Clean Energy Worked on My House

Last fall, I wrote about how I had signed up for an energy retrofit of my house through Clean Energy Works Oregon. Clean Energy Works is a non-profit that allows utility customers to do home energy efficiency upgrades and pay for the upgrades through a charge on their utility bills. In that earlier post, I described the program and what made it attractive to me. Let me start with the advantages to the Clean Energy Works program:

The first is one-stop shopping. You… Full Post >>

CUB Applauds Coal Shut Down, Demands Better Analysis of Coal Investment

A couple of years ago, PGE was planning to invest $500 million in its Boardman coal plant. CUB challenged PGE to consider phasing the plant out instead of making the planned investments, and requested that PGE complete an analysis of a phase-out. PGE did the analysis and concluded that customers could save $200 million with a phase-out of the Boardman coal plant. (See Boardman Closure Update from last year.) 

Since that time, CUB has been working to… Full Post >>

Troutdale Library Workshop with CUB Connects

The CUB Connects crew headed to Troutdale this past Friday to offer our first educational workshop on Understanding Your Phone and Internet Bill. It was a small event, and the attendees were very grateful for the information we shared. The experience gave us a lot of motivation to continue offering workshops in the community.

The schedule of our upcoming workshops is available here . All of the workshops are free to the public and are conducted in partnership with the Multnomah County… Full Post >>

Energy Exporting: Still a Bad Idea

Though it is sometimes enjoyable, saying “I told you so” is usually not an indication that the best outcome of a situation has been achieved. That’s certainly the case with the pending applications for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the Oregon coast. In 2010, I wrote about these potential projects, which at that time were intended to be built to receive imports of LNG from the Middle East. Over the past couple of years, however, a sharp increase in the supply of shale gas… Full Post >>

January Fix It Fair Great Fun!

On Saturday, January 21st, Emmaline and I headed to Rosa Parks Elementary in North Portland for our second community Fix-it Fair.  The City of Portland hosts these fairs to connect Portland residents to information and resources that can help them save money and be healthy at home.  The fairs are free and open to the public.

We spoke to over 60 people about the CUB Connects project and ways they can better understand and select phone and internet service options in their… Full Post >>

Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency

Did you make energy efficiency improvements to your home in 2011? Did you buy any new energy efficient appliances through the Energy Trust of Oregon or other incentive programs? If you did either of these, you may qualify for tax credits on both the federal and state level.

For products purchased in 2011, to receive a federal tax credit you can file IRS form 5695 and enter the tax credit amount on line 52 of your 1040 form. Form 5695 must be… Full Post >>

A New Year Brings New Regulatory Challenges

Happy New Year from the CUB Regulatory Program!

Here at CUB, we are entering the New Year with new energy, new ideas, new staff assignments, and an assortment of interesting new dockets. And the Public Utility Commission (PUC) once more has THREE commissioners – welcome new Commissioner Steve Bloom! (Pictured above, left, with CUB staff Andrea Crosby and Bob Jenks)

Staff Assignments

At the end of December we bid “Bon Voyage!” to John Sturm, who reached… Full Post >>

CUB’s 2011 Accomplishments

Here at CUB, our small staff works tirelessly in the fight to keep utility rates fair and affordable for customers, while also ensuring that utility practices remain in line with our values as Oregonians. 2011 was another great year for CUB, full of many victories and accomplishments for Oregon ratepayers.

Here are a handful of our accomplishments from last year, broken down by the type of utility:

Electricity

• CUB helped negotiate an agreement designed to end 30 years of litigation… Full Post >>

Oregon HEAT: Neighbors Helping Neighbors Keep the Heat and Lights On

It’s now officially winter, according to the calendar, with frost on the ground in the morning and the appearance of hats, gloves, and scarves.  For some Oregonians, the falling temperatures and early nightfall represent more than just a change of season.  These signal the beginning of months of anxiety for low-income residents who struggle to afford their increased heating and/or electricity bills.  Thousands of residents this winter will face difficult decisions that no one should have to make: pay their utility… Full Post >>

USF Reform: Big Boost for Broadband

Back in October, we wrote about the Universal Service Fund, and the fact that it was slated for a potentially dramatic overhaul. These changes were designed to focus more on broadband internet service and less on traditional landline telephone service. Since then, the FCC did in fact release its proposed changes (PDF) and, as expected, they are designed to provide support for ensuring universal access to broadband services. The order, over 750 pages long, takes some reading and it will be a while before… Full Post >>

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