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Oregon PUC Seeking Public Comment on Pacific Power’s Proposed Rate Increase

As a PacifiCorp customer who has reached out to the Consumer Services Division of the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) in recent years, we wanted you to be aware of a proposed rate increase requested by PacifiCorp and your options to comment on the impacts of the proposed increase to your electricity rates. The PUC wants to hear from you! View details below.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is hosting a virtual event for the public to comment on Pacific Power’s general rate case filing that proposed an increase to electricity rates. This event, held Tuesday, April 30, 2024, from 6-7 p.m. PDT, provides 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 14, 2024.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is asking for comments on impacts of this proposed rate increase. This is your opportunity to make your opinions known, and hopefully factor into the PUC’s decision making process. 

If you’d like to share your thoughts, please read through the information below and submit comments by June 14.

About the Proposed Increase
Pacific Power, which provides electric 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, residential single-family customers using an average of 950 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month would see a bill increase of $30.66. For a residential customer in a multi-family home using an average of 650 kWh per month, bills would increase by $18.51. Actual percentage increases will vary depending on customer type and usage.

Pacific Power’s proposed impacts for the different customer types due to the general rate case filing are noted in the chart below.

Pacific Power identifies several reasons driving the general rate case 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 related costs. The company also proposes an insurance cost adjustment and funding for a proposed catastrophic fire fund.

Stay Informed
To stay informed throughout this case, individuals may request to be added to the distribution list to receive publicly available documents. Submit requests by email to puc.hearings@puc.oregon.gov or by calling 503-378-6678. Please specify Docket No. UE 433 in the request.

Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative Awarded $6 Million Grant

Klamath County, Oregon (Feb. 14, 2023) – Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative was awarded a $6 million federal grant which they will put toward developing agricultural resiliency and restoration in the Upper Klamath Basin—specifically the Sprague River—to be followed by the Klamath Marsh, along with the Williamson and Wood rivers.

“The Ag Collaborative is a voluntary, nonregulatory rancher-to-rancher effort. We are about implementing a new way forward that combines the inherent benefits of a large-scale restoration of the Sprague—raising the water table, slowing the water down, retaining moisture for slower release over time, with the benefits of modified ag practices,” said Ag Collaborative Executive Director Larry Nicholson, whose family owns a ranch in Fort Klamath.

Kevin Newman, Ag Collaborative founding board member and ranch owner in Bly, Oregon explains, “The Ag Collaborative will make a big impact in the upper Klamath Basin—helping to preserve ranch opportunities for the next generation.”

As environmental challenges and agricultural uncertainties continue to impact the region, the Ag Collaborative will foster sustainable practices, enhance community engagement, and facilitate partnerships that empower local ranchers and others to successfully navigate these challenges. 

By collaborating with different groups—including landowners, producers, tribes, governments, and other stakeholders—the Ag Collaborative strikes a balance between conservation and the health and wellbeing of ranch and farming operations. Partners include Klamath Tribes Ambodat Department, Sustainable Northwest, Klamath Watershed Partnership, Trout Unlimited, Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District, Intermountain West Joint Venture, Oregon Agricultural Trust, and Resource Environmental Solutions (RES).

The Ag Collaborative will work with ranchers and farmers in actionable ways to improve water quantity and quality at the same time, make ranches and farms more drought resilient, lower the potential of being in a critical groundwater area, increase cold-water streams flowing into the Sprague, improve water quality and the health of the fisheries, improve waterfowl habitat, reduce cost of ground-water pumping, and increase the value of ranches and farms.

“You cannot have true restoration without equal consideration of ag resiliency,” said Nicholson. 

According to Nicholson, the Ag Collaborative maintains a constant awareness of the interconnection between river and upland restoration and the needs of agriculture—because both impact the health of the watershed and the way of life for ranch families and landowners. 

Commissioner Derrick DeGroot agrees, “The Klamath County Board of Commissioners has been apprised of the work the Ag Collaborative is doing to create a win-win for the Upper Basin, for both the ag community and the Klamath Tribes. I am optimistic that this effort will produce tangible benefits for the Upper Basin.” 

Jim Root, Upper Klamath Basin rancher and Ag Collaborative founding board member, clarifies, “The Ag Collaborative’s goals are consistent with Klamath Basin Integrated Fisheries Restoration & Monitoring Plan. We are bringing ag and other interests together. We’re doing the hard work of demonstrating that large scale river restoration can materially benefit both ag operations and the local environment. It’s a win-win instead of a win-lose proposition.”

Formed in 2022, the Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative assists in finding individual and united solutions to promote ag sustainability through education, support, cooperation, and financial resources dedicated to the Upper Basin.

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For general media inquiries or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Larry Nicholson, Executive Director, Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative

541-326-5101 • larry@ukbac.org