CUB Goes to Washington, D.C.
Posted on May 20, 2025 by Bob Jenks
Tags, General Interest, Energy
I recently had the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. During my trip, I met with members of the Oregon Congressional Delegation and staff to discuss ways that the federal government was impacting Oregon utility customers.
CUB Meets with Congress Members
I met personally with Representative Salinas and Representative Bonamici. And I met with the staff of Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden, Representative Bynum, and Representative Dexter.
My goal was to ensure that our Congressional offices understood the affordability crisis that Oregon is facing. After several years of big utility rate increases, Oregonians are struggling to keep up with energy bills. We discussed how the federal government can help and identified where we can avoid additional harm to customers.
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
BPA is the federal agency that distributes power from the federal hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest. We discussed BPA decisions that have a direct impact on the utility rates of Oregon households. This includes how the benefits of the hydro system are shared, regional electric markets, and expansion of the transmission system.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
LIHEAP has been offering energy assistance since the 1970s and helps prevent tens of thousands of Oregon households from being disconnected each year. The federal government has fired the staff of LIHEAP and is proposing to eliminate its budget. This will lead to more Oregon disconnections. We discussed the importance of protecting this program to keep Oregonians’ lights and heat on when they need it most.
Data Centers
While I hadn’t planned on talking much about data centers, it was a topic that was raised by Congressional offices. Several of which are looking to see what federal legislation could do to ensure that data centers don’t drive up everyone’s electric rates. We discussed the scope of the issue of data centers in Oregon and solutions we are exploring at the state level.
Clean Energy Tax Credits and Programs
The transition from fossil fuels to clean energy has been supported by a variety of federal tax credits. These make solar, wind, electric vehicles, and heat pumps more affordable for homeowners and businesses. These programs are an important part of supporting an affordable transition to clean energy. We discussed the risk Oregon faces if clean energy tax credits are cut at the federal level.
Tariffs on Canadian Natural Gas
Much of the natural gas (methane) used by electric and gas utilities in the region comes from Canada. With the uncertainty around tariffs, Oregon is at risk of increasing electric and gas prices in our homes and businesses. Because of limited capacity for U.S. gas pipelines in the Rocky Mountains, there is no other option for Oregon to use more U.S. natural gas. This means we would be tied to more expensive Canadian gas if federal trade policy is enacted without considering the impacts.
Moving the Needle on Federal Policy
It was clear that Oregon’s members of Congress are well aware that Oregon utility rates have been rising so fast, and customers are struggling to keep up. But they haven’t heard enough about why and what can be done to help customers. They asked good questions and we had good discussions.
I look forward to continuing conversations with Oregon’s federal legislators. CUB believes that knowledge is power. Informing our lawmakers on important energy issues that impact our state will help them to push for good policy in D.C. and beyond.
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05/22/25 | 0 Comments | CUB Goes to Washington, D.C.