In this blog series, we go utility by utility to explain the language included in your monthly gas and electric bill. Find the blog that covers your utility below!

Utility Guides:

• Portland General Electric
• Pacific Power
• Idaho Power
• NW Natural Gas
• Cascade Natural Gas
• Avista Gas

Please note that CUB primarily works with for-profit utilities, so this list is limited to those utilities. If you have a question about a utility not on this list, you can still contact us at !

Regulators were considering a proposal to require all for-profit utilities to create five-year spending plans, meet community-supportive metrics, and stick to a budget. Utilities wanted to maintain the status quo, but regulators pushed back. CUB and energy advocates supported the changes. We’re excited to announce that regulators adopted these new customer protections!

Want even more details? See the full docket! Docket AR 676 is available on the Public Utility Commission website.

Phase 1 Complete: Spreading Out Increases

To implement the FAIR Energy Act, regulators are in the process of developing specific rules for spreading out utility rate increase requests over multiple years by the end of 2027. The goal of this process is to limit how often utilities can raise customers’ energy bills, protecting customers from frequent large increases. It’s beyond time that customers are centered in utility decision-making!

In early July, regulators adopted a proposal that would require all for-profit utilities to create five-year spending plans, stick to a budget, and meet community-supportive metrics. This brings to a close the first phase of turning law into reality.

Big Wins:

• Five-Year Plans: Utilities must create five-year plans for spending, investments, and more
• Stick to a Budget: Utilities have limits on how much money can be added to customers’ bills over the length of their five-year plans.
• Community Benefit Metrics: Utilities will have performance standard requirements on disconnections, maintaining their system, and (for electric utilities) community-based clean energy.

With the new rules, regulators will be able to better control when and how often rate increases happen. Previously, utilities would choose when to ask regulators to change billing rates, and regulators had to respond. The longer process not only protects customers from frequent large increases but also allows regulators and advocates to dig deeper into what utilities are asking for in their requests, improving administrative efficiency.

Read More: CUB Supports Spreading Out Energy Bill Increases (CUB Blog)

Big Win: Five-Year Plans

Adopted: Utilities must create five-year plans for spending, investments, and more.

Without concrete plans for rate increases, Oregonians’ energy bills have increased by nearly 50% over the last five years. By requiring utilities to create five-year plans for spending, investments, and more, utilities won’t be able to keep requesting endless increases. The multi-year spending plans will help ensure utilities better control their costs, protecting your home energy bills.

While the proposal has been adopted, this policy will not take effect until each utility files its first spending plan, starting in 2027. This will go through 2029, with only one electric and one gas utility filing each year.

Going forward, utilities will be held accountable for controlling their own costs. Creating a standard expectation of what will go into these plans helps regulators, advocates, and customers know what to expect in the near future. The finer details of this will be determined in Phase 2, which begins at the end of this month.

Big Win: Utilities Required to Stick to a Budget

Adopted: Utilities have limits on how much money can be added to customers’ bills over the length of their five-year plans.

We are all tied to a budget, and our utilities should be, too. After five years of near-constant increases in our energy bills, Oregonians are feeling the pinch. Disconnections are at an all-time high, leaving many households to make impossible choices. We’re all living in a reality where we need to be careful with what we spend–so why aren’t our utilities more budget-conscious?

The short answer is profit. Utilities are allowed to recover the costs of capital investments from customers by increasing energy billing rates. Meaning they’re incentivized to keep spending on big projects, regardless of how that drives up energy costs for customers over time.

PGE has been a major offender in allowing costs to balloon without much accountability. In 2020, PGE set a capital spending target for 2024 at $500 million. By February of 2023, it had grown by almost 50% to $730 million. But its growth kept accelerating, to $1.34 billion in April of 2024 - a 268% increase from the original spending target in just four years.

One major goal of the FAIR Energy Act is to get utility increases under control by changing utilities’ incentives to spend, slowing the rise of energy bills. By limiting how much money can be added to customers’ bills over the length of their five-year plans, utilities won’t be able to keep requesting endless increases, creating more predictability for regulators and customers alike.

Big Win: Utilities Required to Meet Community Benefit Metrics

Adopted: Utilities will have performance standard requirements on disconnections, maintaining their system, and (for electric utilities) community-based clean energy.

Oregon’s for-profit electric utilities need some encouragement to make choices that reflect Oregonians’ values. In addition to the FAIR Energy Act, state legislators also passed Performance-Based Regulation (SB 688) in 2025. With this new framework, a portion of utilities’ profits would be tied to what Oregonians value most. These priorities can be related to affordability for customers, reducing emissions, meeting safety standards, and other goals.

