Electricity

As a string of attacks on electrical substations unfolded in Oregon and Washington in 2022, the FBI was warning utilities of white supremacists’ plots to take down the nation’s power grid. An investigation by OPB and Washington public media station KUOW reveals the scope of the threat to the Northwest grid.

Oregon’s utility regulator on Thursday announced approved rate increases for Portland General Electric and Pacific Power customers, citing increased costs to produce and purchase electricity.

Building more wind farms and buying more electric vehicles won't get carbon off the power grid unless we fix the grid itself. Experts say the grid needs to be modernized to be able to handle the clean-energy transition.

A new effort is underway to ensure the lights stay on in Southeast Salem during a power outage. The city is expected to complete construction of a community microgrid by late 2023.

Sharing renewable electricity across long distances is among the most cost-effective strategies for slashing carbon emissions. Getting there will take local action as well as immediate upgrades across the region. Yet grid upgrades are regularly delayed for a decade or more by community opposition and interstate disputes.

Nearly 70,000 Oregon customers remained in the dark as of Friday morning. PGE says about 15,000 customers can expect prolonged outages into the weekend or beyond.

Close to 150,000 power customers were still without electricity Wednesday evening, as residents of the state got creative about staying warm indoors, tossed refrigerated food gone bad, and watched once-icy streets fill with water and slush.

It's been 60 years since Oregon last saw such sweeping power outages.

Oregon's city and county leaders are scrambling to understand how electricity supplies will be affected by power-hogging indoor marijuana growers after recreational pot becomes legal in the state.