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You blue state dipsticks voted for this "climate change" silliness. It's called "weather" and there isn't shit the liberal control freaks can do
about any of it.

Another rate increase proposed by Portland General Electric last week has
many customers up in arms, wondering how theyÆre going to afford paying
their bills. If approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission, it would
add up to about a 40% increase in PGEÆs power rates since January 2022.

Pacific Power customers are also feeling the pain. If the utilityÆs latest
rate proposal is approved, theyÆre looking at a 50% increase since January 2023.

And Idaho Power is seeking to raise rates by nearly 27% for its eastern
Oregon customers.

The steep increases have taken many power customers by surprise.

ôPeople are so frustrated they donÆt know what to do,ö said Andy Veitch, a retiree in Aurora whose January bill was $527 and who lives on Social
Security with his wife in an old, poorly insulated house. ôItÆs over the
top. I think PGE is oblivious to the average middle-class elderly person.ö

ôWe have no recourse. Food prices are higher, gasoline prices are higher
and electric prices are going up,ö Veitch, 76, said. ôI donÆt know how
folks can survive. ItÆs unsustainable.ö

Some have taken to social media to circulate a petition asking state
lawmakers to limit future rate increases and to enact stricter regulations
and transparency standards for utilities.

The Oregonian/OregonLive interviewed Bob Jenks, the executive director of
the Oregon CitizensÆ Utility Board, on the Beat Check podcast about the
reasons for the recent rate increases.

The citizens board is a nonprofit organization created via a 1984 ballot measure to advocate for all state utility customers.

Here are five takeaways from the interview.

BIG BILLS EXPLAINED

PGEÆs rates went up 12% in January 2023 and by 18% this January. PGE has proposed another 7.4% increase that would go into effect next January. The utilityÆs request will likely grow once PGE files to recover other costs, including those for wildfire mitigation and the winter storm, Jenks said.

The Public Utility Commission said the PGE increase that went into effect
Jan. 1 would raise monthly bills by $24.59 for a single-family home using
an average of 795 kilowatt hours a month.

But some PGE customers saw big January bills of $500 or even $1,000 with
what appeared to be a much higher increase.

There are several explanations. For one, the increase coincided with
extremely cold weather.

The Portland metro area and outlying regions experienced a multi-day
winter storm in January that probably raised peopleÆs overall energy use,
said PGE spokesperson Drew Hanson. ThatÆs because it takes a lot more
energy to heat a home when the temperature drops û even if the thermostat
isnÆt turned up higher.

This is especially a problem for homes with poor insulation or leaky
windows and doors that get especially chilly during cold spells.

ôWhen the weather gets really cold, your bill goes up by a lot,ö Jenks
said. ôIt takes a lot more energy to heat your home when itÆs 20 degrees
out than when itÆs 40 or 50 degrees. So when you have a cold spell like we
did for a week in January, bills are going to shoot up. You add to that an
18% rate increase and it becomes really difficult.ö

Some PGE customers also complained that their energy bills appeared to go
up by a lot more than 18%.

Jenks said PGEÆs ôreally poorö explanation of charges on customer bills
makes it difficult to understand the rate hikeÆs impact.

While itÆs true that the energy, transmission and distribution charges
went up by a lot more than 18% for some customers, one line item û called Schedule 125 or the annual power cost update û went down to zero, meaning
the final increase was still 18%.

ôIÆve been doing this for decades and I had to create a spreadsheet to get
to that answer,ö Jenks said. ôWe shouldnÆt ever be in a situation where customers need a spreadsheet to understand what theyÆre being charged by a utility. ThatÆs just insane.ö

PGEÆs Hanson said the company recently added new resources on its website
to help customers understand what is on their bill.

ITÆS CLIMATE CHANGE

One of the major factors thatÆs pushing up rates is climate change.

In addition to higher energy use for customers during cold snaps and
extreme heat events, the changing climate is also affecting wholesale
energy prices. Because wind and solar are not always reliable energy
sources and battery storage is still a nascent concept, energy supply is
often tight during extreme weather events.

This means energy prices rise exponentially during high-demand periods û a
cost that eventually is passed on to customers.

Climate change also affects utility equipment.

During JanuaryÆs snow and ice storm, hundreds of large trees toppled in
the Portland area, bringing down or uprooting more than 850 PGE
distribution power lines, causing outages for approximately 440,000
customers. PGE has said it spent more than $30 million on outage repair
and restoration to recover from that storm û an estimate thatÆs likely to
grow. The utility will eventually seek to recover those costs from
ratepayers.

As the climate gets hotter and drier, utility wires also are causing more wildfires. Multiple utilities across the West in Oregon, California,
Hawaii and Colorado now face billions of dollars in damages over their
failures to prepare, leading to catastrophic wildfires.

Many utilities are now spending millions on trimming trees and vegetation
near power lines, burying power lines, investing in better weather
monitoring and other measures to harden their equipment and prevent
wildfires.

ôThereÆs a lot of investment that theyÆre trying to make to prevent those wildfires because their systems are really, really dangerous in the
environment and in the climate that we have today,ö Jenks said.

Wildfire mitigation is the biggest driver of Pacific PowerÆs proposed rate increase û it includes a proposed ôCatastrophic Fire Fundö to cover the utilityÆs liability for wildfires. A jury in Oregon has found the company
was grossly negligent and reckless, awarding millions in damages.

Pacific Power residential customers have already seen two double digit increases and likely will see a third one next year. In January 2023,
their bills went up by 21%; this January, they rose by 12.9%; and last
month Pacific Power proposed a 17.9% rate hike that would go into effect
next January.

One of the big questions is whether customers should pay the wildfire litigation bill, Jenks said.

