PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After questioning Portland General Electric about recent rate hikes, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden announced Wednesday that the utility giant will "do everything possible” to keep residential rates below inflation beyond 2025.
Wyden's announcement comes after the senator sent a letter to PGE President and CEO Maria Pope in late November, asking her to outline the economic factors that drove rate hikes as customers have seen an over 40% rate increase since 2021.
In her response, Pope outlined several reasons driving the increases, including inflation and investments in infrastructure, while highlighting PGE programs that help customers pay their utility bills, including payment extensions and Time Payment Arrangements.
In Wednesday's letter to Pope, Wyden said, “Given that Oregon ratepayers have seen their electric bills go up by more than 40 percent since 2021 and other policies have created hardships for some Oregon families it is vital that we have a shared commitment to do better in the future."
Wyden also recounted a recent conversation with Pope, saying the two discussed that “PGE will, beyond 2025, do everything possible to keep residential rate hikes below the rate of inflation.”
Wyden added, “PGE will take every possible step to ensure that increases in industrial uses do not result in raising electricity rates for residential customers.”
The senator furthered that he will work with Bonneville Power Administration and regulators to find more opportunities for Oregon residential ratepayers to access “the most affordable power possible.”
In a statement to KOIN 6 News on Wednesday, a PGE spokesperson said, “At PGE, we recognize that rising energy costs are a burden, and we are committed to serving customers with reliable, safe, secure, and increasingly renewable energy while working to keep prices as low as possible. We are actively working to help ensure that growth in electricity demand does not unduly impact residential customers. We have a long history of working with Senator Wyden on issues that are important to Oregonians."
PGE first requested state regulators to approve a 7.4% rate increase in February, which was followed by an increased request of 10.9% in July. In response, Mayor Wheeler submitted a letter to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Aug. 29 that urged the commission to reject this proposal.
However, PGE had filed a third testimony to the PUC two weeks before Mayor Wheeler’s letter, which had not accounted for the change. According to the third filing, PGE had updated its request with a reduced base rate adjustment of 6.3%.
This increase follows an 18% rate hike in early 2024, which marked a 43% total increase since 2021.
