By Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Oregon Public Utility Commission is expected to approve new rates for Portland General Electric customers that drastically increases the cost of electricity for data centers and reduces it for all other customers.

PGE on June 3 filed a rate case that would increase costs for data centers by 29 percent while reducing residential rates by 1.3 percent. The PUC delayed a decision on those rate changes until its July 7 meeting.

Oregon’s 2025 law, known as the POWER Act, was the first of its kind in the nation and separated data centers from all other classifications of customers.

“The PUC’s actions will represent an important milestone in carrying out the intent of the POWER Act, creating a more equitable system where the customers driving the greatest demand on our electric grid pay the costs associated with that demand,” Gov. Tina Kotek held a press conference in East Salem on July 2.

There are 125 data centers in Oregon, according to datacentermap.com, with a dozen more in the planning stages.

Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board Executive Director Bob Jenks said data centers use 5.6 percent of the electricity in Oregon and expects that to rise significantly in the coming years.

“By all indications, we’re expecting a significant shift in costs from non-data center customers onto data centers in the commission order that’s coming out,” Jenks said.

Jenks said he expects other benefits for residential customers to come from the law in future years.

Legislature separates data centers into their own class in 2025

separated data centers from other types of customers, including residential, and mandated 10-year contracts between the investor-owned utilities and data centers for rates.

The law was designed to ensure data centers would pay their fair share for the infrastructure and energy costs and not pass them off to residential customers.

Jenks said he expects some of the companies that own data center or representatives of them to appeal some of the POWER Act implementation.

“As they continue to grow and outpace the growth of any other customer class, we’ll see them absorbing more industrial costs and that puts less upward pressure on everyone else,” Jenks said.

Although the PGE rate-setting process is nearly complete, Pacific Power is still in the process of creating its rates in compliance with the law. Jenks said he doesn’t expect the other investor-owned utility, Idaho Power, to file a case as it is in the process of exchanging its Oregon territory.

The law also doesn’t cover municipal power providers and co-ops.

“We’re hoping that the electric co-ops in other parts of the state that also provide power, they have also been looking at their needs as well and some of them have tried to make sure the costs locally for the data centers are more fair for the rate payers,” Kotek said.

Kotek formed the Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee to come up with policy recommendations for data centers for the state Legislature to consider in the 2027 session.

“We will have some very specific actions coming out of the group by the fall that we will take into the next legislative session,” Kotek said. “The state will have a much more prominent role, making sure development of data center and other large users meets the needs of the entire state.”

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Recent reports indicate construction activity is stabilizing in the Portland market.

Mortenson‘s latest , for the first quarter of 2026, suggests developers, owners and contractors are beginning to see increased confidence in the project pipeline. The region’s construction market remains active but selective, with project performance varying in different sectors, according to the report.

Mortenson Vice President Mike Clifford, general manager of the firm’s Portland office, said it is a cautious confidence, and owners are continuing to evaluate projects.

“Compared to where we were a year or two ago, we’re seeing projects starting to go through planning and into the design phase,” he said. “There’s greater certainty around pricing, procurement and scheduling than there’s been in the past couple of years.”

Mike Salsgiver, who is preparing to step down as CEO of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter, stated in an email that overall, the organization is seeing signs that the slowdown experienced over the past year is lessening.

“Larger companies such as Mortensen are reporting improvements in the pipeline as inflationary cost pressures, supply chain challenges, and interest rates are stabilizing,” Salsgiver stated.

Construction and development company Skanska also reports renewed momentum in the project pipeline on a national level.

“In the Portland market, activity seems to be stabilizing, with public sector investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure driving much of the work,” Skanska Executive Vice President Trevor Wyckoff, general manager of the firm’s operations in Oregon and Southwest Washington, stated in an email. “Private development demand continues to be shaped by sector-specific growth, particularly by data centers and life sciences.”

According to Skanska’s spring , cautious private commercial development is leading companies to focus on essential facilities, critical upgrades and industrial capacity. Modernization, deferred maintenance and energy efficiency improvements are being prioritized over new builds.

Mortenson has seen a slight rise in project starts, Clifford said. Construction starts were up 13 percent in March, according to Mortenson’s report.

There is strong demand for large-scale infrastructure, manufacturing, and data center construction, the report states.

Several regions have reported increasingly competitive bidding environments as trade partners pursue a more limited pool of conventional commercial and institutional work. While overall labor availability and supply chain conditions have stabilized, local constraints persist in specialized trades and steel and electrical scopes.

From AGC’s perspective, availability of trained and skilled workers continues to be a problem, Salsgiver stated.

Energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing sectors have seen some growth. In energy and infrastructure, there have been projects around the grid, grid resiliency, battery storage and renewable energy, Clifford said. Advanced manufacturing historically is a large sector in the market and it’s now experiencing some encouraging signs.

