Latest news with #OregonPublicUtilityCommission
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
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill could limit how Oregon utilities pay for lobbying, ads
Powerlines in Hood River County above the Columbia River move electricity from the Bonneville Dam to customers across the region on July 25, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Gale/Oregon Capital Chronicle) A bill that aims to ensure Oregon ratepayers are not paying for utilities' lobbying and advertising expenses could provide transparency and some relief from high energy bills for Oregon ratepayers. On Monday, the state Senate Committee on Energy and Environment heard Senate Bill 88, labeled the 'Get the Junk out of our Rates' bill by advocates. Natural gas rates and electric rates are set through a process that allows utilities to charge rates that cover the cost of doing business, and then to turn a profit. The bill would essentially create more clarity around utility spending and when it must come out of those allowed profits. If they spend on advertising, political influence, litigation, or pay for trade associations or membership fees and fines, that spending would not be allowed to push up rates — it would have to be taken from profits instead. Some of the state's largest private utilities and their trade groups have opposed the bill, arguing that inflation, safety repairs and compliance with regulatory mandates are what drive rates higher — and that the proposed legislation is not necessary, because their allowable spending is already regulated. Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, said the bill is about transparency and will allow Oregonians to better understand what can and cannot be included when rates are set. But she warned that ratepayers may not see a significant decrease on their energy bills with this proposed legislation. 'I want to be really clear with folks too, just so they have kind of a level setting is — You're not going to see a big difference on your utility bill with this bill,' she said. 'This isn't the bill that I've seen that people are saying, 'Oh, they're going to save me money,' so I want to really make sure that people understand.' The bill would require utilities to submit a report to the Oregon Public Utility Commission on spending that is nonrecoverable from ratepayers. Senate Bill 88 comes at a time when many Oregonians are paying 50% more on their energy bills than they did five years ago. Although lawmakers say the legislation would not provide much relief on energy bills, it would create more transparency. It would also help streamline the utilities' rate case process, which is the regulatory process in which the Public Utility Commission and intervenors, like nonprofit consumer advocacy groups, vet and question utility rates. Senate Bill 88 would ensure that shareholders profits are reduced to pay for costs related to advertising or lawyer fees or political influence — and that spending can't be baked into rate structures. Sarah Wochele is the policy associate with Oregon Citizens' Utility Board, or CUB, a nonprofit utility watchdog group created by voters in 1984. She said during a general rate setting process, intervenors comb through hundreds of pages of testimony. Because it can be a tedious task, Wochele said, the current process favors trying to keep rates down by going after higher costs. That sometimes leads to not discussing smaller utility spending choices. 'These are things such as costs related to advertising, activity related to supporting advertising, costs from travel, lodging, entertainment, food for utilities boards of directors,' she said. 'CUB has seen utilities try to include Blazer basketball tickets and Oregon Ducks football tickets in rates. Another utility once tried to include baby pigs for a 4-H program in eastern Washington.' Nearly three years ago, dozens of organizations and some lawmakers called on an investigation into what they claimed was NW Natural's 'misleading advertisement' to the public and in school work books. At the time, Oregon CUB became aware of the alleged misuse of funds during NW Natural's general rate case. Avista Natural Gas has also been found to use ratepayer funds to fight state climate action regulation. Carra Sahler, director and staff attorney of the Green Energy Institute at Lewis and Clark Law School, said Oregonians are tightening their belts and this bill would help utilities do the same. 'The proposal is intended to provide a bright line direction about what is recoverable from ratepayers and what isn't,' she said. 'The point of the bill is to cut out the needless back and forth between ratepayers advocates like the Citizens Utility Board, other intervenors, staff at the public utility commission, and the utilities themselves.' Similar bills have been passed in other parts of the country, like Colorado, Connecticut and Maine. Stephanie Chase is the research and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog organization that counters misinformation by fossil fuel and utility interests. She said those states passed similar legislation in 2023 and ratepayers are already seeing benefits. For example, a recent analysis from her organization found that since the law went into effect in Connecticut, the state's investor-owned utilities have disclosed over $9.7 million that was spent on costs that are not allowed to be recovered from ratepayers. 