The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is hosting a virtual event tomorrow night for the public to comment on Pacific Power's general rate increase filing that proposes an increase to electricity rates.
The event will be held Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m.. It will provide the opportunity to speak directly to the commissioners about the proposed rate increase. Customers may also submit comments in writing or by phone through June 14th.
Pacific Power -- which provides electrical services to 627,000 Oregon customers -- filed a request to increase overall revenues by $322.3 million or approximately 17.9% for all customer types combined.
If approved by the PUC, residential single-family customers using an average of 950 kilowatt hours per month would see a bill increase of $30.66. For a residential customer in a multi-family home using an average of 650 kilowatt hours per month, bills would increase by $18.51. Actual percentage increases will vary depending on customer type and usage.
Pacific Power identifies several reasons driving the general rate increase filing, including investments in transmission infrastructure, wind generation to serve customer load, upgrading the customer service system, increased costs of capital to reflect updated market conditions and risk, and wildfire and vegetation management for a proposed catastrophic fire fund.
Pacific Power's general rate increase filing is undergoing a nearly year-long review and will be fully investigated on behalf of electricity customers by the PUC, the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board and others. If approved, new rates are expected to go into effect on January 1, 2025.
Access to Zoom link and phone-in details at "bit.ly/44bnMi6."
