Senator Lee Beyer – 2017 CUB Consumer Champion
Posted on July 21, 2017 by Samuel Pastrick
Tags, Conference & Events
CUB is pleased to announce this year’s Consumer Champion Awardee, Oregon Senator Lee Beyer, who represents the Springfield area. In its second year, the Consumer Champion Award honors individuals who, through their leadership, policy innovations, and public service have contributed in a substantial way to the well-being of Oregon’s residential utility ratepayers.
CUB will present the award to Senator Beyer at the October 13, 2017 CUB Policy Conference, Utility Regulation 2.0: Empowering What’s Possible, at an 11:30 am ceremony. The Senator will then offer the Mid-day Keynote. There will be a luncheon immediately following his remarks.
With a degree in management from University of Oregon, Senator Beyer has been a life-long community leader serving as a workforce development specialist, an agency and non-profit executive, a Springfield City Councilor, a PUC Commissioner, and both a State Representative and a State Senator.
As a Senator, Beyer strongly supported SB 1149 that enacted the Public Purpose charge in the 1999 legislative session. In 2016, as chair of the Energy Committee he was instrumental in the passage of the Clean Energy and Coal Transition Act (SB 1547). Both of these bills enacted strong energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation that protects and empowers consumers.
During his nine-year tenure at the PUC, it is estimated that the Commission saved consumer’s $600 million, and decisions made during this time allowed and encouraged wide-spread adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy. In 2005, when PGE was in the clutches of Enron’s bankruptcy, Chair Beyer led the group to make a very difficult and highly publicized decision to deny Texas Pacific’s buy-out of PGE, which was in the best long-term interest of consumers. It was the first time in Oregon’s history that the PUC rejected a utility merger or acquisition.
Throughout his long and prestigious career Senator Beyer has been a true friend to Oregon’s residential energy customers; he is often tough, but always fair, a visionary who is willing to take chances on new ideas, and a genuine public servant who is willing to take a stand to protect and benefit consumers.
To find more information about the Consumer Champion Award Ceremony and luncheon, or to purchase tickets to the CUB Policy Conference, click here.
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09/05/22 | 0 Comments | Senator Lee Beyer – 2017 CUB Consumer Champion