More Accomplishments

2019 - CUB Develops a New Method for Evaluating Utility Investments in EV Charging

Oregonians have purchased thousands of electric vehicles (EVs) in recent years. With the majority of these in PGE’s service territory, PGE expects to have 99,000 EVs charging on its system by 2025. While the PUC has approved a set of pilot programs allowing PGE to test methods to serve this load, CUB believes that it is time to move beyond pilot programs and focus on the best way to serve this load. The key to keeping system costs down is ensuring that EVs charge at off-peak times, when power is cheap, or allowing the utility to adjust EV charging remotely as renewable power increases and decreases. CUB methodology looks at the revenues that the EVs will produce related to the utility grid, and allows some of those revenues to be invested back into smart charging of EVs. Under CUB’s methodology, other customers are guaranteed that the grid-related revenues produced by EVs are greater than the cost of the utility investments, so all customers benefit.

2019 - Cascade Rate Hike Cut

Cascade is a natural gas utility serving central and eastern Oregon. It was requesting a 5 percent residential rate increase due to increased investment in its distribution pipes. CUB was able to reduce the increase to less than 3 percent by ensuring that the benefits of lower corporate tax rates were passed through to customers.

2019 - Hydro One’s Avista Merger Rejected

As 2019 began, Hydro One, a Canadian electric utility partially owned by the government of Ontario, was still trying to purchase Avista Utilities. In January the merger was rejected by Idaho and Washington. CUB had been a leading voice objecting to the deal after the newly elected Premier of Ontario decided to fire the CEO and interfere in the utility’s operations.

2018 - PUC Agrees: Capital Costs Should Be Recovered in General Rate Cases

CUB, along with other stakeholders, successfully argued that the Public Utility Commission does not possess the requisite authority to grant deferred accounting applications for utility capital costs. While this is a very wonky win, the crux of the matter is that capital costs will be subject to recovery in general rate cases where these costs are most appropriately addressed. This guarantees that capital costs are considered as part of the holistic costs that utilities incur to provide service, rather than on an individual basis such as a deferral application. CUB was pleased to see the PUC act in the best interest of consumers, protecting them from the utilities’ ongoing attempts to shift unreasonable cost and risk onto customers.

2018 - Portland Passes Clean Energy Initiative

On November 6, voters passed Measure 26-201, the Portland Clean Energy Initiative, by well over 60 percent. CUB endorsed and advocated for this measure, which is an innovative vehicle to support new community based energy programs linked to public health, affordable housing, and other co-benefits.

2018 - CUB Policy Conference Shows Decarbonizing Our Economy Is Possible

The 9th annual CUB Policy Conference, Destination: Decarbonization, brought together industry leaders on October 19 to discuss decarbonization efforts; not simply for the energy sector but, more ambitiously, for our economy as a whole. Highlights included a candid discussion with CEOs and Administrators from Oregon’s energy utilities, a look at what exciting things are happening in the Cully neighborhood of NE Portland, and a thought-provoking speech from Noelle O’Dell, Education Director of the Jackson County Fuel Committee, our Consumer Champion Award honoree.

2018 - Portland Office for Community Technology Returns to Stand-Alone Bureau

For over six years, the Portland Office of Community Technology (OCT) was buried within the Revenue Division, and suffered diminished standing and lacked visionary leadership as a result. In September 2018, thanks largely to CUB’s two-year advocacy campaign, the City made a long-overdue update to its governance structure by moving the OCT to its own bureau within Mayor Wheeler’s portfolio.

2018 - CUB Cultivates a Strong Voice in Telecommunications Policy

CUB’s advocacy was critical in helping achieve passage of HB 4023, which leverages Oregon’s state-owned fiber network to expand service to certain entities such as schools, federally recognized tribes, and nonprofits, in unserved and underserved rural communities. CUB was an invited participant on the rulemaking advisory committee that resulted from this legislation.

2018 - Ensuring an Open Internet for all Oregonians

CUB worked closely with ACLU Oregon in the 2018 short legislative session to lead the process of passing HB 4155, which uses governmental procurement powers to ensure net neutrality for customers across the state. Oregon was 2nd in the nation (behind Washington) to pass landmark net neutrality protections after the FCC eliminated Title II rules in 2017.

