Oregon PUC Approves New Rate Structure To Protect Customers Amid Rapid Data Center Growth - 05/07/26

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) has approved a new rate structure for large data centers and other large-load customers served by Portland General Electric (PGE). The decision creates Schedule 96, a new rate class required under House Bill 3546 (2025), also known as the POWER Act, to ensure that the fast-growing electricity needs of data centers do not contribute to increasing utility bills for Oregon households and small businesses served by investor-owned utilities.

The PUC opened the investigation in response to concerns about the impact of large loads raised in prior PGE rate case proceedings. The passage of the POWER Act created an additional statutory foundation for our work. The POWER Act echoes the longstanding regulatory principle that customer groups pay for the costs driven by their group, which ensures that large customers pay the full and fair cost of the infrastructure needed to support their operations.

The PUC’s decision ensures that data centers’ utility bills reflect the specific costs of serving their loads and protects residential and commercial customers from subsidizing the infrastructure needed for rapid large-load growth. The structure provides data centers clarity on what they must do to take service from PGE and allows them to reduce their costs by limiting their impact on the grid through efficiency and flexibility. Finally, the tariff requires that data centers pay for the emissions-free electricity required to serve their loads while meeting Oregon’s clean electricity mandates.

In addition to creating Schedule 96, the PUC adopted new contract requirements that will apply to all future agreements between PGE and data center customers. These requirements include predictable charges if a data center does not use the infrastructure PGE has built to serve them and a requirement that there are sufficient clean energy resources available before a large customer can take service.

Very large loads can also push up the cost of the energy and equipment needed to serve other customers. To address these less direct impacts from the largest facilities, the PUC approved a 1-cent per kilowatt-hour surcharge for Schedule 96 customers with 100 megawatts or more of allocated system capacity. Revenue from the surcharge will support programs meant to offset costs for residential customers, including programs that help low-income households reduce energy burdens.

“Oregonians should not bear the costs of explosive data center growth and data centers should be focused on limiting their overall impact,” said PUC Chair Letha Tawney. “This decision ensures the largest energy users in PGE’s service area pay their fair share, have clarity and predictability as they make business decisions and support the programs that keep our grid reliable and our communities strong.”

The Commission approved a similar large load tariff for Pacific Power in Docket UE 433, their 2024 general rate case. Late last year, Pacific Power proposed and the Commission is now considering an updated data center-specific tariff that directly addresses the POWER Act in Docket UE 463.

Oregon PUC Applauds Western Extended Day-Ahead Market Launch - 05/01/26

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is pleased to see the Western Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) reach this critical milestone. The PUC has invested significant time and resources alongside Commissions across the West to ensure a sound market, with fair governance and robust customer protection. The market will launch on May 1 and is expected to lower costs for customers, improve reliability, and support the further integration of renewable energy across the West. Oregon investor-owned electric utilities, PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric, are the first two participants in the market.

EDAM builds on the existing Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), which launched in 2014 and is estimated to have saved PacifiCorp customers over $1.1 billion across its six state territory and PGE customers $365 million. EDAM will extend energy trading into the day-ahead timeframe, allowing Oregon utilities to share resources more efficiently and further reduce the use of fossil fueled generators when renewable resources are forecast to be abundant across the West.

The PUC has been a key leader in the development of EDAM, including supporting the development of effective and fair governance, advocating for robust market monitoring and customer protections, ensuring compliance with Oregon’s clean energy mandates and overseeing Oregon utilities’ participation. Chair Tawney has also played a foundational role in establishing the path to fully independent, western governance of the market. These efforts help ensure the EDAM structure supports Oregon’s goals for affordability, reliability, and reducing emissions now and into the future.

“Oregon is proud to work alongside our western partners to build a more reliable, affordable, and clean regional grid”, said PUC Chair Letha Tawney. “The Western EDAM is an important step toward squeezing the most value out of the renewable energy and transmission system that Oregon customers are paying for and improving grid resilience to extreme weather. By helping states share resources more efficiently, it also supports cutting emissions while keeping energy costs down for families and businesses. This milestone reflects years of collaboration across the West, and we remain committed to working with other states and utilities to the further benefit of customers.”

Pacific Power’s anticipated power cost savings from EDAM’s May 1 launch are already embedded in customers’ 2026 utility bills. But the savings from EDAM is expected to be most significant when the grid is stressed and energy is scarce – events which can otherwise quickly drive power costs into the hundreds of millions of dollars for Oregon utilities.

The PUC will continue monitoring implementation, ensuring alignment with state policy and evaluating utility participation as the market evolves to ensure the benefits flow to customer bills. 

Safe Digging Month Reminds Oregonians To Contact 811 Before Digging - 04/21/26

SALEM, Ore. – In recognition of National Safe Digging Month, the Oregon Utility Notification Center (OUNC), Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA), and Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) remind Oregonians to contact 811 before starting projects that involves digging.

Whether a professional contractor or do-it-yourselfer, all play an important role in preventing damage to underground utilities. Contacting Oregon 811 before you dig helps prevent serious injuries and avoid costly damage to essential utility services. There are three easy steps to safe digging in Oregon:

1. Submit a locate request at least two business days before digging at Oregon811.com or by calling 811
2. Wait for utility crews to mark the underground lines
3. Dig carefully

After a locate request is submitted, the OUNC notifies the utility companies that provide service to the area. Utility crews then visit the site and mark the approximate location of the underground lines, pipes, and cables able to be located, at no cost to the homeowner or contractor.

Meanwhile, employers must follow Oregon OSHA requirements to protect workers against the potential hazards of underground utilities. Those requirements include:

1. Notifying OUNC of the proposed area of excavations at least two working days before starting an excavation.
2. Estimating the location of utilities before opening or extending an excavation.
3. Determining by safe and acceptable means the exact location of the estimated utility installations when excavation activities approach them.
4. While excavations are open, underground installations must be protected, supported, or removed as necessary to safeguard employees.

Oregon OSHA offers employers free consultations – no fault, no citations, no penalties – to improve workplace health and safety programs and practices. It also offers free technical help with understanding and applying workplace safety rules.

Most utility line strikes happen during the warmer months, when construction and landscaping activity increases. National data shows that in 2024, an estimated 196,977 instances of damage occurred across the country, and 17 percent were caused by failing to contact 811.

For more information or to submit a locate request, visit Oregon811.com or call 811.

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