2015: Your Consumer Advocate’s Year In Review

It is hard to believe, but it really is the end of 2015…that means we are halfway through the second decade of the 21st Century. I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that it was just yesterday when we were all worried about Y2K. Sigh.

And though time does seem to move right along, so too, do the great things that CUB does on behalf of consumers and utility ratepayers.

In the utility regulatory world CUB had some significant wins this year, each one saving Oregon ratepayers millions of dollars and reinforcing Oregon’s strong energy future.

1) We saved customers $450 million as well as reduced Oregon’s coal-by-wire electricity production when Pacific Power agreed to close Wydoak, Cholla and Dave Johnston 3.

2) More than $20 million/year for the foreseeable future was saved when we stopped utilities from charging customers in order to profit on pension contributions.

3) In regulatory rate cases we reduced rates for customers of PGE by 70% and Cascade Natural Gas by 80%.

4) We argued that NW Natural made imprudent investments in gas wells for drilling because they did not consider the risks involved that made this gas more expensive to customers than gas that could be bought on the open market. We won and the company adjusted prices down to present market value, thus saving their customers $14.7 million.

It was a regular-session year for the Oregon Legislature and CUB was there backing policy that protects both Oregon consumers and the environment we live in. To that end we focused on protecting ratepayer funds, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the impact that producing energy has on our environment (such as climate change). Two of our important victories included a bill that brought State incentives for solar hot water systems to the same level as solar generation systems, and the defeat of a very serious attempt to divert funds (provided by ratepayers) intended as investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy, to electric vehicle infrastructure. Despite this great progress there is one area that we find frustratingly unaddressed, and that is Comprehensive Climate policy – which in the long run affects us all, because as ratepayers we are being asked to pay for long-term investments in resources without knowing the how climate regulation will affect rates. Be watching in 2016 as we press for solutions to these issues as well as others such as: more energy efficiency from industrial customers and a more equitable investment in efficiencies across customer sectors, better efficiency standards for appliances, and more cost effective renewable resources.

CUB had huge victories as the advocate for Portland Water and Wastewater Ratepayers including:

1) Saving ratepayers $2 million by arguing successfully that given recent improvement in Portland’s economy, developers should be paying the maximum sewer system fees allowed by state law, rather than the reduced rate that was established to encourage development after the Great Recession.

2) Arguing for and successfully seeing a new Portland Utility Board implemented, replacing long-ignored internal oversight groups.

3) Advocating for and getting a monthly billing option in addition to traditional quarterly billing.

In the Development and Communications department we worked hard to both stabilize systems and find ways to innovate for the future. Some of our wins in development included: increasing the size of donations through our Anniversary Club, a 25% increase in attendance and a 15% increase in income at our 2015 Policy Conference, and a successful social media campaign for #OregoniansGive on #GivingTuesday. In communications some of our successes included: solidifying our brand, systematizing all our communications, and updating the inner workings of our websites.

Last but not least is the work done by CUB’s board and staff on the 4-year strategic plan. This was a 7-month-long process involving staff and board that culminated in the adoption at our December board meeting of updated vision, mission, and values statements along with a 4-year plan. Staff is now working on specific goals and work-plans for the year 2016 to achieve the first part of the strategic plan. You can see this document here.

So, that is CUB’s 2015 year in review. As you can see, it was a year of hard work with great successes and if you would like to read in more depth about these issues, please see our 2015 Annual Report.

Let us end 2015 by thanking each of you for your support. Whether you simply keep up with us by reading our blog and/or emails or you generously invest your resources in our work, you are appreciated. So, best wishes in 2015 and as our Executive Director Bob Jenks has been saying all year (making literal use of the title of the 1980’s song by Timbuk 3), “May your future be so bright, you have to wear shades.”

To keep up with CUB, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! You can also keep up to date with breaking news by joining our email list today!

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