Portlanders Show Up To Resist Data Centers!
Posted on January 9, 2026 by David Beltrán Barajas | CUB Oregon
Tags, General Interest
On Wednesday, January 7, 2026, Portlanders gathered at the NW Portland Havurah Shalom synagogue for a community forum on data centers. Rumble on the River is a Portland-based community forum focused on uplifting issues and topics impacting Oregonians. Rumble 28 focused on data centers and the threats they pose to our water, land, and energy affordability.
CUB helped organize this forum along with 350PDX and the Rumble on the River planning team. The Panel included speakers from CUB, Columbia Riverkeeper, Oregon Rural Action, Oregon Agricultural Trust, and Data & Society. Each one shared information relevant to tangible organizing opportunities happening in Oregon.
CUB’s Equity Analyst & Advocate, Sarah Wochele, talks about energy affordability.
CUB, Energy Affordability and the POWER Act
CUB’s Equity Analyst & Advocate, Sarah Wochele, talks about energy affordability.
If you were following CUB’s work in 2025, you’ve probably seen the POWER Act (HB 3546) referenced a ton! This new law seeks to hold large energy users accountable for paying for their own energy needs. This bill requires state regulators to:
- Create new policies to help protect Oregon households from paying for the energy needs of data centers, cryptocurrency, and other big tech.
- Make for-profit utilities identify the costs that these large energy users are adding to the system—and make them pay their share, by creating a new data center and large energy user category.
Sarah shared how data centers have heavily contributed to the sharp rise in energy rates for Oregonians. We have seen our power bills go up due to the large construction of electrical infrastructure to get these behemoths online. Because of an outdated way of dividing grid costs between customer types, residential customers are paying for more than what is fair!
PGE’s Data Center Investigation: UM 2377
Sarah shared how CUB is leading an investigation into PGE and how they’re planning on complying with the POWER Act. While at the start of this investigation, PGE seemed intent on skirting around the bill, public pressure on this case seems to have pushed PGE towards a more favorable proposal for residential customers.
Nearly 2,000 community members shared public comments pushing regulators to ensure fairness and protect Oregonians’ energy affordability in the face of PGE’s lackluster proposal. CUB is in the process of analyzing PGE’s newest proposal to ensure that it is fair for residential utility customers. We’ll provide an update once we have more information.
Panel Of Experts Fighting To Protect Oregon
Left to Right: Dr. Ana Carolina de Assis Nunes-Data & Society, Nellie McAdams-Oregon Agricultural Trust, Kaleb Lay-Oregon Rural Action, Kelly Campbell-Columbia River Keeper, State Senator Khanh Pham, Sarah Wochele-CUB.
Dr. Ana Carolina De Assis Nunes, Data & Society
Dr. Ana Carolina, in red, is speaking on the history of the Columbia River and how data centers are a continuation of the exploitative industry in the Pacific Northwest.
Ana Carolina de Assis Nunes is a postdoctoral fellow with Data & Society. She has worked as a researcher for nonprofits, including Campaign Zero and TechSoup. Ana earned her PhD in anthropology from Oregon State University, where her research focused on industrial transformations promoted by the data center industry in the US Pacific Northwest.
Ana shared her expertise on the history of the Columbia River and how data centers are a continuation of the region’s exploitative industry. Her context helps tie together why this industry is drawn to Oregon. Learn more about their work here!
Nellie McAdams, Oregon Agricultural Trust
Nellie is an attorney and Executive Director of Oregon Agricultural Trust—a statewide agricultural land trust that partners with Oregon farmers and ranchers to protect and pass on their land to the next generation. Nellie Shared about the land use issues involving data centers and their accumulation of arable land in the Willamette Valley. Learn more about Oregon Agricultural Trust’s work here!
Kaleb Lay, Oregon Rural Action
Kaleb Lay is the Research and Policy Director with Oregon Rural Action, an Eastern Oregon non-profit focusing on protecting immigrant communities and the health of rural Oregonians. Recently, much of their work has focused on the massive data center campuses going up in Hermiston, Umittila and Boardman. Which poses land use and water issues for the local population. Learn more about Oregon Rural Action’s work here!
Kelly Campbell, Columbia Riverkeeper
Kelly is the Policy Director with Columbia Riverkeeper, an organization focused on the protection of the Columbia River and all things related to it, including:
- Ensuring clean water free of contamination
- Cleaning up the Hanford nuclear site
- Salmon recovery on the river
- Climate & energy work
Columbia Riverkeeper has been monitoring how data centers are clustering around the Columbia for access to water and cheap energy, and how these massive industries are impacting Northern Oregon and the communities around the Columbia. Learn more about Columbia Riverkeepers’ work here!
How to get involved!
It’s clear that there’s a hunger for education and knowledge on how to curb the negative effects that data centers are creating for Oregonians. There was a ton of engagement and amazing questions from community members, but the core message coming out of the night was connect with those in your community, get involved, and organize!
CUB will continue to protect Oregonians’ energy affordability from data center costs, so make sure to keep up with what we’re doing on the POWER Act implementation at the PUC and other involvement to hold data centers accountable!
CUB is looking for more ways to bring the voices of our communities into the regulatory space. Write to us and let us know how you would like to get involved, share your stories with us, and keep an eye out for training we’ll be doing soon. We want to make sure that Oregonians are best equipped to understand and advocate along with CUB for fair and affordable rates!
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01/09/26 | 0 Comments | Portlanders Show Up To Resist Data Centers!