Oregon regulators approve a smaller rate hike for Portland General Electric

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – State regulators on Friday approved a rate increase for Portland General Electric (PGE) that would allow the company to earn slightly less than it demanded earlier this year.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) granted PGE approval to increase rates for residential, commercial and industrial customers by approximately 5%.

Earlier this year, the utility asked regulators for permission to increase rates for its customers by 7.5%.

PGE serves 930,000 customers across seven counties and 51 cities in Oregon’s 1.9 million population.

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“As regulators, our job is to look out for customers,” said Megan Decker, PUC chair. “We know that rate increases are difficult for Oregonians, and we are approving them only after we independently review the facts and conclude that increasing rates is necessary to protect customers’ long-term interest in safe and reliable utility service to preserve.”

This decision by PUC comes after a year of a record number of closures due to non-payment by PGE customers, according to PGE data. The utility shut off more than 32,000 households that couldn’t pay their electricity bills.

The new interest rate increase is scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2025.

PGE offers its customers free tools such as dashboards, energy efficiency rebates and incentives, as well as energy management programs such as smart thermostats, time of day, smart electric vehicle charging, peak time rebates and equal pay. PGE also offers the Income Qualified Bill Discount Program. To learn more and enroll in an energy assistance or cost savings program, visit portlandgeneral.com/save-money or portlandgeneral.com/income-qualified-bill-discount or call 503-228-6322.

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