These price increases, while not completely surprising, are stunning in their impact. We say unsurprising, because natural gas costs have been rising while demand has also remained high. Add in a volatile economic climate, a volatile geological climate, and this is what you get. We think higher gas prices is the new long-term trend, an energy future in which cheap fossil fuel energy is gone, and energy efficiency and renewables are no longer an afterthought, but primary drivers of our energy policy. This new status quo was reflected in the Commission's decision to open yesterday's public hearing with a statement about how energy efficiency and conservation can help us cope with these energy prices, from the director of the Energy Trust of Oregon.

People understand that global warming is causing more severe weather patterns, and many are also beginning to see that we have the opportunity now to build climate change policies that will reduce fossil fuel demand and prices over the long term. These policies will not pay off tomorrow, but could easily start to pay big dividends within a few years. Oregon is already moving in the direction of long-term energy stability with its recent Renewable Energy Standard. The price increases we are faced with today are a sign that we should be doing even more to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, so that we are not so much at the mercy of these fossil fuel markets in 10 years, or 20.

CUB is very much aware that this increase is going to hit people hard, especially because electricity, gasoline, and food are all increasing as well. The New York Times reported today that, "In the last 12 months, the price index has risen 5 percent, the biggest annual jump since May 1991."

Closer to home, a CUB member sent us an email yesterday saying "Can't Afford 40% NW Gas Hike... Please help." We'll do our best. But spread the word: customers need to prepare now for the price increase coming this winter. There's just no way around that basic fact.

Posted by Oregon CUB at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2008

CUB Protects Basic Local Service in Qwest Settlement

Qwest has been trying to deregulate phone service in Oregon for quite a while. You may recall a bill to that effect in last year's Legislative Session. Then last fall they filed a case with the PUC asking for deregulation and the ability to raise rates. CUB has been working defense on this issue for some years now, working to keep land-line phone service protected for those who rely on it, and we've recently reached a settlement.

Just a little background: Many states in the West have been convinced to go with telecommunications deregulation, including Idaho and California, which are moving toward complete price deregulation; and Washington, which deregulated everything except basic local service, and even that is going up 25%. Legislators and regulators are being persuaded when Qwest and other telephone companies plead for deregulation, due to the fierce competition they're getting from wireless companies (an industry which has never been regulated). In this case, Qwest asked to deregulate most features and raise the rate of basic local service (the first residential line) by $2 (or 15%) during the next 4 years, and even more after the 4 years was up.

We came into our talks with Qwest in the current case at the Oregon Public Utility Commission with a few key goals: 1) protect basic local service; 2) protect unlisted numbers and a handful of other features which could be essential for reasons of safety or financial hardship; and 3) help customers negotiate the maze of telecomm pricing.

Well, we achieved what we set out to do. Basic local service will see no rate increase for at least 5 years. This means that the cost of basic local service will remain where it has been since before 1991, a milestone for CUB Executive Director Bob Jenks, since that is the period of time he's been at CUB, and it means that basic local telephone service has not increased on his watch.

In addition, a key group of features has been capped at current rates, features such as unlisted numbers, call trace (the ability to trace a number which has called harassing a household), toll restriction (the ability to prevent long-distance or toll calls from being made from a phone), extended area service, and switched access (access to the long distance network).

Qwest also agreed that when speaking with a customer, their service representatives will always give the customer information about the lowest cost item or feature to suit their needs.

Finally, Qwest has agreed to fund an independent organization to provide comparative pricing information about telecommunications services (including wireless) to consumers. The details of the organization have yet to be worked out, but the $2 million over 5 years that will make it possible, has been agreed upon.

Deregulation was not to be completely avoided, however; Qwest will be able to raise rates under the settlement for other, non-essential features, which includes caller ID, call waiting, and call forwarding (voice mail was deregulated some time ago); but the PUC would maintain the ability to reregulate these services if the prices were no longer just and reasonable. These features are most often purchased as part of a "bundle," which is not and never has been subject to price regulation; very few Oregonians purchase these features individually anymore, which we hope mitigates the price impact on the majority of customers.