'In Colorado, the Public Utility Commission disallowed more than $775,000 in annual costs for lobbying fees, trade association dues, and investor relations that one utility at Xcel Energy had tried to recover,' she said. Overall, she said, among the immediate benefits Senate Bill 88 would be 'bright lines' around certain costs and expenses, that make it easier to highlight during the general rate case process and save the PUC and intervenors' time during the settlement process. Those bright lines are found in other states. But utilities like Cascade Natural Gas, Northwest Natural and the Northwest Gas Association oppose the bill claiming it's redundant with what already exists in current law and with the Public Utility Commission's orders on reviewing costs to determine if they are appropriate to recover from ratepayers. 'It's already within the PUC's power and means to impose penalties for violation of rule, law and order,' Cascade Natural Gas external affairs manager Alyn Spector said. For example, PUC allows utilities to recover 75% of their trade association fees, and are permitted to engage in 'just and reasonable' promotional activities. The utilities' also say the bill does not address energy affordability, is not clear on what type of community engagement would be allowed as an expense, and would require utilities to spend additional resources on providing an additional annual report. 'As written, we're afraid that the bill would stifle innovation by punishing utilities who attempt to recover costs on overly broad definitions of advertising and political influence activity. We do try to be good stewards of ratepayer dollars.' This story was originally published by Oregon Public Broadcasting. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill on wildfire prevention work could give utilities immunity from lawsuits
Sam Drevo walks by the burned foundation of his mother's home in Gates following the 2020 Labor Day fires. (Photo courtesy of Tyler Westfall) A bill that would establish minimum wildfire prevention standards for electric utilities in exchange for an annual certificate from the Oregon Public Utility Commission would give them immunity from being held accountable in lawsuits, lawyers say. If passed, House Bill 3666 would give utilities a state-sanctioned defense against lawsuits when their equipment starts fires, leaving customers holding the bag for damages caused by multi-billion dollar companies that provide electricity to nearly 75% of Oregonians, lawyers and survivors warn. Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, filed the bill Tuesday to create standards for wildfire prevention work undertaken by utilities, she said. That would result in safer communities and help the utilities stay insured by avoiding costly lawsuits, she added. But critics of the bill, including members of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association who participated in workgroup meetings on the bill convened by Marsh, said the bill would be used as a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for the utilities. Each year, the large investor-owned electric utilities are required to submit wildfire prevention plans to the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Under House Bill 3666, the commission would review the plans and issue a 'wildfire safety certification' for 12 months if the plan meets new, state-established standards. 'A wildfire safety certification establishes that an applicant is acting reasonably with regard to wildfire safety practices and materially consistent with the applicant's wildfire protection plan or wildfire mitigation plan,' the bill states. The PUC would also be given the authority and resources to monitor that the utilities do the work promised in their wildfire prevention plans. But Cody Berne, a governor at large with the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and an attorney at the Portland-based law firm Stoll Berne, which is representing survivors of the historic 2020 Labor Day fires, said utilities would use the certification to their advantage in court: They could argue they had 'acted reasonably' even if they were responsible for starting catastrophic fires like those in 2020 that killed 11 people and destroyed 4,000 homes. In 2023, a Multnomah County jury found PacificCorp guilty of being reckless and negligent in a class action lawsuit over the 2020 Labor Day fires and awarded plaintiffs hundreds of millions of dollars. To date, according to the company's website, it's agreed or been ordered to pay more than $1 billion to residents and companies affected by the fires. Berne said that the state should hold utilities accountable for their actions. 'The Legislature shouldn't give massive corporations a bailout over keeping communities safe,' Berne said. Berkshire Hathaway, PacificCorp's owner, recently reported year-over-year revenues up 71% from 2023 to a record $14.5 billion, and operating profits of $47 billion, up 27% from 2023. Representatives of the Trial Lawyers Association said they warned Marsh that the bill, which has not yet been assigned to a committee, would give utilities immunity from culpability in lawsuits. But she refuted that. 'We spent a lot of time talking about whether there should be additional legal protections associated with this, and we did not attach any of that,' Marsh told the Capital Chronicle. 