Now that utilities will be required to meet community benefit metrics, Oregonians’ needs will be more adequately met by utilities. The legislature directed regulators to require utilities to go further than the company’s necessities: reliability, safety, and customer service.

Now, they will be required to meet performance standards to:

• reduce household disconnections
• make the most of our existing infrastructure to limit unnecessary investments, and
• make more investments in renewable energy that support our communities.

The specifics of these metrics and requirements will be decided in future phases of this process.

Next Steps for the FAIR Energy Act

Last Fall, regulators at the Public Utility Commission opened four dockets as part of their process to roll out the FAIR Energy Act over multiple stages. Regulators plan to accomplish the big goals set out in this process by mid-2027. The five main components include:

• Building frameworks for required multi-year plans for rate increases (Phase 1 completed)
• Setting a schedule for when utilities can request major bill increases
• Banning winter rate increases for households
• Customer impact analysis filed with each utility proposal to raise rates
• Utility reporting expectations (bill increases and what costs are causing rates to go up)

These wins mark the completion of phase 1 of the multi-year rate increase plan. Stay tuned for specific actions you can take to ensure the next phase of the FAIR Energy Act is implemented with customers top of mind!

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

Register today for the 2026 CUB Energy Policy Conference and save! Early Bird registration closes at 5:00 pm on September 18.

Register Today

2026 Conference Theme: Harnessing Local Energy

Finding Local Solutions to (Inter)National Energy Challenges
In just the last few years, Oregon’s energy landscape has seen many big, new challenges. We’ve seen hyperscaled energy demand from data centers, cuts to federal support for customers and utilities, large rate increases, and record household disconnections. With all of these hurdles, attention is increasingly turning to what we can do close to home to address both our energy needs and the human impacts of our industry.

In a world with increasingly globalized energy, we need to start to think more locally for solutions.

Panel 1B—Moving Forward Hand-in-Hand: Solutions for a More Just Energy Transition

Energy efficiency has rightly been the Northwest’s affordability ethos for a long time. But our approach itself needs an upgrade. Many families are still forced to navigate living in homes that are too hot or too cold, with broken, unsafe, or inefficient appliances causing their energy bills to rise. This lack of access to affordable, efficient home energy is something bill discount programs can never address on their own. Despite some progress, we need to address gaps in the existing supports for Oregonians who have fewer resources, ensuring they are not left behind in the energy transition.

How can we ensure families living on low incomes, renters, and those in mobile and manufactured homes do not continue to suffer disproportionately? How can promising new technologies support a more just energy transition? Who will get to live in more resilient, affordable, and safe homes as a result? And why isn’t the current answer: all of us?

Moderator: Sarah Wochele, Equity Analyst & Advocate, Oregon CUB

About the Conference

The CUB Energy Policy Conference is designed as a day of discussion, networking, and sharing diverse perspectives. This conference is ideal for community groups, regulators, advocates, utility representatives, attorneys, or those interested in our region’s energy industry.

16th Annual CUB Energy Policy Conference

Friday, October 2, 2026
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sentinel Hotel
614 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97205

Conference Website

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

CUB is looking into this request with an eye for customer impact. We are working to ensure any additional money added to Oregonians’ power bills is fair and reasonable.

Potential Impacts to Pacific Power Customers

Pacific Power is asking for an 11.3% increase for residential customers starting in April 2027. If approved, this could add $15 to the highest bills in winter, from $175 to $190 for an average household, not accounting for extreme temperatures.

Included in this request is also a raise to the flat fee charged each month for general operation and customer service. Pacific Power wants to raise the basic charge for single-family customers from $13 to $17 per month. The increase would be from $8 to $9 for multi-family customers.

Too Soon to Project Reduced Impacts

When Pacific Power initially filed this request with regulators, the utility suggested that additional factors could reduce the overall impact to a 1-2% increase. CUB is concerned that this projection is premature and may cause confusion for customers.

Pacific Power seems to be framing this request as inconsequential, when that is not set in stone. While it is true that some costs are coming to a close from years past, the rest of the decreases Pacific Power is pointing to that bring the total impact down are not set in stone. While right now it is projecting that power costs are going down, we all can see how vulnerable costs are for fossil fuels with continuing global conflict. Pacific Power is also banking on the sale of its Washington territory going through, resulting in a three-year credit to Oregon customers.

What Is Pacific Power Asking For?

In the overall rate increase filing, Pacific Power includes a request for more money for:

• Increase profit margins
• Infrastructure projects
• Higher insurance costs
• Coal replacement

Increased Profit Margins: Pacific Power is asking for an increase in the allowable profits it can make for its shareholders. The proposal increases its approved Return on Equity to 9.7% (currently 9.5%). While this sounds like a small change, it would add more than $8 million a year to customers’ power bills.

