C.O. power bills to rise under state’s new clean fuels law
Is your power bill on the rise? Monday night, the Redmond Patriots held a meeting to discuss that very question in the wake of a controversial new state law — and also heard from an area lawmaker who voted for it.
The clean fuels bill was signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown in early March. The new law requires electric companies to eliminate coal from the state’s energy supply by 2030 and boost clean (renewable) energy by 50 percent by 2040.
By eliminating coal, electric companies will have to turn to solar energy, which is more expensive. The energy shift will in turn cause customers’ bills to rise.
The new law makes Oregon the first state to declare its intention to eliminate coal-fired power plants from its power supplies.
Many of the Redmond Patriots said they were not happy the move became law without a public vote.
State Rep. John Huffman, R-The Dalles, explained to the group why he voted yes, due to the threat of an even worse ballot proposal.
“As a legislator, you had to make a choice: Do we let the ballot measure go, which in my opinion was a very bad ballot measure, or do we take up the issue and work with the investor-owned utilities and try to create a legislative alternative to the ballot measure?” Huffman said.
Central Electric Cooperative President David Markham agreed that having lawmakers make the decision was a good call. He said his company did not have the the $2 million to $3 million it would have cost to help fight the ballot measure. Still, he admitted, consumers will take a hit.
“The problem with renewable energy is the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine,” Markham said.
Consumers will see a range of price increases, depending on where they live. Those supplied by Pacific Power and Portland General Electric will see the most impact.
Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, said the average consumer will pay $190 more each year.
The exact numbers are debatable, Huffman said: “It’s argumentative, but it’s probably somewhere (around) a 1 percent per year rate increase to shift from coal to renewable energy.”
Markam said customers could expect their bills to increase a total of 25 percent between 2030 and 2040.
Several audience members expressed opposition to not letting the public have its say at the ballot box. But Huffman and Markham said it would have been a costly campaign on a complex issue — and polls had indicated it would be an uphill climb to defeat it.