Furthermore, in comparison to the deal many neighboring states are getting, we feel that the deal we negotiated for Oregon was a good one. Most importantly, we were able to protect basic local service, so that the many thousands of low-income people and seniors in Oregon who rely on their one land-line will not be adversely affected by the changes. And we will let our members know when clear information becomes available through the soon-to-be-created independent telecommunications consumer information organization.

We here at CUB are not big fans of the concept of deregulation in general. Deregulation of pricing, or giving a utility company complete pricing freedom, tends to be great for the company and bad for the consumer, who often has little recourse in terms of an option to switch companies. Utilities tend to be monopolies, and that's one of the main reasons we regulate them. While many state regulators are moving ahead with deregulation, we think it is misguided and will do all we can to ensure that Oregon does not deregulate basic local telephone service.

Posted by Oregon CUB at 04:04 PM | Comments (2)

October 03, 2007

CUB Helps Redesign Energy Efficiency Program

Sometimes it takes a few years to work the kinks out of a new program, and it looks as though the OLIEE Program (Oregon Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program) will now be able to hit its stride. The OLIEE Program was first negotiated in a regulatory agreement under the aegis of the Public Utility Commission back in 2002 to help low-income natural gas customers weatherize their homes and make gains in energy efficiency. The public purpose funds that pay for the OLIEE project are collected in bills by NW Natural from natural gas ratepayers, and services are delivered primarily by the social service agencies that make up the Community Action Partnership of Oregon or CAPO (formerly known as Community Action Directors of Oregon).

In order to receive weatherization from the community action agencies, a household must be at or below 60% of the state median income level. Last year, 300 houses across Oregon had their homes weatherized under OLIEE, and that's nothing to sneeze at. But the consensus among those who started the program and monitor it, a group that includes CUB, NW Natural and CAPO, was that we could do better.

There were difficulties with the process, such as the fact that the agencies that managed the program were required to front the money for weatherization and energy efficiency projects from their limited budgets, receiving reimbursement after a process that could last several months. Also, the program was intended to mirror the highly effective weatherization and energy efficiency projects for electricity customers, but did not, which made the two programs more difficult to juggle.

So, about a year ago, conversations began around what could be done to redesign the program for maximum effectiveness. Sitting at the table were the original program designers, along with individual service agencies such as Clackamas County Social Services, Lane County Human Services Commission, and the Community Action Agency of Marion and Polk Counties. And after many rounds of negotiation, the new OLIEE Program was rolled out September 1st, a 3-year pilot program that aims to serve 400 households this year, 525 next year, and 600 the following year. How to achieve these increases in numbers? The answer is pretty simple.

First, the program will begin to mirror more fully the weatherization and energy efficiency programs for electricity customers. This removes layers of complexity from the process and allows agency staff to administer weatherization programs that do not differ significantly from one another. Second, the funds for the weatherization/energy efficiency projects will be paid upfront, allowing agencies to both streamline the process and solidify their financial basis. Finally, the revamped guidelines will allow agencies to pursue a "whole house approach" that takes into account health and safety measures that might undermine the weatherization steps being taken. For example, under the old guidelines tasks were compartmentalized, and a weatherization project might consist of insulating under the roof and within the walls, but a hole in a window or an ill-hung door letting in cold air would have to be paid for with other funds, increasing the program's complexity and time required. Under the new guidelines, the house as a whole is evaluated and weatherized, achieving the intended energy savings with less wasted time.

The benefit to the families and individuals, many of them elderly, who receive benefits under OLIEE are obvious. Natural gas prices have increased along with the rest of the fossil fuel market and low-income Oregonians whose homes are weatherized will potentially avoid shut-offs in cases of severe financial distress, will save hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of dollars on their gas bills, and be more comfortable besides. The value doesn't stop there, though; increasing the number of homes in our region who can reduce their energy usage also reduces demand on the system as a whole, keeping rates down.

