CUB Bids Farewell to an Eventful Year
Posted on December 22, 2014 by Samuel Pastrick
Tags, Climate and Conservation, CUB Anniversary: 30 Years and Counting, History of CUB and General CUB News, Legislative & Political
As 2014 comes to a close, we at CUB feel that it’s important, now – and probably much more so than any other time in recent memory – to take pause and reflect on a transformative year. A year in which many milestones were reached on behalf of Oregon consumers, while new and exciting challenges emerged.
Traditionally, our approach is to regale the year’s highlights through our Annual Report. Each year, we distribute roughly 5,000 physical copies to CUB members and Policy Center supporters alike. We take the opportunity to lay out financial and other regulatory details that we are unable to share through our more frequent communication channels such as Bear Facts, CUB’s quarterly newsletter, and our blog.
Truth be told, 2014 was an exciting year. CUB turned 30 while saving Oregon rate payers $136 million through regulatory and policy actions, bringing total savings since 1984 to over $6 billion!
• This year, like every other, the major power companies requested new and unnecessary rate increases. PGE, for example, made three requests for rate hikes in advance of 2015 totaling $81.5 million. And while the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) has yet to issue final orders, CUB is pleased to report that PGE’s request will be reduced by 2/3. That’s over $60 million in ratepayer savings!
• After years of pressure from CUB, Pacific Power announced plans to close their Cholla Unit 4 coal plant by no later than 2025, joining a growing list of Western coal plant closures. The decision to do so was made only after applying CUB’s preferred method of phase-out analysis.
• Both CenturyLink and Frontier, in response to consistent pressure from CUB, agreed to settle their price plans for the coming year. Between the two, over $1 million will be invested toward programs and services benefiting Oregon telecommunication consumers. We are proud to report that the CUB Connects program was awarded a portion of the settlement funds.
• CUB was honored to receive a new designation from the City of Portland in January 2014: to serve as the rate payer advocate for residential customers of Portland water, sewer, and storm water services. CUB receives no money from the City to fulfill this role. Rather, we rely on membership support to sustain this new and important community service.
While substantial, the achievements described above fail to paint the entire picture. The truth is that CUB works day-in and day-out to fight for the consumer rights and interests of all Oregonians. Battles are waged, and routinely won, against some of the more powerful corporate (and now in Portland’s case, also public) utility entities in the state. And CUB wins, in large part, due to 30 years of work; thirty years of expertise, analysis, and intellectual capital – all of which bolsters our consumer-first agenda. CUB was created, and is sustained to this day, by Oregonians. Now that’s something we can all take pause and be thankful for, as we look forward to 2015!
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09/05/22 | 0 Comments | CUB Bids Farewell to an Eventful Year