'The bill does not have, you know, specific statements about what a safety certification implies, from a legal protection point of view; we didn't put those on.' Marsh is among the lawmakers that utilities have courted through donations. Since 2018, she's received $10,500 from Portland General Electric, about $1,500 a year. In its latest donation Jan. 8, PGE gave her $1,000. She's also received $5,500 from PacifiCorp since 2018, including $1,000 from the company in October 2024. She's received about the same amount — $5,500 — during the last seven years from Idaho Power, an investor-owned utility serving about 20,000 customers in eastern Oregon. State Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, is co-sponsoring the bill, along with state Rep. Kevin Mannix, a Republican from Salem. In workgroup sessions, Oregon's big monopoly utilities — PacifiCorp's Pacific Power and Portland General Electric, or PGE – advocated for the wildfire safety regulations in the bill and certification from the Public Utility Commission. Kristen Sheeran, a lobbyist for PGE, said the bill doesn't give utilities 'absolute immunity' but she said the companies need to 'zero out the risk' to prevent insurance loss and skyrocketing premiums, which have tripled for the company in recent years, she said. 'What if the utility has done absolutely everything to reduce the risk of wildfire related to equipment, and then 100-mile an hour wind blows an ember from 5 miles away? Or a squirrel literally climbs into a transformer and creates a spark?' she said. PacifiCorp representatives were also in the workgroup. A company spokesperson, Simon Gutierrez, did not address questions of whether the bill could be used by the company to shield itself from wildfire liability. In an email he said the bill is 'a meaningful and holistic solution to address the foundational issues posed by wildfire risk, seeking to strike a balance between accountability and criticality.' Ted Case, executive director of the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which represents 18 electric cooperatives in the state, also participated in the workgroup. He said the group supports the legislation. And Bob Jenks, director of the consumer watchdog Citizens' Utility Board, who attended meetings as well, said the board hasn't endorsed or opposed the bill while waiting for a review from the board's lawyer. But he said having enforceable wildfire prevention standards could be helpful. 'Right now utilities submit wildfire mitigation plans, right? Those plans are accepted, and that's the end of it,' he said. 'What I pushed for is: there needs to be an auditing function for the commission to go and check to see if they're doing those plans,' Jenks said. California's wildfire safety certificate program served as a precedent for House Bill 3666, Marsh said. But California laws on wildfire liability are far more robust than those in Oregon. In California, big electric utilities are, by law, 'strictly liable' for any damages caused by their activity or equipment, regardless of fault or foreseeability. Because the private investor-owned utilities in California, as in Oregon, are considered state-sanctioned monopolies, California law dictates they be held accountable under the same damages laws applicable to state agencies or individuals. California also has a multi-billion fund to pay wildfire survivors, and utilities are required to pay into it. Oregon has no such fund to aid victims in the aftermath of a utility-caused wildfire. Sam Drevo, a survivor of the 2020 Labor Day fires in the Santiam Canyon, is among those waiting for PacifiCorp to pay damages. Drevo said he was 'awestruck' that Oregon legislators would propose offering PacifiCorp any relief while he and many others are waiting for damages to be paid. He and hundreds of other survivors have been forced to each sue PacifiCorp, submit to psychological evaluations, handover medical and financial records and in trial, show that they were not negligent. Despite the jury verdict and settlements with hundreds of victims, PacifiCorp has never accepted its responsibility and the Oregon Public Utility Commission has never investigated, both sore points for survivors. 'Do you think the Legislature should be taking care of PacifiCorp while Oregonians who were burned up in 2020 and 2022 are still suffering, not able to rebuild and move on with their lives?' Drevo said. 'How it could even be brought to the Legislature in this moment is, to me, I mean — are they even representing Oregonians?' The lone bill in the current session to pressure PacifiCorp to resolve the pending lawsuits with Oregonians is House Bill 3161, proposed by Rep. Jamie Cate, would prevent utilities from raising rates while they are still facing years-long lawsuits over wildfire culpability and costs. The bill, in the the House Judiciary Committee, has bipartisan support but has yet to have a hearing. On House Bill 3666, Cate said she can see some rationale for limiting the liability of utility companies who do good work keeping communities safe, but called it 'a slap in the face to victims if a company like Pacific Power could qualify for that protection.' Cate said her bill has been sidelined by some supporters of Marsh's bill. 'I also think it's unfortunate that the push by proponents of absolving utilities from any liability has proven effective in killing a bill that could have helped hold Pacific Power accountable for their undeniable negligence. But doing so would have undermined the argument of why they need immunity from wrongdoing to begin with.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