Whether we're talking about global warming, rising rates, or diminishing oil and gas supplies, there are many good reasons to make sure that our use of fossil fuels is as efficient as it possibly can be, and the revamped OLIEE program takes us several steps in that direction. Remember: energy efficiency is the cheapest way to "acquire" new energy. Successful energy efficiency is a win for everybody.

Posted by Oregon CUB at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2007

Big Wins in the 2007 Legislative Session

Yet another session of the Oregon legislature has passed into the history books and CUB, with the help of its members, delivered some big wins for consumers. Of course, the session ended many weeks ago, but CUB, and our lobbyist Jeff Bissonnette, couldn't call it a day until the controversy surrounding the proposed diversion of public purpose funds was resolved. Now, we can finally report on the accomplishments of the session as a whole. The wins included ticking off just about every item on an ambitious Clean Energy Agenda, turning aside anti-consumer deregulation legislation for the telecommunications industry, and adding a layer of protection for consumers when a utility is the subject of a proposed purchase. All this during one of the shortest sessions in recent memory.

Jeff Bissonnette speaks to CUB Board members outside the Oregon House of Representatives during the 2007 Legislative Session.

Energy

SB 461: Passed and signed into law. Increases the Oregon Energy Assistance Program from $10 million to $15 million per year (indexed to load and residential customer growth), helping many more Oregonians pay their electric bill. This helps all consumers because keeping ratepayers connected to the system, rather than being disconnected and reconnected, lowers costs for everybody.

SB 838: Passed and signed into law. The Oregon Renewable Energy Act requires that 25% of the state's energy needs be met from renewable resources by 2025. Allows smaller utilities to meet a lower standard, but requires every utility to integrate renewable energy into future planning to meet future energy needs. In addition, the bill also allows for additional energy efficiency measures above the 3% public purpose charge already dedicated to energy conservation. Since efficiency is the lowest-cost way to acquire energy, this is a big step forward. Finally, the bill also extended the public purpose charge (which currently funds renewable and energy efficiency projects through the Energy Trust of Oregon) to 2025, beyond the former sunset of 2012. This demonstrates Oregon's continued commitment to a clean energy future and will help to stabilize the electrical system as a whole.

HB 2620: Passed and signed into law. Requires that 1.5 percent of all new public building construction be dedicated to including solar as part of the design.

SB 375: Passed and signed into law. Increases energy efficiency standards for certain named appliances. As a companion to the groundbreaking bill CUB helped pass last session, the 2007 bill added energy-saving standards for more appliances. The bill also allows the state Department of Energy to align Oregon standards with other standards adopted by other states.

HB 2211 and HB 2212 (included in HB 3201): Passed and signed into law. Originally HB 2211 increased the state Business Energy Tax Credit and HB 2212 increased the Residential Energy Tax Credit to provide additional incentives for using renewable energy in homes and businesses around the state. The Business Energy Tax Credit was also amended so that homebuilders could get a tax credit for including renewable energy systems in homes they were building and selling. Both bills became a part of an omnibus tax credit bill, HB 3201, which gained legislative approval and the governor's signature.

HB 3488: Passed and signed into law. Provides two innovative ways to increase renewable energy use, especially solar. First, the bill amended an existing statute that allows a utility to front the cost of energy conservation projects to a customer and then be repaid through the customer's electric bill. HB 3488 added the ability to do the same thing for a renewable energy system. The bill only provides the authorization for such a program, with the Public Utility Commission to later approve the details. Second, the bill provided a tax incentive for third-party investment in large renewable energy systems that would offset the energy usage of a facility owned by a public entity or non-profit organization. The public or nonprofit entity would eventually own the system.

