Power Rate Increase, Say What?!?

If you're feeling the pain from the hike in rates for Pacific Power customers that went into effect in January, you're not alone. The 12.9% rate increase that went into effect Jan. 10 is already causing some pain in the pocketbook for those who heat their home with electricity. But that could be just the start of the rate increases, cited as necessary in order to pay for "continued investments in wildfire risk management strategies, transmission infrastructure and renewable generation projects," according to a press release from the company.

Last week, Pacific Power filed a new proposal with the Oregon Public Utility Commission, requesting yet another rate increase — this time of 16.9% in 2025. Combined with the increase that's already in place, that could total a nearly 30% rate hike for Pacific Power customers in just two years. The bill increase would be roughly $44 for the average household. That's a lot — and the thing is, you may not know for sure it's coming until just before it happens.

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In 2023, the Oregon PUC took its time deciding on whether to grant Pacific Power its request to increase rates, approving the rate hike just weeks before it was set to go into effect, according to reporting from OPB. With a rate hike this big, so soon after another big rate hike that began in the middle of the cold winter season, it's no surprise that the people behind the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board are concerned about how this will impact customers.

While it should carefully consider whether this is an increase that Oregonians can bear at this time, at the very least, the Oregon PUC should act faster this time around. (Editors' note: the print edition said the "Oregon CUB" in the previous line; that was incorrect.)

When deciding on a cost increase this huge, people need time to adjust. Lower-income families may need time to apply for cost-saving programs that can lower or subsidize bills. Those able to do so may use this "opportunity" to install solar panels or a heat pump to offset or lower electric bills. Giving the 619,000+ Pacific Power customers in Oregon a longer window of time to adjust to such a massive increase is the fair thing to do. Then again, denying the proposal, or approving a smaller increase could also offer some relief.

With the inflated costs of everything from groceries to rent in 2024, customers are already struggling to match their incomes to their expenses. The fact that much of these increases will go in part toward covering Pacific Power's liabilities in lawsuits that emerged after the 2020 wildfires is of course infuriating. One way or another, these are costs that all of us have to pay.

If there's a silver lining in all of this, it's that perhaps now is the time when everyone actually wakes up to the fact that climate change is real, and that it's affecting all of our lives.

Another silver lining could be that now is actually a good time to consider investing in solar arrays, heat pumps, added insulation and other energy and cost-saving measures. Tax credits and deductions from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, as well as the earlier infrastructure bill, and incentives from the state are beginning to show up in our community. In Central Oregon, for example, NeighborImpact's Heat Pump Rebate and Grant Program offers homeowners financial help in installing those low-cost heating and cooling systems. Unfortunately, that program filled up quickly, though other grants and rebates are still available through the federal government.

In a time when household costs are crushing the middle class, there's perhaps nothing more satisfying than seeing your solar panels make your electric meter work backward, adding power to the grid and paying you instead of the other way around.

In the meantime, the Oregon PUC should not tarry in deciding how Oregonians will be spending their hard-earned money next winter.