Infrastructure Projects: Pacific Power is looking to recover spending from two big projects: the Willamette River Crossing Project, an underground line removal/replacement project, and Gateway South, a transmission project. The last time the utility asked for customers to pay for Gateway South, regulators added additional requirements before it could go onto power bills. CUB will be looking into these expenses to ensure they are reasonable.

Higher Insurance Costs: Since 2020, insurance costs for all utilities have gone up because of wildfire risks. Pacific Power is asking for over $49 million (spread over many years) to pay for both increased liability insurance premiums and self-insurance costs. CUB will be looking into these costs to make sure they benefit customers.

Coal Replacement: Oregon has a law that requires utilities to remove all coal expenses from customers’ bills by 2030. Pacific Power still has a number of coal plants on its books and in operation for other states on its system. With the sale of the Washington service territory, Pacific Power is asking Oregon customers to cover more coal costs than were previously allocated. The company is also asking for funding for repairs to damaged coal plants that will be on the books long after 2030, when they are no longer useful to Oregon customers. CUB will be working with the company to ensure that Oregon customers’ payments are fair and balanced with state policy.

Proposed Sale of Washington Service Area Creates More Questions

The biggest piece of this case is the proposed sale of Pacific Power’s Washington service area to Portland General Electric. Coal replacement has become more complicated because of this sale, as Washington is not taking any coal with it. With fewer customers to pay for coal resources, Oregon and the other four remaining states for Pacific Power’s parent company will have to pick up the bill.

If the Washington sale is approved, Pacific Power plans to add a big chunk of coal costs to Oregon power bills. While CUB and other interveners are still working to get all the information, Pacific Power currently estimates this could add $8 million to customer bills per year.

Oregon made a decision not to extend the life of coal plants. Through the sale, Pacific Power is asking to add coal plants that go against that decision. And we would have to pay more because of it!

While this sale would also come with a three-year credit to customers, it is unclear how much Oregon can expect. With four other states and shareholders also vying to receive a credit, there will be a lot of negotiations outside of this case in Oregon. CUB is skeptical that the benefits of this sale will be as good for Oregonians as Pacific Power is promoting.

Get Involved!

While there are still many unknowns about what impact these requests could have on Pacific Power bills in Oregon, we know one thing for sure: Oregonians are struggling to pay their energy bills.

We need your help to make sure that customers are at the forefront of this case. Tell regulators to focus on the needs of Oregonians when making their decision!

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

Register today for the 2026 CUB Energy Policy Conference and save! Early Bird registration closes at 5:00 pm on September 18.

Register Today

2026 Conference Theme: Harnessing Local Energy

Finding Local Solutions to (Inter)National Energy Challenges
In just the last few years, Oregon’s energy landscape has seen many big, new challenges. We’ve seen hyperscaled energy demand from data centers, cuts to federal support for customers and utilities, large rate increases, and record household disconnections. With all of these hurdles, attention is increasingly turning to what we can do close to home to address both our energy needs and the human impacts of our industry.

In a world with increasingly globalized energy, we need to start to think more locally for solutions.

Panel 1A—Data Centers: New Kids On the Block

Over the last few years, the demand for electricity in Oregon has grown significantly, largely due to data centers. When these new neighbors come to town, we need to work collaboratively to ensure we all have our needs met. Oregonians have all done our part through shifting when we use energy, piloting demand response programs in our homes, energy efficiency investments, and more. Data center flexibility is critical to being a good grid neighbor. We will discuss effective data center energy efficiency and policy, and what it looks like for DCs to shoulder a fair share of the flexibility responsibility on a shared system.

How can large load energy users create benefits for local communities and the grid? How can we leverage efficiency and flexibility as a tool for affordable energy? What are creative ways data centers can pledge to be good grid neighbors as they connect their outsized loads onto our shared grid?

Moderator: Jennifer Hill-Hart, Policy & Program Director, Oregon CUB

About the Conference

The CUB Energy Policy Conference is designed as a day of discussion, networking, and sharing diverse perspectives. This conference is ideal for community groups, regulators, advocates, utility representatives, attorneys, or those interested in our region’s energy industry.

16th Annual CUB Energy Policy Conference

Friday, October 2, 2026
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sentinel Hotel
614 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97205

Conference Website

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

If you’re a renter considering air conditioning options this summer, it’s important that you know your rights to keep your home cool. The Emergency Heat Relief bill (SB 1536), which passed in the 2022 Oregon State legislative session, helped expand cooling protections for renters.

Expanded Protections for Renters

The Emergency Heat Relief bill changed the rights renters have around accessing life-saving cooling devices. It also supported funding for distributing AC units to low-income households. Access to cooling devices can mean the difference between life and death, as Oregonians experienced firsthand during the deadly 2021 Northwest Heat Dome.

