Editor’s note: The Capital Chronicle has launched a $10,000 end-of-year fundraising campaign to help us continue our first-class coverage next year. A lot is at stake, and there’s a long legislative session in 2025. We’re completely dependent on donor dollars, which are tax deductible. Please contribute to us if you can.
Most Oregonians in 2025 will see residential electricity rates nearly 50% higher than they were just five years ago.
The state’s Public Utilities Commission — a three-person governor-appointed group charged with regulating the rates of privately owned utilities in Oregon — approved Thursday a nearly 10% increase in residential electricity rates for customers of Pacific Power and, on Friday, a 5.5% increase for residential customers of Portland General Electric, or PGE. Both rate increases will take effect Jan. 1 and bring overall rates for residential customers of both utilities up about 50% since 2020, more than twice the rate of inflation during that same period.