CUB Looks Ahead to an Exciting 2015

As we move past the holiday season, it is time to look forward and 2015 is shaping up to be an exciting year for CUB. We have several major cases and projects that will carry into 2015 and we are expecting several additional rate cases, including the first general rate case in years for Cascade Natural Gas. Here are some of the key things we see coming up:

Clean Power Plan: Last year, the EPA shook up the energy world by releasing a draft rule called the Clean Power Plan—sometimes referred to as 111(d)—which will require states to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. The EPA got thousands of comments on the draft rule and is expected to issue a final rule this summer. For many years, we have done energy planning taking into account that some sort of carbon regulation is likely sometime in the future. But we have never had real, actual regulation of carbon emissions which we can plan around. CUB has been concerned for the last few years with the amount of money utilities are pouring into old coal plants. This rule will make it harder for utilities to defend expense upgrades on the 30 coal plants that serve Oregon customers. (Cub Endorses EPA’s Proposed New Emissions Rules)

Profits on Pensions: Since 2012, CUB has been fighting electric and gas utilities over their proposals to earn a profit—paid by customers—on money that is contributed to their pension plans. For many years, utilities have provided pensions for their employees and customers have financed this pension expense each year in rates. As it stands now, the utilities will fully recover their pension costs from customers over the life of the pension. In 2012, NW Natural asked the PUC to allow it to earn a profit margin on some of the money it contributes to the pension plan. PGE, Pacific Power, and Avista all jumped on the bandwagon and asked for profits on their pensions. CUB has been aggressively fighting this since then. Early in 2015, CUB and the utilities will submit legal briefs to the PUC on this issue and we are expecting a decision by mid-year. (CUB Fights For Sound Financial Planning, Sustainable Utility Pensions)

NW Natural’s Tale of Two Properties: NW Natural’s has two properties that were once used to secure gas for its customers. The first is where they manufactured gas from coal many years ago. It is an environmental liability that will take millions to clean up. NW Natural thinks customers should bear this cost. The other property is the depleted wells in Northwest Oregon where the company had extracted gas to serve its customers. Because a depleted gas well can be used to store gas, this property is an asset. NW Natural believes that shareholders should be allowed to keep most of the revenue generated by the property that is an asset. Shareholders get the asset, customers get the liability. CUB has participated in both proceedings and has pointed out that these proposals are one-sided and unfair. CUB is expecting the PUC to make a decision on these cases early in 2015. (Watch for more in upcoming articles.)

Coal Phase-out Legislation: Legislation is being proposed for the 2015 Oregon Legislature that will phase out the coal plants that serve Oregon customers. CUB believes that reducing carbon emissions through an orderly phase out in coal generation will provide benefits by avoiding future carbon regulatory costs. (Pacific Power Wants to Keep Coal in Your Christmas Stocking)

Industrial Energy Efficiency Subsidy: Energy efficiency is Oregon’s cheapest resource. Energy efficiency programs run by the Energy Trust of Oregon reduce electricity at a cost that is significantly less than the cost of building new power plants. However large industrial customers pay less of the costs of energy efficiency than everyone else, but receive the benefits of lower rates that are produced by energy efficiency investments. CUB believes this is unfair and likely unlawful. The PUC has agreed to open an investigation into this issue in 2015. (Cub Fights for Fair Efficiency Benefits)

Rate Cases Galore: Of course, we will also see utilities going to the PUC with proposals to raise rates significantly. Avista has already asked for a nearly 10% rate hike on its gas customers in Oregon (Avista’s Rates Just Went Up and May Go Up Again.) PGE will be filing a general rate case soon. Cascade will be filing its first general rate case in years. Pacific Power and Idaho Power will be asking for increases that they will tie to increasing power costs. NW Natural will be arguing to recover additional costs for natural gas procurement and for investing in its pipelines. As always, whenever utilities file these cases, CUB gears up to challenge them.

Portland Water and Sewer Updates: CUB’s advocacy for residential customers of Portland’s water, stormwater, and sewer services in 2015 will begin with monitoring the development of the next budget that will run from mid-2015 to mid-2016. We will also push for full City Council implementation of the recommendations from the Portland Utility Oversight Blue Ribbon Commission. A summary of those recommendations and CUB’s critical role as a watchdog over the City Council is in this guest editorial published in the Oregonian on December 12, 2014. We will also be reviewing utility bureau complaint procedures and drilling down into capital improvement plans.

2015 CPC Policy Conference: We are excited to announce that we will be moving to the Hilton Hotel for our next Policy Conference. So mark your calendars for Oct 23, 2015 and plan to attend the CUB Policy Center’s 5th Annual Cub Policy Conference. For a recap of the 2014 conference see Changing Climate: Adapting to New Regulations.

As you can see, there is a lot of work ahead! Work we could not do without all of our members! Together with our supporters, we are making a real difference on behalf of Oregon households. And of course, we will keep you informed as the year progresses. So look for our blogs to keep you updated with what’s going on at CUB and the CUB Policy Center.

Have a great 2015!

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