Electricity

House Bill 3792 will double the Oregon Energy Assistance Program from $20 million to $40 million, with the goal of helping more low-income Oregonians pay their energy bills and avoid disconnections.

Lawmakers have passed a set of bills that will allow Oregonians to develop community-owned microgrids.

The Fairness & Affordability in Residential Energy Act, or FAIR Energy Act, will limit how often a for-profit utility can request rate increases and will require gas and electric utilities to submit annual reports on costs and how those increases impact customers.

The Eastern Oregon city hopes solar energy will eventually supply electricity to all plant operations.

Over the next two decades, demand could increase by between 1.8% and 3.1% annually, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council heard Tuesday. The projected growth will come primarily from companies building more data centers in the region, more electric vehicles on roads, electrifying buildings, computer chip manufacturing and the production of "green hydrogen.

The utility has approved an additional $3.3 million for fish passages at the Carmen-Smith Hydro Electric project along the McKenzie River about 70 miles east of Eugene.

Portland General Electric’s Harborton Reliability Project could remove about 400 mature trees to upgrade one transmission line and build a stretch of new line.

House Bill 3546 would require large energy users to pay their share of electricity use. Many data centers and other heavy users of electricity are paying lower rates than residential utility customers.

Eighty-eight years after its creation by an act of Congress, Bonneville Power is widely viewed as both an engine of prosperity in the Northwest, and — at times — an obstacle to environmental goals and economic growth.

Portland General Electric, PacifiCorp, BPA and other electricity providers throughout the West are weighing two new “day-ahead” energy market proposals. It’s important because the choice could cost electricity consumers billions over the next decade. Pete Danko wrote about this for the Portland Business Journal and joins us to explain.