Pacific Power’s Oregon rates to drop 3.1 percent

Eligible Pacific Power customers in Oregon will see their bill drop an average 3.1 percent due to adjustments to the Residential Exchange Program, the utility announced Monday.

The average Oregon residential customer using 900 kilowatt hours per month will see monthly bills go down an additional $4.22, the company said.

For the average residential customer, the total credit from the Residential Exchange Program will be $9.35 per month, which includes the additional $4.22 as well as the average $5.13 credit that was already in place. Eligible small agricultural customers will see a total credit of 0.768 cents per kilowatt hour.

The new credit levels will take effect Oct. 1 if approved by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission and be effective until the end of 2017.

“Pacific Power is pleased to provide the cost reduction made possible through this credit,” said Stefan Bird, president and CEO. “The reduction is due in part to the countless hours of customer advocacy by our team.

“The Residential Exchange Program, while complex, is at its heart recognition of how the power grid of the Northwest is interconnected and interdependent — all with the goal of providing reliable and affordable electricity to the region.”

Created by the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Northwest Power Act) in 1980, the Residential Exchange Program is a mechanism designed to equitably spread the benefits of the federally owned power system among the region’s residential and small-farm customers of investor-owned and consumer-owned utilities.

The credit level is adjusted every few years whenever the Bonneville Power Administration finalizes a rate case for its customers.