SB 1536 limits restrictions on portable cooling devices in residences by landlords, homeowners associations, condominium associations, and local governments between May and September each year, removing legal barriers for renters to install air conditioner units. The bill defines “portable cooling devices” as “air conditioners and evaporative coolers, including devices mounted in a window or that are designed to sit on the floor.” This does not include devices that would require alteration of the home itself.

This means that, with a few exceptions, landlords can’t ban window units or portable A/C units for renters.

Limited Restrictions on Cooling Devices

While the law removes many legal barriers, there are a few exceptions. Housing providers, such as landlords, may not prohibit or restrict residents from installing or using their preferred cooling device unless it fits one of the following restrictions:

The installation or use of the device may not:

• Violate building codes or state or federal law
• Violate the device manufacturer’s written safety guidelines for the device
• Damage the premises or render the premises uninhabitable
• Require amperage to power the device that cannot be accommodated by the power service to the building, dwelling unit, or circuit

If the device is to be installed in a window, it may not:

• Be installed on a window that is a necessary egress (emergency exit) from the home
• Interfere with the resident’s ability to lock the window if it is accessible from outside
• Require the use of brackets or hardware that would damage or void the warranty of the window or frame, puncture the envelope of the building, or cause significant damage
• Be used without adequately draining the device to prevent damage to the unit or building
• Be installed in a way that does not pose a risk of falling

Optional - Housing providers may require that the device be:

• Installed or removed by the housing provider or housing provider’s agent
• Subject to inspection or servicing by the housing provider or housing provider’s agent
• Removed from October 1 to April 30

Landlords may only enforce the optional restrictions listed above if they provide a written list of restrictions to the residents. This letter must also state if the housing provider intends to operate an optional community cooling space.

Know Your Rights: Stay Safe this Summer

At CUB, we believe that all Oregonians deserve to be safe and healthy in their homes, which includes ensuring access to life-saving cooling devices. Share this blog to spread the word about your rights!

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

Cooling without Air Conditioning

Air conditioning units can be expensive, both to run and to purchase. If you don’t have access to air conditioning, you still have options to keep cool and stay safe.

Open Windows Strategically
Letting in outside air is a great way to passively cool your home if you open your windows at the right time. Try to only open windows when the outside temperature is cooler than the inside temperature.

During the evening, night, and early morning, open your windows to let in cooler air. During the daytime, keep your windows closed.

Cover your windows
When the sun is hitting your windows, close blinds and drapes to block incoming heat. As sunlight hits the inside of your home, it heats it up. The closer the covering is to your window’s glass, the more effective it will be.

Insulated drapes, blackout curtains, and honeycomb-style blinds are particularly energy efficient. Window coverings are especially effective if you have inefficient single-pane windows.

Use Fans
Fans allow you to keep cool while using less energy than air conditioning systems. Ceiling fans use 5 percent of the energy of a window air conditioner unit. Box fans are more affordable than A/C units.

During the day, while your windows are closed, use fans directly on your body. Fans don’t actually cool down the air. But having a breeze can help your body cool faster, making you more comfortable.

From evening to early morning, add a box fan to your open window. Box fans can help move the cooler air inside more quickly. This is most effective if you can leave the windows open with the fans on overnight. 

For those in the Portland area, check out Community Energy Project’s DIY Cooling Workshop. Qualified participants will receive free cooling supplies.

Small Unit/Portable Air Conditioning

For many people, particularly renters, portable air conditioning is the only option. In 2022, many organizations and local governments plan to help. For those in Portland, check out the Heat Relief Program from Earth Advantage. Read our recent blog, Cooling Resources for Oregonians, for more information about renters’ rights for A/C and how to qualify for free cooling units!

Choose the Right Unit for Your Space
When purchasing an air conditioning unit, make sure that you are sizing it correctly. Your room size, amount of sunlight, and other factors impact what is best for your cooling. If you buy an A/C unit that is too big, you’ll use too much energy. Buy too small, though, and you won’t stay as cool.

Energy Star is a helpful resource for sizing your cooling and finding an energy-efficient option.

Only Cool Used Rooms
If you use room air conditioners, only turn them on in rooms you’re actively using. When the unit is on, close the door to the room you’re in. This helps cool the room faster and uses less energy.

Consider also closing the doors to rooms that you are not using. This will help keep the heat from those rooms trapped and the space cooler. (Please note that this advice does not apply to whole-house air conditioning.)

See the bottom of this article for maintenance tips.

Whole House Air Conditioning

Many households enjoy air conditioning throughout their homes. While these systems are generally more efficient overall, they can cost more than smaller units. Whether you already have central air or you’re looking to install it, here are some energy tips to consider.