ôThereÆs a fundamental question whether itÆs legal to charge customers for those damages,ö he said. ôIf a court puts punitive damages on a company
and that company is just allowed by regulators to pass those punitive
damages on to customers, whoÆs being punished?ö

CLEAN ENERGY PRESSURES

Oregon law requires PGE and Pacific Power to reduce their carbon emissions
by 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2040. This means getting rid of coal and
natural gas and relying 100% on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

In addition, new demand û from electric cars, home heating and data
centers û will bring additional loads and further increase the need for
clean energy.

Utilities project that meeting the state mandates and new loads will
require massive new investments. So theyÆre spending more money on new transmission lines, wind turbines, solar farms and battery storage
projects û and asking to recover those costs in rates.

PGEÆs January increase, for instance, ôreflects the need to invest in the reliability and resiliency of PGEÆs system, advance policy objectives like equity and clean energy, and the reality that PGE faces inflationary
pressures and high market power prices,ö Public Utility Commission Chair
Megan Decker said in a statement.

While some clean energy investments will push up rates, Jenks said, others
can lower them.

This year, for example, PGE brought on a new wind farm in Montana. Because
itÆs producing power when thereÆs no wind in Oregon and knocking out
expensive purchase power costs, its overall impact is to lower rates.

Also, due to the volatility of natural gas costs in recent years and the
high cost of retrofitting and cleaning up coal-powered plants, ôitÆs
almost assured that serving new (electric) loads with renewable energy is
going to be cheaper than (the fossil fuel) alternative,ö Jenks said.

One of the biggest worries, according to Jenks, isnÆt the transition to
clean energy û but rather, increased demand for energy use from data
centers, which will consume dramatically more energy than power planners
had anticipated.

The citizens board believes those server farms, owned by big companies
like Amazon and Facebook, should pay the full costs for their energy and infrastructure investments, said Jenks, and residential customers
shouldnÆt have to subsidize them.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS KEY

One of the keys to reducing customer bills and making more space on the
grid is energy efficiency, Jenks said.

The average household uses over 20% less electricity today than it did a
few decades ago, he said, and that downward trend must continue. This can
be accomplished by swapping newer, more efficient furnaces for older ones
and by converting natural gas furnaces to electric heat pumps.

But itÆs equally important to convert electric resistance heaters like baseboard heaters û which are extremely inefficient û to electric heat
pumps.

Retrofitting and insulating homes is another way to reduce energy costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, insulation retrofits in
residential buildings can save homeowners up to 15% on heating and cooling costs.

ôWhen you upgrade your home, when you invest in energy efficiency, your
bill directly goes down and your comfort level goes up,ö Jenks said. ôSo investing in energy efficiency is going to be one of the keys to meeting
our climate challenges in an affordable manner. ItÆs the best bang for the
buck that we got out there in our energy systems.ö

Tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act kicked in earlier this year, allowing taxpayers to shave a few thousand dollars off the cost of a heat
pump, home insulation or other energy efficiency projects.

The much-awaited federal home electrification and efficiency rebates û
which would allow some lower-income households to defray the entire cost
of a heat pump, electric appliance or home retrofit û wonÆt be available
until later this year and will benefit relatively few Oregonians.

REGULATORY WOES

ThereÆs a conundrum at the heart of how investor-owned utilities operate,
Jenks said: They have an incentive to spend money because their profits
come from making capital investments. And the Oregon Public Utility
Commission must allow them the opportunity to earn a ôreasonable return.ö

One issue, said Jenks, is that the rate-setting mechanism has changed, to
the detriment of customer affordability. In the past, regulators would set
a utilityÆs rate by considering the overall cost of providing service,
profits and other factors. The utility wouldnÆt ask for a new rate until
cost increases started to erode its profit margins, he said.

Now, he said, utilities are focused on immediate cost recovery for single issues such as the January winter storm or wildfire mitigation costs.

The utilities also are allowed to update some costs even after the Public Utility Commission has issued a final order û meaning, the commission
doesnÆt know the final price increase when it makes a decision in a rate
case.

And, utilities are allowed to keep some information confidential: For
example, when PGE updates its power cost forecasts, it designates the
expected price increase as confidential, Jenks said.

As part of its latest rate increase proposal, PGE also has proposed a new policy that would guarantee the utility can charge customers for billions
of dollars in new investments every January. It would shorten the process
to review proposed increases and prevent scrutiny of investor earnings.

PGE declined to comment on those specific issues.

But it has pushed back on the general idea that itÆs allowing costs to
balloon.

ôPGE is focused on managing spending and keeping operating costs low,ö
said Hanson, the PGE spokesperson. ôWe have managed increased energy
demand and infrastructure investments with the same number of employees
year over year and implemented new technologies that result in savings.ö

Other solutions exist, Jenks said. Utilities can reduce the number of rate requests. The Public Utility Commission could tell a utility to delay
certain expenses or take cost-cutting measures.

It also could delay rate increases. Typically, Jenks said, utilities raise rates in the winter.

ôWeÆve been warning the commission for years that one of these times weÆre going to have a big rate change thatÆs also going to come at a time of an arctic chill,ö Jenks said. ôAnd itÆs going to have devastating impacts on customers.ö

Customers like Veitch, the Aurora retiree, said that moment has arrived.

The Public Utility CommissionÆs Decker acknowledged as much.

ôWe recognize how significant this rate increase will be for families and businesses,ö she said, ôand we encourage them to seek out help with bills through energy efficiency and the rate discount program.ö

Lower income customers can apply for income-qualified utility bill
discount programs. PGE has just expanded its bill discount program to
provide up to a 60% monthly energy discount to customers who qualify.
Pacific Power has a similar program as does NW Natural.

ù Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.

https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2024/03/5-takeaways-why-are-oregon- power-rates-going-up-so-fast.html

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