SB 994: Line-item veto of a diversion of public purpose funds. At the last minute, the legislative Ways and Means Committee attempted to divert ratepayer public purpose funds dedicated to energy conservation and renewable energy resources (to pay down a debt owed by the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry). While CUB did not have an objection to helping OMSI, using dedicated ratepayer funds was inappropriate. After much grassroots lobbying and negotiation, the Governor ultimately issued a line-item veto of the diversion.

Global Warming

HB 3543: Passed and signed into law. Created the Oregon Global Warming Commission to coordinate state policy development on addressing global warming and climate change long-term. The bill also created the Climate Change Research Institute within the Oregon System of Higher Education and established goals for the reduction of carbon emissions. The bill will be a cornerstone for future global warming policy proposals.

Telecommunications

HB 2621: Held in committee. This bill was pushed by Qwest and would have deregulated the telecommunications industry in Oregon. While the bill also provided some additional consumer protections, CUB determined that the trade-off was not good enough for consumers. Although Qwest worked very hard to move this bill forward, CUB -- along with a range of other interest groups -- managed to forestall the effort. Qwest will likely be back for another try.

Consumer Protection/Public Power

SB 443: Passed and signed into law. Provides for the possible creation of Oregon Community Power, a public entity that could purchase a current private utility if the utility was for sale and the customers and municipalities in the utility's service territory believed it would be in the customers' interest to bring the utility into public ownership. This bill was similar to another bill from the 2005 session, which CUB helped write but ended up opposing because of a provision that would have limited the benefits of the federal hydropower system to the new utility and raised customers' rates. This bill adequately addressed those concerns. This provides an alternative path to public ownership which would have been handy when Texas Pacific Group was trying to buy PGE. Consumers now have another way to protect themselves if they believe a potential purchase of an Oregon utility would not be in their best interest.

After All Is Said and Done...

Let's just say it was quite a session. And there's not much time to rest up because the Legislature has planned a month-long special session in February 2008 as part of an experiment to explore moving toward annual sessions. Rest assured, CUB will be in the thick of things come February and, as always, we'll need the help of our members to win more victories and turn aside anti-consumer proposals.

But for now, we thank you for your support in the 2007 session and know that we can all claim a part of a history-making session. Thanks, CUB members!

Posted by Oregon CUB at 02:25 PM | Comments (2)

June 07, 2007

Governor Signs Renewable Bill, CUB Still Has Pots on the Stove

Yesterday morning, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed into law SB 838, the Renewable Energy Standard, in a room full of those people who had helped make the idea into a bill and then move the bill through the Oregon Legislature (including, in the picture below, CUB Organizing Director Jeff Bissonnette, CUB Staff Attorney Jason Eisdorfer, and CUB Board Member Fred Heutte). The morning signing was a celebratory occasion, crowning months of hard work, and resulting in a movement toward a greener electricity system for Oregon, requiring 25% renewable energy sources by 2025.

Governor Kulongoski and Clean Energy Allies at RES Signing Ceremony

This is the second serious move Oregon has taken to address the consequences of global warming, the first being adoption of California's tail-pipe emissions standards. A third move is the passage of HB 2620, which ensures that all new public building projects will designate 1.5% of construction costs to installing solar power. This is a significant change, adding to an overall "greening" shift in our power system, and the precedent it sets for successfully integrating clean energy technology is a tremendous boon to the state.

Still in the works: We're very much hoping for a fourth major move toward reducing greenhouse gases, if the Legislature passes the Climate Integration Bill, which would establish requirements for utility reporting of carbon emissions, create a state policy commission on climate change, and establish a university-based research center on climate change policy. Gathering information on climate shifts both worldwide and from local impacts in Oregon would be a great foundation for future actions we can take to protect our land and economy from the difficulties that could be approaching due to global warming.

Two other energy efficiency bills (the cheapest and cleanest power is the power you don't use, right?) have been sent to the Ways and Means Committee, and still have a shot at passage: SB 576 would require state agencies to construct new buildings to LEED Gold Standards, which could lower those buildings' energy usage by 15%; and HB 2876 would require state buildings to achieve a 20% reduction in energy usage by 2015.

