Oregonians Speak Out Against Pacific Power Bill Increase
Posted on June 8, 2022 by Charlotte Shuff
Tags, Energy
The Public Utility Commission will be accepting public comments on the Pacific Power Rate Case through June 22, 2022. If you would like to add your comments, you can do so using CUB’s Action Form or by emailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the subject line “Public Comments on UE 399”.
On Tuesday, May 24, the Public Utility Commission held a public hearing on Pacific Power’s general rate case. The electric utility is asking for a 14 percent increase for residential rates. Community members, including some CUB partners, spoke up against increasing bills.
Concerns of Higher Bills for Struggling Families
Throughout the public comment hearing, Oregonians expressed concerns with rising utility bills during a period of historic inflation.
Jo Rae Perkins from Albany shared, “We already know that there are a lot of families on the cusp of bankruptcy as it is. Nationwide, most people are between - on the low side – 30 to 90 days away from bankruptcy. Everything is going up. I totally understand from the business side why [Pacific Power] would want it to go up. But I’m going to ask the Oregon PUC to reject this increase.”
Robin Vora of Bend expressed concern about raising prices: “14% seems like a lot. It’s way above even our high inflation today.”
Laura P. of Bend raised concerns about how this would affect low-income communities. “I’m an educator. I work with low-income families. They are struggling to make ends meet. This is about a $200 increase in a year. How are they going to pay for that? This is a lot to ask for people.”
Alessandra de la Torre, representing Rogue Climate in Phoenix Oregon, urged regulators to reject the bill increase: “This rate increase puts thousands of Oregonians at risk, many of whom are already choosing between life essentials, such as keeping their power on or paying medical bills.”
Knowledge Murphy, representing Multnomah County Office of Sustainability, recounted talking to a Black resident of Northeast Portland: “Due to the rising energy bills [the NE Portland resident] has been facing, he’s had to seek out food pantries. He’s not able to afford to feed his family after paying his utility bills. Now these are the current bill prices. If you add another even $13, what is an additional $13 going to do to his ability to buy groceries?”
Concerns for Higher Summer Rates and Climate Impacts
Some commenters also expressed concern at Pacific Power’s proposal to move to seasonal rates for households. This change would set a lower winter rate and a higher summer rate.
Alessandra de la Torre, Rogue Climate, laid out the issues these seasonal rates would cause for Southern Oregon:
“In Pacific Power’s request they are proposing a residential seasonal rate. This would disproportionately impact Southern and Eastern Oregon customers who are already living in areas with high energy burden, energy insecurity, as well as bear the brunt of climate change. The summers are hotter and drier. Here in Southern Oregon, we’re already stressed with wildfire season around the corner. Many are still rebuilding and recovering from the 2020 Alameda fire. Many are living in homes that don’t have good working heating or cooling systems. They can’t invest in energy efficiency upgrades if they have to pay higher bills and higher costs like gas for transportation.”
Knowledge Murphy, Multnomah County Office of Sustainability, also called out climate change as a major concern for this rate increase.
“Since 2020, Portland has experienced three unprecedented weather events. The 2020 wildfires, the 2021 ice storm, and the 2021 heat dome. This April, we saw an unusual snowstorm. With this pattern, we are more than likely to see some extreme weather events by the end of this year and by the beginning of next year.”
Murphy strongly urged regulators to reject Pacific Power’s requested 14 percent increase: “It seems the desire for more profit is not matching up with the need for more profit. And the need for more profit is not outweighed by people being able to survive right now.”
CUB Will Continue to Fight Pacific Power’s Request
The Public Utility Commission will decide on this rate case by December 2022. Any increase in rates will take effect for Pacific Power customers in January of next year.
CUB’s policy team will continue to advocate for Oregon households, fighting unfair rate increases. To read more about the details of this rate case, visit this recent post on the CUB Blog.
To keep up with CUB, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
06/08/22 | 3 Comments | Oregonians Speak Out Against Pacific Power Bill Increase