NW Natural Claims Customers are Making Homes Too Efficient!?

In previous posts, we have discussed NW Natural’s proposal to raise the monthly customer charge to $29/month.
 

Last week was CUB’s chance to respond to NW Natural’s proposal.  In examining the company’s request, we concluded that the purpose of NW Natural’s proposal seems to be to encourage customers to spend less on conservation.  By increasing the portion of your bill that is a monthly fixed charge unaffected by your usage, NW Natural is reducing your incentive to conserve… 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 >>

CUB Attends the Northwest Public Service Career Fair

On Saturday, February 4th, CUB’s Business Director SA Anders and I had the pleasure of spending the morning with some of Oregon’s brightest and most enthusiastic law students at the NW Public Service Career Fair.  Each year, Lewis & Clark Law School hosts the Portland chapter of the fair, which seeks to link law students and alumni with opportunities to work with organizations that make a difference.  This career fair is unique in that, as the name suggests, it is geared toward students… 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 >>

Utility Consumer Advocates Gather In St. Louis

I recently traveled to St. Louis for the Annual meeting of National Association of Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA). The meeting brings together people who work on behalf of utility customers from around the country, and now that I am back in my beloved home state, I’d like to share some impressions.

Many folks may not know that there is a national organization that connects all the disparate consumer advocate groups throughout the United States. But there is.  NASUCA helps utility consumer advocates… Full Post >>

Everything Old is New Again

On October 27 and 28, Hood River will be visited by a host of telecommunications industry and policy experts. The occasion is the Oregon Connections Telecommunications Conference, an annual gathering “to share ideas, experiences and knowledge about telecommunications.” This year’s theme seeks to “explore the importance and value of broadband telecommunications adoption and utilization for business, government, education, healthcare, public safety, communities and individuals.”

CUB executive director Bob Jenks will be on a panel discussing broadband (high-speed Internet connections) and the Oregon Universal Service… Full Post >>

Smart Grid Conference a Smash Hit!

On Friday, October 21st, CUB Policy Center, with the support of the University of Oregon. and many others, hosted its inaugural policy conference: Smart Grid: Today’s Regulation and Tomorrow’s Technology .The university’s high efficiency White Stag Block in downtown Portland was jam packed with energy lawyers, utility professionals, smart grid advocates, regulators, and others all energized to discuss smart grid opportunities, barriers, and polices for the Pacific Northwest.

Susan Ackerman, Commissioner - Oregon Public Utility Commission, delivered a stirring breakfast keynote… Full Post >>

The Business of Smart Grid

As we near the date of CUB’s inaugural policy conference, Smart Grid: Today’s Regulation and Tomorrow’s Technology, there’s one topic left to cover in our Smart Grid series here on our blog—Business Applications and Opportunities.

Much like residential customers, business customers have a number of tools and technologies available to control, conserve, and manage energy use. These products can scale up as needed to provide service for small businesses up to commercial and industrial businesses. But with the market for Smart Grid… Full Post >>

CUB Stands Up Against Time-of-Use Rate Proposal

On Tuesday, September 27, CUB Staff headed to Salem to provide commentary before the Public Utility Commission regarding the Commission Staff’s recent straw proposal for setting up an approval process for time-of-use (TOU) rates for electricity customers. This type of rate structure has a number of drawbacks for customers if it is made mandatory (read our previous post on the issue here). Joining CUB’s Executive Director, Bob Jenks, in testifying was CUB’s expert witness for this issue, Barbara Alexander. Mr. Jenks introduced Ms. Alexander… Full Post >>

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