Also still cooking are amendments to revise and expand the clean energy tax credits for residential (RETC) and business customers (BETC) that already exist. This is especially exciting to add a financial incentive for developers to include clean energy systems, such as solar, onto the houses they build. After all, why should clean energy be only an after-purchase add-on when it could be common practice for all new housing construction? Every energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable bill that we can pass will pay dividends well into the future in reduced energy costs and pollution.

And last but not least is SB 461, the low-income energy assistance bill, which would raise the amount of money available for those unable to pay their utility bills from $10 to $15 million, resulting in an increase of about 20 cents per residential utility bill. This is important because Oregon is not even coming close to meeting the needs of those who cannot pay their energy bills, and because a cycle of shut-offs costs all customers money in the long run. This bill could still pass and we ardently hope that it does.

On the telecommunications front, it looks likely that the Telecomm Consumer Bill of Rights is not going to pass this session, and we are hopeful that neither will any of the several dangerous deregulation bills that were floated this time around by the telecomm industry.

With all of the energy bills still in play, we are clearly not done yet, and with the leadership in Salem hoping to end the session by June 29th, we are looking at an extremely busy next few weeks. Well, that's all to the good. We're pushing hard to the end. We may send another action alert on one of our priority bills in the next few weeks - keep your eyes peeled.

Posted by Oregon CUB at 04:26 PM | Comments (2)

October 26, 2006

Free Is a Very Good Price: Let's Talk Wi-Fi

There was a time not so long ago when youth supposedly had an edge in technological advances, when our elders were assumed to be "out of it" when it came to computers and other quickly developing gadgetry. Well, it looks as if whatever water that theory held might be dripping away. You might have heard the sound of the drips had you followed CUB Executive Director Bob Jenks to his speaking engagement yesterday at a national committee meeting of the AARP. These retired persons did not want to talk golf, or canning, or even the (somewhat deplorable) state of current medical costs. They wanted to talk Wi-Fi, the broadband access to the Internet that is available by means of an antenna receiving radiowaves.

The AARP wanted to talk Wi-Fi because that technology can dramatically reduce the cost of high speed Internet access and help bridge the digital divide. That makes it possible for low-income Americans to participate in the online information age. They wanted to have that discussion here in Portland, Oregon because Portland (so they say) has it all going on. So, what is going on with Wi-Fi in Oregon and in Portland?

Well, as you may know, quite a bit. Here are four examples of current and upcoming broadband projects in Oregon.

1. Hermiston, Oregon has for almost 2 years been the site of the nation's largest Wi-Fi network, an area that encompasses 600 square miles. Originally created to support the needs of the Port of Umatilla and the nearby Army Depot, it has been offered free of charge to local residents as well.

2. Portland-based Personal Telco Project is a non-profit created to promote the availability of broadband access through Wi-Fi "nodes" or broadcast hotspots set up in various neighborhoods, of which Portland currently has over 100. Bob Jenks lives near one of these nodes and will soon hit his second anniversary of free Internet service at his house.

3. Personal sharing of a broadband signal is also used more informally, often between neighbors who might split the cost of a broadband service and share the encryption code (note: this is forbidden in contracts with some of the larger broadband providers but not by all telecommunications carriers).

4. Portland will soon become one of only two major U.S. cities (the other being Philadelphia) to offer Wi-Fi access throughout the city. Downtown Portland is due to have free broadband in December of this year, with the rest of the city covered within 2 more years. This is a public/private partnership, with the city providing the poles and right-of-way and private sources covering start-up costs. Rather than subscribing to the broadband service, residents will be able to access it for free, with advertisers footing the bill (this is a pilot project for doing advertiser-supported Wi-Fi on this scale).

