below the national average of 91.9%, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Tammy McGee, who lost her son in a 2019 crash involving an unlicensed, underage driver, has become a lead advocate for road safety. She is championing House Bill 2213, introduced by Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, which would expand access to in-car driver education through public schools. The bill, which is not a mandate for school divisions, aims to reduce the number of unlicensed student drivers and has already passed the House. It is set to be introduced in the Senate as early as next week. McGee is also backing House Bill 1549 and Senate Bill 750, sponsored by Del. W. Chad Green, R-York, and Sen. Danny Diggs, R-York, which seek to hold owners accountable when unlicensed minors drive their cars. The bills, currently in committee, would charge the vehicle owner with a Class 1 misdemeanor if an unlicensed minor is caught driving. Lawmakers are considering modifying the bills under a different legal code section. 'These two bills are coinciding to be able to get our teenagers the education that they need, and then to also hold parents, or anyone accountable, who is unlicensed out on our roadways driving,' McGee said. 'These are two great pieces of legislation to save lives.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
