Pacific Power is seeking to raise electricity rates 14%

Some customers of Pacific Power would see their power bills increase 14% if a plan proposed by the company is approved.

In the plan filed with the state, the utility is asking for an $84 million yearly increase in rates for customers in Oregon, a 6.8% increase. But that increase would impact different types of customers in different ways.

The average residential bill is $91.89 for customers in single-family homes using 900 kilowatt hours per month. The company’s request would increase that to $104.90 per month. That would be a 14.2% increase.

Also, multi-family homes that use an average of 600 kilowatts per month would see their bills increase $6.97 per month, an 11% increase, under the proposal.

“Pacific Power’s big bill increase could break customer’s budgets,” Knowledge Murphy, sustainability coordinator for Multnomah County, testified at a public comment hearing held by the state Tuesday.

Commercial and industrial customers would have smaller percentage increases, though the company didn’t indicate what that would be in publicly available information.

Pacific Power serves about 600,000 Oregon customers in cities such as Albany, Bend, Dallas, Grants Pass, Hermiston, Independence, Lebanon, Lincoln City, Medford, parts of Portland, Roseburg and Stayton.

As an investor-owned utility, Pacific Power’s rates are determined by the state. The company files to the state for rate increases. They are approved or denied by the state’s commission.

Everyone who testified at Tuesday’s hearing was against the increase.

“This rate increase puts thousands of Oregonians at risk,” said Alessandra de la Torre of Phoenix, who works with Rogue Climate.

Of the requested $84.4 million increase, Pacific Power is proposing to spend $41.4 million on wildfire vegetation management, $17.1 million on capital structure improvements, $14.8 million for a wind farm project in Wyoming, $9 million in insurance and $8.4 million for operations and maintenance.

Pacific Power said the rate increase is needed as power costs are increasing for the first time in five years. But it says the increase would be below the national average of 27% over the past year.

The company said in its filing it has provided customers in the state with $102 million in savings through the use of zero-carbon energy through the end of 2021.

“We are in a period of significant change. We are investing in the safety, adaptability and resilience of our energy grid and building to a net zero emissions energy future,” Matt McVee, vice president of regulatory policy and operations for Pacific Power, said in a statement.

“While we do this, we remain steadfast in our commitment to our customers and our communities and will continue to seek new ways to reduce impacts to customer bills along the way.”

Pacific Power lowered electric rates by 5.2% in 2021.

Ryan Kliewer, an organic farmer and vice president of the Klamath Water Users Association, said between water needs and high utility rates, many farmers are on the brink of financial solvency.

He said an increase like the one proposed by Pacific Power would put some farmers out of business.

“We have an extreme drought situation and so water efficiency is very, very critical to our operations,” Kliewer said. “Water efficiency is pretty much afforded by electric power.”

The increase, if approved, would be about $200 per year for a residential customer.

De la Torre said the rate increase would unfairly impact those who live in Southern and Eastern Oregon who are served by the company.

“I work with these families just like many others and they do consistently ask what they could do to reduce their utility bills,” de la Torre said.

Pacific Power is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the company largely owned and operated by Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Murphy said Berkshire Hathaway is worth $713 billion, has spent $52 billion buying back its own shares in the past year and has $144 billion in cash and equivalents that will go towards buying back more shares.

He points out Buffet gained $34.4 billion in wealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It seems the desire for more profit is not matching up with the need for more profit,” Murphy said.

People questioned the lack of detail in the part of the proposal that was given to the public. They questioned how much profits would be increased from the rate increase and how much more executives would be paid.

Robin Vora, a Bend resident, said the 14% increase is above the current rate of inflation.

“I saw the list of the six, seven categories,” Vora said. “There’s not enough detail in there to be able to say you need that.”

According to Pacific Power, more than 30,000 of its customers in the state received $13.8 million in assistance in paying power bills in 2020.

“And the timing, again, could not be in my opinion any worse to ask for an increase for the utilities,” said Jo Rae Perkins, who is running for U.S. Senate. “Families, quite honestly, cannot afford it.”

The commission can approve the rate case increase, approve part of it or deny it. They can adopt a settlement on it.

Katie Mapes, the administrative law judge in the case, said the commission typically adopts a lower increase than what is requested.

“They cannot raise the rates above what the utility has asked for,” Mapes said.

The Public Utility Commission will take comments on Pacific Power’s proposal through June 22.

People can call 800-522-2404, email pucpubliccomments@puc.oregon.gov or write to Attn: AHD-UE 3099, Oregon Public Utility Commission, PO Box 1088 Salem OR, 97308-1088 with comments.

A hearing on the increase has been scheduled for Aug. 2 and oral arguments on Aug. 25. The commission is on track to make its decision in December; any rate increase takes effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Pacific Power is seeking to raise rates on residential customers 14%