CUB notes that current prices for the faster Internet connection services such as DSL (offered by Qwest or Verizon), cable (offered by Comcast), or broadband offered by cell phone companies (such as Sprint or Cingular) tend to be on the expensive side, running anywhere from $50 to $75 per month. This prices a lot of people out of the market, particularly those living on a fixed income. In comparison, a card or antenna to receive broadband Internet access can be purchased for $10-$25. After that initial purchase, the consumer, in a place such as Portland, Hermiston, or Philadelphia, could be truly "home free."

This may be one reason that, even though the expansion of Wi-Fi coverage may be the most exciting telecomm topic for everyone from the AARP to the folks at Personal Telco, it does not have a place at the table on the current Task Force on Telecommunications created by Oregon's Senate Bill 17. Bob Jenks sits on the Task Force, as well as 4 legislators, and members of the Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (the old Baby Bells), and the Independent Oregon Telecommunications Assoc. (smaller local carriers), Wireless Cell Phone Providers, and the Cable Industry. There is pretty broad representation from throughout this industry but the group has not spent 5 minutes on Wi-Fi. The fact that each of these industry segments offers their own broadband at a cost of more than $50 per month could explain why Wi-Fi is not being discussed or promoted within the telecomm industry.

A New York Times article about the Hermiston Wi-Fi phenomenon stated that "Indeed, we need to envision broadband Internet access as just another utility... Other American towns need to follow Hermiston... in ensuring broadband Internet access as reliably as they do water or electricity." Affordability added to reliability makes the prospect really shine.

Posted by Oregon CUB at 02:04 PM | Comments (1)

November 10, 2005

Small Cases Can Have Large Consequences

CUB occasionally works on really big cases at the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC), cases that make the front page of local newspapers, cases that affect the region's economy and environment and thousands of people's utility service. And then there are the other cases, cases that will never be front page news, cases that affect a smaller percentage of the population, but which we consider to still be very important because the effects might be substantially greater in those affected people's lives.

Recently we filed testimony in one of those latter types of cases, AR 500. The primary issue is whether to approve a system of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), a way of connecting the meters at PGE customers' houses to a system that can "read" the electricity usage without the company having to send round an employee to read the meter in person. This primary issue is still being debated, and CUB is reserving judgment, saying in our Comments (filed jointly with the Community Action Directors of Oregon) that the "benefits and cost effectiveness of AMI… will need to be demonstrated in future OPUC dockets."

The secondary issue within this case was whether to allow PGE to disconnect a customer for non-payment, without having spoken to an adult at the residence, but having only left phone messages. A decision on this issue was easier for CUB to reach: "We oppose eliminating the requirement for a site visit in cases of impending disconnection of utility service where the utility has not reached the customer or another adult at the residence by phone… A telephone message will not suffice."

No one should be surprised with a shutoff. We don't feel that it's appropriate for PGE to be able to turn off the electrical power to your house or apartment without making sure someone there knows about it beforehand. Really, our opposition to this request feels like the least we can do, and we feel that a final site visit is the least PGE can do.

Why is this so important?

First, because we know that shutoffs present huge difficulties in terms of instituting new service, and in just getting through the day without power.

Second, because we know that only about two thirds of PGE's machine-operated calls make it through to a person. That leaves one third without phone contact! That number seems high, but the poor among us tend to move more often, may perhaps be working multiple jobs and rarely home, and often live without a phone (a recent survey of Oregon Food Bank basket recipients showed that 21% of those people had no phone service).

Third, because it's the right thing to do. Face-to-face notice of disconnection is not an outrageous thing to ask of a basic utility service provider. To again use the words of our Comments, "[W]e do not find the requirement for a single final site visit in the case of an impending disconnection… to be onerous."

Millions of people in this country are living in poverty. That number has increased in the past year. CUB takes seriously its mission to protect residential customers – all of them; and while, thankfully, most of the people we represent will never face disconnection, we know that for those who will have to deal with a shutoff, it is a major problem. Hopefully, the PUC will agree with our arguments and deny PGE the requested change.

Posted by Oregon CUB at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)