Consider Switching to a Heat Pump
Heat pumps are high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. These systems work by taking the heat from the air around them and moving (pumping) it inside or outside. In the summer, the heat pump takes the warmer air inside and moves it outside, keeping you cool. During the winter, it does the opposite to warm your home.

Heat pumps are growing in popularity because of how efficient they are. A traditional electric furnace is usually around 95 percent efficient. A heat pump is around 300 percent efficient. This helps you save money on your heating and cooling year-round. Find out more about switching with Energy Trust.

Read More: Heat Pumps 101 Blog

Keep Your Interior Doors Open
When your air conditioning is turned on, keep doors between rooms open as much as possible. Particularly with ducted air conditioning, airflow is key to efficiency. When doors are closed, your system has to work harder to move air and uses more energy. (Please note that this advice does not apply to portable A/C units.)

Use Your Thermostat Efficiently
Avoid setting your air conditioner’s thermostat at a colder setting than necessary when first turning it on. Air conditioners remove heat from the home at a constant rate. Initially, setting your air conditioner at a colder-than-necessary temperature does not cool your home any faster. And if you forget to turn the temperature down, you end up using more energy.

Try to set your thermostat to 78 degrees during the day when you’re at home. Increase the temperature by 5-7 degrees at night and when you’re away from home. Using a smart thermostat can help make scheduling energy use easy. See if you qualify for a discount with Energy Trust.

Maintain Air Conditioning Units

Conduct regular maintenance on your air-conditioning system to ensure that it runs more efficiently. Ask your service technician to check and clean the heating coil in your air conditioning unit. Remember to replace your air filter at the start of each cooling season and check it monthly after that.

Have a great summer and keep cool using these energy efficiency tips!

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

CUB is a strong supporter of local efforts to reduce emissions and address climate change. Activists are currently gathering signatures to put the initiative on the November 2026 ballot.

Eugene’s Initiative: Funding Local Climate Justice Projects

While not a novel concept, taxing corporations is an approach gaining significant traction in addressing climate change. Eugene’s Clean Energy Fund would establish a 2% “Large Retailer License Fee” on the gross profits of corporations earning both more than $1 billion in profits annually in the United States and over $500,000 in profits within the City of Eugene.

The funds created by the initiative would fund four major categories of climate justice projects:

• Renewable energy & energy efficiency programs (60%)
• Clean energy jobs training, apprenticeships, & contractor support (25%)
• Green infrastructure programs that result in carbon gas sequestration (10%)
• Future innovation (5%)

A committee of appointed City residents would be responsible for allocating the revenue generated by the fee on clean energy, sustainability, and climate resiliency projects across Eugene. Non-profits and other IRS tax-exempt organizations will be able to apply for the funds to realize these projects.

“It is time to hold billion-dollar corporations accountable. Our community is already experiencing deepening impacts from the climate crisis, alongside a housing and affordability crisis. We need to invest in real solutions now. The Eugene Clean Energy Fund will take two percent of massive corporations’ profits and invest that money into clean energy, community resiliency, and sustainability projects, which will create jobs and help build a better future for our City.”
—Aya Cockram, Eugene Community Member and Chief Initiative Petitioner

Leading the initiative is a coalition of environmental and climate justice organizations, including Beyond Toxics, Sierra Club, Oregon Just Transition Alliance, Breach Collective, and more. CUB supports Eugene’s efforts to increase energy efficiency efforts for households and to create funding support to meet local climate goals.

Eugene is Falling Short of Local Climate Goals

In addition to Oregon’s state climate goals, Eugene established its own benchmark for reducing emissions at the local level. The City Council adopted the Climate Recovery Ordinance (CRO) in 2014, setting the goal of reducing community fossil fuel use by 50% of 2010 levels by 2030.

According to the Eugene Clean Energy Fund initiative, community fossil fuel emissions have decreased by only 11% since 2010, leaving a 39% gap to close by 2030.

Drawing Inspiration from the Portland Clean Energy Fund

Eugene’s approach might sound familiar to Portlanders. This initiative is directly modeled after the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF). Passed by voters in 2018,  PCEF is a 1% surcharge on Portland’s largest retailers. The funds are distributed as investments in community-led projects to reduce carbon emissions, making Portland more resilient to climate change. PCEF has generated $1.71 billion in funding for climate programs since its inception.

Similar Local Climate Initiatives

Throughout Oregon, cities and towns are taking matters into their own hands to fight climate change, protecting residents from climate impacts in the long term. Eugene’s efforts to work towards emissions reduction draw similarities to campaigns in Ashland and Bend.

