PGE customers in Salem can weigh in Tuesday on a proposed 3.9% residential rate hike (Nov. 9)
Quick Read
Portland General Electric wants to raise rates 4.8% overall, or $178.8 million a year, with an average 3.9% increase for homes, about $8.33 a month for a household using 780 kilowatt-hours.
The Oregon Public Utility Commission holds a virtual public comment hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, by Zoom or phone, and takes written comments under docket UE 473.
The Citizens' Utility Board says the request would add $65.6 million a year to household bills and is challenging PGE's proposed profit rate and a $236 million pool of reserve funds.
The commission plans to decide in June 2027, and any approved rates would take effect by July 4, 2027. Most of Salem is PGE territory, but Salem Electric customers are not part of this case.
SALEM, Ore. - Salem-area households that get their power from Portland General Electric have a chance Tuesday night to tell state regulators what they think of the utility's latest request to raise rates, which would be its eighth straight year of increases.
The Public Utility Commission of Oregon will hold a virtual public comment hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, on PGE's general rate case, according to the commission's hearing notice and a news release. Anyone who wants to speak must join by 6:30 p.m.
What PGE is asking for
PGE filed the request on Aug. 4. It would raise the total revenue PGE collects from Oregon customers by $178.8 million a year, or about 4.8% across all customer types combined, the PUC said. Actual bill impacts depend on the type of customer and how much electricity they use.
For homes, PGE says on its 2027 rate case page that the average increase would be 3.9%, or about $8.33 a month for a residential customer using 780 kilowatt-hours. The company lists these average proposed changes by rate schedule:
Residential (Schedule 7): 3.9%
Small business (Schedule 32): 6.3%
Large commercial and industrial (Schedule 83): 3.6%
Large nonresidential service over 1,000 kilowatts (Schedule 85): 5.5%
Large nonresidential direct access (Schedule 89): 6%
Large-load data centers (Schedule 96): 7.7%, on top of a 29.7% increase in 2026
PGE says the money is needed to keep investing in the grid as Oregon grows, as extreme weather strains the system and as customers use energy differently. The PUC release says the company points to infrastructure investments and the recovery of operating, maintenance and capital costs for power production, transmission and distribution, including projects to help aging equipment withstand storms.
PGE also says it trimmed $25 million from the request by cutting operating costs, and that it is proposing a limit on how much base rates can rise each year in 2028 and 2029, tied mainly to inflation. The company says its Income-Qualified Bill Discount program provides $75 million a year in relief to more than 108,000 customers.
What the consumer watchdog says
The Oregon Citizens' Utility Board, a nonprofit that represents utility customers in rate cases, wrote in September that the request would add $65.6 million a year to residential bills and that an average PGE household could expect a bill of about $178 a month starting in July 2027 if it is approved. CUB said the dollar increase would be larger in winter for homes that heat with electricity.
CUB said it is pushing back on several parts of the case. It objects to PGE's request to raise its allowed profit, or return on equity, from 9.34% to 9.75%, after regulators lowered it in 2024 over affordability concerns. It also called a $236 million pool of reserve funds, money set aside for categories of spending rather than specific approved projects, a possible "slush fund" with too little oversight. CUB said distribution costs, including a $214 million wood pole replacement project and $104 million each for underground cabling and new residential line construction, are the biggest reason PGE wants to raise household rates.
"CUB continues to believe that PGE assigns too much of its overall costs to residential customers," the group wrote. CUB did praise the separate, higher increase for data centers as a sign that more costs are being assigned to the industry driving many of the new investments.
PGE customers' rates have risen about 50% since 2021, according to CUB, and PGE raised rates about 5% this April, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported. Oregon's FAIR Energy Act bars private utilities from raising rates between Nov. 1 and March 31, the Capital Chronicle reported, and this request would not take effect until summer.
Willamette News did not find a PGE response to CUB's specific criticisms of the reserve funds or the profit rate. PGE spokesperson Drew Hanson told the Capital Chronicle in July that the company is also seeking a higher increase on large data centers, which were made a separate rate class under the 2025 POWER Act.
How to comment
The hearing starts with a short presentation from PUC staff on how rate cases work. PGE and the other parties will not make formal presentations, and commissioners will not take questions, according to the notice. The hearing stays open until at least 6:30 p.m. and may run longer if people are still waiting to speak. It will be recorded and transcribed for the case record. Spanish translation is available on Zoom but not by phone.
Zoom: use the link in the PUC's news release, or join by phone at (669) 254-5252, webinar ID 165 919 7751, passcode 914 161 5196.
Online: the PUC public comment form at apps.puc.state.or.us/DocketPublicComment.
Email: PUC.PublicComments@puc.oregon.gov
Phone: 503-378-6600 or 800-522-2404
Mail: Public Utility Commission of Oregon, Attn: UE 473, Administrative Hearings Division, PO Box 1088, Salem, OR 97308-1088
Mention docket UE 473 in any comment. The PUC says the case is under a nearly yearlong review by commission staff, CUB and others, and that the commission will issue a final decision in June 2027, with any approved rate changes taking effect by July 4, 2027. To get case documents by email, contact puc.hearings@puc.oregon.gov or 503-378-6678.
Is your Salem home on PGE?
Most of Salem is PGE territory, but not all of it. On its service area page, PGE lists most of West Salem, the riverfront area of downtown Salem, the south half of Keizer and a small part of northeast Salem along Portland Road as areas inside its territory that are served by another provider. Those areas are served by Salem Electric, a member-owned cooperative, and its customers are not part of this PGE case. To check an address, call PGE at 503-228-6322 or Salem Electric at 503-362-3601.
Help with power bills
PGE customers with low incomes can ask about the Income-Qualified Bill Discount. Since Oct. 1, PGE has also offered up to $500 a year in past-due bill relief to customers with incomes up to 15% of the state median income, according to CUB. Customers must call PGE at 800-542-8818 or 503-228-6322 to apply.
In Marion and Polk counties, Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action runs energy assistance programs, including federal LIHEAP aid and the Oregon Energy Assistance Program for PGE and Pacific Power customers. The agency says online applications are closed until December 2026, but applications may still be available by mail or in person, and it asks people to call or email first.
Willamette News Local Desk. Edited by Channing Webb.
Sources
Public Utility Commission of Oregon: Oregon PUC invites public to comment on PGE's proposed rate increase (news release)
Public Utility Commission of Oregon: Notice of Public Comment Hearing, docket UE 473 (issued Sept. 16, 2026)
Portland General Electric: The 2027 General Rate Case
Portland General Electric: PGE Service Area
Oregon Citizens' Utility Board: Yet Again, PGE Requests Residential Rate Increase (Sept. 22, 2026)
Oregon Citizens' Utility Board: Oregon's Electric Utilities Launch New Past-Due Bill Programs (Nov. 4, 2026)
Oregon Capital Chronicle: Oregonians can comment Nov. 10 on PGE's proposed rate increase (Nov. 5, 2026)
Oregon Capital Chronicle: Portland General Electric proposes more rate increases (July 31, 2026)
Salem Electric: Service Territory
Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action: Energy Services
Cover photo: Public Utility Commission, Capitol Mall, Salem, by Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
Comments