Oregonians Speak Up for the POWER Act (HB 3546) in the Senate
Posted on May 8, 2025 by David Beltrán Barajas | CUB Oregon
Tags, Energy, General Interest
The Senate Committee on Energy & Environment held a public hearing and written comment period for HB 3546 on April 30th & May 5th. We expect a vote in this committee in the coming weeks. If you would like to help move HB 3546 through the legislature, email your state senator and share your support for this key piece of legislation!
On Wednesday, April 30th, and Monday, May 5th, the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment held a public hearing on HB 3546, the POWER Act. This bill directs regulators to hold data centers responsible for the energy cost they create, be it increased load on the system or grid improvements needed to accommodate this growing industry.
In short, the POWER Act will create a new customer category for data centers because they have large and unique energy demands. This separation will protect residential and small business customers from experiencing any bleedover onto their power bills. This bill will prevent Oregonians from paying additional costs from data center growth.
The POWER Act has seen a great deal of support and recently cleared its House floor vote by 41 votes. Over 400 Oregonians showed up to support this bill when in the House, and we continue to see strong support as HB 3546 navigates the Senate.
Read More: Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility (POWER) Act (HB 3546)
Energy Advocates Are Only Asking For What’s Fair
Throughout the hearing, we heard comments from advocates like Bob Jenks (CUB), Nolan Pleše (League of Oregon Cities), and Nora Apter (Oregon Environmental Council). Each shared testimony showing how the growing demand for data centers requires us to act now and protect Oregonians from shouldering excess costs from large load users.
Bob Jenks, CUB’s Executive Director, spoke about the unique nature of data centers and why they’ll continue to come to Oregon regardless of HB 3546:
“Data center growth is of an unprecedented size. We have to accommodate a city’s worth of electricity used by a single building. Data center load is an incredibly inflexible load shape. Each data center runs at, or near, its peak 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is the size of a city, but a city where no one turns off the lights and no one turns down the heat. (...) The number of data centers requesting service is unprecedented. Oregon is the landing point for fiber cables under the Pacific, we offer tax breaks for data centers, and we don’t have a sales tax. Oregon will keep attracting data centers with or without this bill.”
“We have to accommodate a city’s worth of electricity used by a single building. Data center load is an incredibly inflexible load shape. Each data center runs at or near its peak 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is the size of a city, but a city where no one turns off the lights and no one turns down the heat.” - Bob Jenks, Oregon CUB
On the second day of hearings, Nolan Pleše, Lobbyist for League of Oregon Cities, shared insights on how data centers are still going up in consumer owned utility territories that already practice what this bill is asking for:
“We support HB 3546, not because we don’t support these businesses. We do. But because we believe the extra demand and cost associated with them should not be borne by Oregon residential customers and our small businesses. In fact, the basis of HB 3546 is based on the tools that are already available to protect residential customers in consumer owned utility territory. And I’ll note data centers are still being built in those communities. (...) It is already happening in Oregon that large and unique customers bear the increased cost associated with their high energy needs, to reduce the financial impact for residential and small business customers. We believe those tools should be available across Oregon. ”
“The basis of HB 35436 is based on the tools that are already available to protect residential customers in consumer owned utility territory. And I’ll note data centers are still being built in those communities.” - Nolan Pleše
Nora Apter, Oregon Director for Climate Solutions, spoke on the stress that data centers’ energy load puts on Oregonians.
“Oregonians are struggling to keep up with rising utility bills, and high energy costs exacerbate not only everyday costs for Oregonians, but also our housing affordability crisis. It weakens our resilience to climate-driven disasters and hinders our ability to invest in a clean energy future. A major driver of energy demand and rising costs is the expansion of data centers. Oregon is now the fifth-largest market for data centers in the nation. (...) This bill uses a proven model already used by some consumer owned utilities, such as Umatilla Electric Cooperative, to make sure that data centers’ energy costs are properly tracked and billed.
“ A major driver to energy demand and rising cost is the expansion of data centers. Oregon is now the fifth largest market for data centers in the nation.”
- Nora Apter, Oregon Director for Climate Solutions
Get Involved with the POWER Act
While the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment has closed out its public comment period, you can still let your state senators know that the POWER Act is important to you. Supporters can write to their state senators and ask them to support HB 3546.
If you’re interested in getting involved, check out CUB’s Action Alert. You can also reach out to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to connect with our Community Organizer to get assistance on talking to your legislators.
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05/08/25 | 0 Comments | Oregonians Speak Up for the POWER Act (HB 3546) in the Senate