In February 2025, the city of Ashland became the first city in Oregon to impose a fee on new natural gas hookups. Despite public support, the fee faced legal challenges and pushback from Avista, Ashland’s natural gas provider.

Eugene was poised to become the first in Oregon to require 100% electric appliances in new home construction. But strong pushback from NW Natural, including a signature-gathering campaign and legal challenges, forced Eugene’s city council to back down from the efforts.

Earlier this month, Bend joined Ashland in adopting a fee on natural gas appliances in some new residential construction. The Bend Climate Impact Fee places a one-time fee on new homes built with natural gas. The fee is based on the size of the home and its anticipated energy use. Developers who build with modern, all-electric systems avoid this charge entirely.

CUB has expressed mounting concern that continuing to grow the natural gas system comes with too much financial risk to current and future Oregonians. Adding gas service to new buildings increases costs to existing customers and adds additional risk in the future.

Read More: CUB Supports the Bend Climate Impact Fee

CUB Supports Local Initiatives

At CUB, we believe in a just transition to clean, affordable energy. The Eugene Clean Energy Fund will help move the city towards that goal. CUB has officially endorsed the initiative and encourages other organizations to support these local efforts.

Folks who would like to get involved can reach out to the Eugene Clean Energy Fund directly for volunteer opportunities!

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

In this blog, we lay out how to stay informed of utility shut-offs, how to prepare ahead of time, and what you can do to prepare your home in case of a wildfire.

Stay Informed of Utility Shut-Offs

Oregon electric utilities will be using public safety shutoffs as a last resort. Shutting off power during fire season is itself a public hazard. Shutoffs can interrupt cell phone service, delay emergency response, and endanger the health of residents. Many people need home cooling and electricity access to manage medical conditions. Shutoffs are particularly hazardous when they coincide with extreme heat waves.

Not all areas are subject to these preventative outages. Only customers in certain high-risk zones will see public safety shutoffs.

During periods of high wildfire risk, utilities may shut off power to mitigate the risk of a fire. In order to stay informed on utility shut-offs in your area, each utility company has a different way of receiving alerts.

Portland General Electric:
Sign up for text alerts through your account. Download the PGE app for up-to-date alerts.

Pacific Power:
Sign up for text alerts through your account. Download the Pacific Power app for up-to-date alerts.

Idaho Power:
Sign up for text alerts through your account. Download the Idaho Power app to receive real-time alerts.

For more in-depth information on wildfire emergencies and alerts, download the FEMA mobile app to receive details on large-scale wildfires. During an emergency declaration, FEMA updates its app to ensure people have access to up-to-date evacuation information.

Prepare Ahead of Time

It’s critical to have a clearly laid out emergency plan that everyone in your household is familiar with. There are many ways to develop an emergency plan with your household, and each household is different. The Department of Homeland Security has created a helpful, interactive outline for disaster planning.

Here’s what you can do to prepare for a wildfire:

• Emergency Kits: Prepare kits with essential items like food, water, medications, and important documents. Have enough supplies for at least two weeks.
• Communication Plan: Make a plan to stay in touch with your family and know different evacuation routes.
• Alerts and Notifications: Sign up for local emergency alerts to stay updated on wildfire news. The FEMA mobile app and local county notifications can give real-time alerts.

Make sure that once you have your plan in place, everyone in your household understands the plan and reviews it every few months.

It’s Time to Evacuate, What’s in Your Go-Bag?

It’s essential to have a go-bag ready in your house in case of an emergency. Each person’s go-bag contents may vary, but there are some essentials that every go-bag should have:

• An N95 Respirator for every household member
• 1 gallon of water for every person, per day, for several days
• A five-day supply of nonperishable food for every person in your household
• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
• Flashlight
• First Aid kit
• Extra batteries
• Whistle
• Hand sanitizer, moist towelettes, and toilet paper
• Can opener
• Solar cellphone charger or a fully charged battery-powered cellphone charger
• A five-day supply of any important medications

These items should be placed in an easily accessible space in your home. If you are able to, it is recommended you grab any important personal documents, like your passport, along with your go-bag.

Prepare Your Home

One of the best ways to protect your home is by creating a defensible space around it. This means:

• Clearing Vegetation: Remove dead plants, dry leaves, and other flammable materials from your yard.
• Plant Selection: Choose plants that are less likely to catch fire. Oregon State University has resources to help you pick the right ones.
• Maintaining Property: Regularly mow the lawn, trim trees, and clean out gutters.

Home Hardening

Making changes to your home can help it resist catching fire from embers and heat. Here are some tips:

• Roof and Gutters: Use fire-resistant materials for your roof and keep gutters clean.
• Vents and Openings: Cover vents with mesh to keep embers out.
• Windows and Doors: Install double-paned windows and make sure doors are fire-resistant.