2018 - CUB’s Advocacy Results in a PGE/BPA Power Purchase Contract

After strong encouragement from CUB to look to hydro capacity contracts as an alternative to building new natural gas plants, PGE and BPA entered into such a contract in early March. CUB celebrates this important step because it provides a solution to the needs of both PGE and BPA, while simultaneously helping the region move forward in developing a modern, low carbon electric system.

2018 - Idaho Power Agrees to Close Two More Coal Plants

As part of their Integrated Resource Plan, Idaho Power agreed to shut down the North Valmy Power Plant by 2025 and the two units they own at the Jim Bridger Plant by 2032. CUB advocated for these plant closures for a number of years and believes that a switch to other energy generating sources are in the best long-term interest of consumers.

2017 - Advocating for the Open Internet

In the summer of 2017, CUB submitted substantial testimony urging the FCC not to roll back the 2015 Open Internet Order. This is important to Oregonians because this order grants the FCC legal authority to impose a broad suite of consumer safeguards by labeling the Internet a telecommunications service as opposed to an information service. We ultimately recruited 309 CUB members to endorse our comments.

2017 - CUB Reaches HoldCo Settlement With NW Natural

In an effort to find a best case scenario for both the utility and customers, CUB agreed with NW Natural’s request to the Public Utility Commission to create a holding company. CUB settled with the company after they agreed to 50 unique conditions that reduce the risks a holding company or acquisition can place on residential consumers and provide a rate credit which will lower customer bills.

2017 - Avista Rate Increase Reduced

CUB successfully argued against Avista’s 2017 rate increase request, resulting in customer savings of about $5.3 million. Chief among the stated drivers of the requested increase that CUB challenged were: 1) capital additions to the company’s distribution infrastructure; 2) general business expenses such as increased operating costs; and 3) Avista’s meter data management investment, which was disallowed because the program primarily serves smart meters for electric customers outside of Oregon.

2017 - 7th Annual CUB Energy Policy Conference

CUB’s 2017 Energy Policy Conference, Utility Regulation 2.0: Empowering What’s Possible wrestled with the role of regulation in light of quickly evolving technology, and changing customer expectations. We welcomed CEOs from Oregon Utilities as well as many thought leaders impacting national, regional, and state energy policy. This year also saw a new look for CUB’s conference website.

2017 - Public Purpose Dollars Saved From Transportation Bill Appropriation

Once again, the 2017 Legislative Session saw an attempt to appropriate dollars earmarked for the Public Purpose Charge that funds energy efficiency and cost-effective renewable resources. CUB successfully kept these funds from being incorporated into a transportation package, which proposed to use them to fund EV infrastructure. While agreeing that EV development is critical to meeting Oregon’s 21st century energy needs, we argued that using public purpose charge funds to do so would be akin to “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

2017 - Spinning Money From Methane in Portland

In April, Portland City Council approved a Bureau of Environmental Services plan to turn unused methane from the Columbia Boulevard waste treatment facility into renewable natural gas. This decision was made, in part, because CUB offered astute analysis showing the high economic return to the City and the greenhouse gas emission reductions provided by capturing methane from the waste.

2017 - PGE Disallowed From Gas Plant Investments

CUB asked the Public Utility Commission to disapprove PGE’s plan to invest in gas plants – which are long-term and carbon emitting - to replace MW lost when the Boardman coal plant closes. CUB also suggested that PGE invest in short-term hydro contracts instead. PGE agreed to investigate this option and is now pursuing it. In addition, CUB encouraged PGE to look for ways to diversify its renewable investments to include utility-scale solar, and wind in other places besides the Gorge.

2017 - CUB and the CUB Policy Center Merge Into Single 501(c)3 Entity

On January 1, 2017, CUB and the CUB Policy Center merged into a single 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board (still CUB for short). The merger was announced in concert with a comprehensive rebranding and the launch of a redesigned and updated website. This merger allowed CUB to reduce administrative expenses considerably, make decisive improvements in our programming, and offer tax deductions for member donations.

2016 - Portland Ratepayer Subsidy of Building Plan/Land Use Assessments Is Ended

The Portland City Council adopts CUB’s recommendation to allow the Bureau of Environmental Services to charge an adequate fee to assess building and land use plans for compliance for environmental standards. The Council’s previous approach meant that a significant portion of BES compliance review costs were covered by ratepayers, which was an inappropriate subsidy to developers. An estimated $1.4 million will be kept in ratepayer pockets in fiscal year 2016-17.

Page 4 of 10 pages  ‹ First  <  2  3  4  5  6  >  Last › 

« Back