Portland General Electric (Oregon Public Utility Commission Docket UE 294):

Since our meeting in April 2015, SBUA has been busy especially in the Portland General Electric General Rate Case representing small business, in particular for this docket, the Small Nonresidential Customer. This class of small business customers is by far the second most numerous customer class served by PGE, behind only residential which is by far the largest class, and small business is a much more numerous class than large commercial, irrigators, and other customers. The docket UE 234, PGE proposed about a 6% increase in retail electricity rates w/small commercial customers bearing the largest rate increase. SBUA intervened and participated in meetings and settlement discussions and learning more particulars about the proposal. SBUA learned that while a main purpose of the utility’s rate hike proposal was to pay back construction of a natural gas generation plant, another particular was to structure rates a bit differently going forward, as the OPUC Staff’s expert helped reveal. In addition to pointing out the disproportionate impact on small business, SBUA noted in testimony a lack of transparency in this second motivation. [See this link to SBUA testimony: http://edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HTB/ue294htb17027.pdf. SBUA participated in the proceeding but declined to join a settlement between PGE and other parties. This settlement, in our view, fell short of fully protecting small business interests. While the proceeding did lower the rate increase all around for everyone to about 3%, small business will still pay slightly more proportionally than other rate classes, which SBUA does not agree with. PGE has committed to working with SBUA on such matters, so we have set a good foundation on which to build. See the August 2015 settlement proposal in the following link: http://edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HAR/ue294har17952.pdf. Diane Henkels, Cleantech Law Partners, represented SBUA in these matters. She can be reached by telephone at 541.270.6001 or email at dhenkels@cleantechlaw.com.