By taking these steps, you can help keep your home and family safe during wildfire season. Preparedness is key. Always remember, the safety of you and your family comes first.

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!

Energy inefficient homes can create a host of problems: families struggling to make ends meet, unsafe living conditions, housing instability, and a bigger strain on our energy grid.

Energy Insecurity & Housing Instability

A disconnection for non-payment is the canary in the coal mine for housing instability, for eviction, and for foreclosure. When families don’t pay their energy bills, it is almost always because they have to prioritize housing costs and other household essentials like food and medicine.

Even before a family misses a bill, families have often already been using coping strategies, or what we call “energy-limiting behaviors,” to try to get by with as little energy as possible. To try to better afford their energy bills and avoid being shut off from energy entirely. For example, not using AC at all in the summer. This is energy insecurity.

“I was forced into choosing to pay my power bill or buying groceries, or paying my power bill or my rent. I chose to have a home. I cut back on how much I eat and was eating less healthy foods because they are cheaper. I also started reducing the amount of power I use, only turning on the lights when absolutely needed and only running the AC when it was super hot.” - Ceri S., Medford, OR

When families cannot afford to cool their homes in the summer due to inefficient housing, inefficient or a lack of cooling, they face dangerous circumstances that impact their health and safety. People do die in their homes from heat and lack of cooling.

Energy Insecurity: Summer 2025 Data

Nearly one-third of the disconnections that happened in 2025 (a total of 71,190) happened in the summer. In June, July, and August of 2025, 21,306 households were shut off from energy service because they could not afford their bills. Of these, 80% were electricity system disconnects. This is energy insecurity.

“I am a disabled ex-Marine. I have glaucoma and edema of the retina, leaving me unable to see. I lost my job because of this and now am unable to work at all. I received very little money from disability and am unable to keep up with my bills. My power is on but I can’t run the A/C, even when the temp is supposed to be 103º in Medford today, because the bill gets too high.” - Mark S. Medford, OR

Portland General Electric: Low-Income Customers with High Energy Use

This data looks at a subset of households that are enrolled in PGE’s monthly bill discount program. That means we know they have incomes at or below 60% of the State Median Income, adjusted for household size. In 2025, that would be $78,827 a year for a family of four. These customers have higher-than-average energy use and are in the top 10% of energy users in the bill discount program.

You can see the tremendous disparities in usage that result in much higher energy bills for already low-income families. It is very safe to assume that in these winter months in particular, these households have resistance heating and are living in homes that are in serious need of weatherization and repair.

“This summer, PGE disconnected my service due to overdue payments. The higher prices during the winter were too expensive for me and accumulated. I owed PGE $1079.39 and one day in June, they disconnected me. I think it was a Friday. My family was left without electricity for a day and a night [...] Simply put, you can either pay for rent, food, or electricity, but you can’t pay for all three.” - Soledad M., Portland, OR

And when looking at the whole year of data, it is the same story. High usage customers are consistently double or higher than the monthly average of the average residential customer. In August 2025, these families used more than 2x the energy as the average PGE household, and their bill was over $100 more, even with their monthly discount.

This shows you another measure of energy insecurity: how much families owe in past-due bills across the year.

The green line at the top represents these known low-income customers who receive a monthly bill discount and who have very high energy use, and how much in past-due bills they owe on average each month. We can see that households with the highest usage—households that we know are living with low incomes—have tremendous past due bills, especially coming out of the winter heating season. They simply cannot afford $400 dollar monthly winter bills or $300 dollar monthly summer bills.

Pacific Power: Low-Income Customers with High Energy Use

This is the same subset of households, but in Pacific Power territory. You can see that while Pacific Power has fewer impacted households than PGE, there are extreme disparities in usage that result in unacceptable energy bills for low-income families. Generally, Pacific Power customers live in parts of the state where it’s colder in the winter and hotter in the summer, so they are going to be using more energy than PGE customers on average.

In August 2025, these families used nearly 5x the energy as the average Pacific Power household, and their bill was over $300 more, even with their monthly discount.

How can a low-income family afford a monthly winter heating bill of $600? And a summer bill that is almost $500? These homes are very likely in desperate need of critical repairs, weatherization, and other energy efficiency upgrades to their home.

“I get $2,595 between retirement and benefits. I pay $152 a month for Pacific Power. It’s more and the winter, and my gas bill goes up too. But right now I’m paying 6% of my income just on the power bill. I ended up getting my power shut off because the trailer I was living in wasn’t weather proofed at all. Then the rates kept increasing, so my power bill kept getting higher and higher. I’m on a fixed income, so it eventually became more than I could pay. I’m also on disability. I eventually did get shut off.” - Lisa L., Phoenix, OR

Beyond Summer: Energy Efficiency is Needed Year Round

While the focus of this blog is on cooling and heat resilience, from an energy perspective, you cannot separate summer resilience solutions from winter resilience solutions. It is good news that these seasonal problems can have the same solutions. It just means we can get more bang for our buck!

In the winter, heating is needed around the clock to stay safe and warm. But many families have very inefficient means to heat their homes, such as resistance heat, which includes baseboard heaters, wall heaters, or even space heaters.

For families who live in inefficient housing, on top of having resistance heat, managing their energy bills in the winter is even more of a problem. Those in drafty homes in need of repairs and weatherization have higher energy costs. We see this for those low-income families with the highest usage in PGE and Pacific Power territory data above.

But what we cannot see from the data shared here are all of the different dangerous coping mechanisms families have to endure. Families wearing winter jackets, hats, and scarves inside. Skipping meals. Stopping their insulin. All to save money on outrageous energy bills.

High Energy Demand Threatens Our Energy Grid

The inefficiency of our home’s infrastructure and equipment is not just a problem for individual homes and the families who live in them. It’s a problem for the entire energy grid.

Having many homes that use significant amounts of energy on the hottest and coldest days doesn’t help our grid. But a much larger threat to grid reliability is data centers.

Data centers threaten our shared grid’s reliability, and on a larger scale than inefficient homes. They create more risks for widespread blackouts in the coming years during energy emergencies that can come from extreme weather. This is of particular concern in the winter, as we have fewer resources available to meet our peak energy needs.

Because of the scale of the issue, it is no one family’s responsibility to solve the problem in their own home. The threats to our energy grid go well beyond personal responsibility, especially for those who cannot afford expensive home upgrades. We must all work together to rein in our energy demand across the state.

Leveraging Data Centers for Good: Lowering Household Energy Bills

We do have solutions to address resiliency at both the household and grid level to ensure more resilient summers and winters for all of us: weatherization, home repairs, and heat pumps.

“As a young person who rents, my utility bill in the summer months is about three times higher than in the winter months. This is because my apartment was not built to insulate from heat, and I have no central air conditioning. The portable AC units that I have raise my electric bill substantially, and my apartment is still often 90 degrees inside on hot days.” - Paloma R., Ashland, OR

One solution to addressing grid reliability, especially under a just energy transition framework, is intentionally reducing the energy needs of households that have inefficient housing infrastructure and appliances. And we can include data centers as a part of that solution.

If data centers want to come to town, they need to be good neighbors. By requiring data centers to help fund critical home repairs and energy efficiency improvements, we can feed two birds with one scone. Data centers can receive incentives for doing so, such as joining the grid faster. And low-income households can access much-needed funding that is not currently available for solutions that not only lower energy bills well into the future, but also make homes healthy.

This has the potential to add significant capacity to the grid by reducing the energy needs of the overall system. And better ensure a just energy transition for Oregonians who are struggling to make ends meet!

Read More: Oregon Still Needs More Protections Against Data Centers (CUB Blog)

Heat Pumps Provide Benefits Year Round

In addition to much-needed critical repairs with weatherization, we need to ensure our heating and cooling appliances are the most efficient. While AC and heat pumps use the same sort of technology, new heat pumps are so efficient that they take less energy to cool. This means you can spend less money to stay cool and safe in your home.

Cold-weather heat pumps are 150-200% more efficient than resistance heating. For example, on the coldest of days, like a 5-degree Fahrenheit day, a cold-weather heat pump uses half the energy of resistance heat!

Our Homes Are the First Line of Defense

Investing in making homes more efficient, for the families who can least afford it, is an investment in resiliency for our homes:

• Helps keep people housed and healthy in their homes
• Helps keep everyone’s energy costs down
• Helps families make room for the costs of other essentials like housing, food, healthcare, and transportation

These resiliency investments in our homes can also benefit the overall energy grid and wider communities:

• Increases grid capacity and reliability
• Lowers the risk of energy emergencies during extreme weather
• Reduces emissions and improves air quality

Unfortunately, right now, thousands of homes across Oregon are making families more exposed to climate and energy-related risks. And energy efficiency can be a big part of the solution for not just these families, but everyone in Oregon.

Our homes can actually be the first line of defense against energy insecurity, against an increasingly strained energy grid, and against more extreme weather.

Stay Up to Date on Oregon Utility Issues

CUB will continue to advocate for people in Oregon on major utility issues. Sign up for the CUB email list for the latest updates, action alerts, and news on policies that affect the utilities your home relies on.

Donate to CUB

To keep up with CUB, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and LinkedIn!