Some larger projects are starting to move forward in design. In particular, Portland General Electric has advanced some energy infrastructure projects.

Many of AGC’s contractor members, however, are encountering challenges in one sector, according to Salsgiver.

“Public projects, especially in transportation/heavy civil and heavy highway, continue to experience serious headwinds as funding for projects has become uncertain because of the (Oregon) Legislature’s failure to pass and implement a transportation funding bill that can withstand scrutiny from the voters,” he stated.

While nonresidential construction conditions remained stable through the first quarter of 2026, cost escalation and procurement conditions continued to vary by market and project type. Elevated metal pricing and continued demand tied to power, electrification and expansion of data centers are causing pressure on some materials and equipment availability, Mortenson’s report states.

“Our price increase in the market is still year over year on the lower end towards the bottom of the major markets,” Clifford said. “That reflects a market that’s been localized and subdued compared to some of the faster growing parts of the country.”

While things have moderated, the local market is still influenced by global and regional prices.

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Portland General Electric will build two solar projects in Eastern Oregon to meet growing demand from data center operators, the utility announced Tuesday.

PGE will spend approximately $540 million on a 125-megawatt solar facility and a 125-megawatt battery energy storage system in Sherman County. And in Morrow County, PGE will invest approximately $490 million in a 240-megawatt solar facility and a 125-megawatt battery system.

“We’re advancing critical infrastructure investments that will support economic development, both in Oregon and in Washington, and builds on a base of growing data center and high-tech customers,” PGE CEO Maria Pope said in a conference call on Tuesday.

The announcement came as PGE reported fourth-quarter and annual results. The utility is publicly traded under the stock symbol “POR.” PGE stock slipped 2.7 percent on Tuesday.

PGE also revealed a major acquisition, saying it would acquire PacifiCorp‘s Washington utility operations for $1.9 billion, in a deal financed in a partnership with Manulife Investment Management. PGE will manage the Washington utilities as a newly formed subsidiary regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

“In this time of unprecedented electricity demand, PGE’s commitment to the Pacific Northwest and our excellent service and energy infrastructure will benefit Central and Southeastern Washington,” Pope said.

Construction of the new solar projects will begin this year; they’re slated to come online by the end of 2027, Pope said. They are eligible for federal tax credits between 30 percent and 40 percent, she added.

PGE is also moving forward with last year’s request for proposals for new generation resources, and a short list will be submitted to the Oregon Public Utility Commission this week, said Joseph Trpik, PGE’s chief financial officer.

The Portland-based utility’s large customer group — such as industrial users, including data centers — is expected to grow by 10 percent annually through 2030, Pope said.

Utilities nationwide have come under public pressure as data centers’ voracious appetites for power have caused residential rates to soar. In a nod to rising prices, Pope said PGE’s tariff proposal includes a 25 percent price hike for data center customers, which is expected to “reduce residential and small business customer prices.”

Data centers now account for about 6 percent of PGE’s total customer load, Pope said.

PGE’s total load increased 3.8 percent in 2025, and 4.7 percent in weather-adjusted terms. The industrial load jumped 14 percent, while the residential load fell 1.8 percent.

Trpik attributed the load increase to “diverse and growing data center and high-tech customers.” Warm weather in the fourth quarter weakened overall demand, he said.

The Washington deal will add 140,000 customers around Yakima, Walla Walla and other communities in Central and Southeast Washington, PGE officials said.

“This acquisition is a great fit,” Pope said, calling the deal an “excellent opportunity to expand our service to Washington state and acquire generation, transmission and distribution assets we know very well.”

The acquisition must be approved by regulators in Oregon and Washington. The regulatory process should require 11 to 12 months, Pope said.

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The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is transforming its 7,000-square-foot Natural Sciences Hall into a space designed to deepen public understanding of climate-related challenges and community-level actions.

The renovation will begin once the hall closes to the public on Tuesday. The updated space, expected to open in spring 2026, will be named the Nancy Stueber Natural Sciences Hall after OMSI’s former president and CEO; she retired in 2020 after 38 years at the museum.

Bearing Architecture designed the project. The team also includes structural engineer VALAR Consulting Engineering and general contractor Walsh Construction.

The hall’s current Science on a Sphere exhibit will return. Also, access through the hall to the museum’s upstairs labs will remain. The museum’s prenatal exhibit will reopen in a different area of the hall. The remainder of the space will be renovated, including construction of new walls, additions of murals, and installation of new lighting to lower energy costs. Key activations in the hall focusing on renewable energy, sustainable living and conservation were developed in partnership with Portland General Electric, a sponsor of the renovation.

A new permanent, interactive exhibition will illustrate the relationship between humans and the environment. “Climate of Change/Clima de Cambio” will feature narratives from the communities in Oregon most affected by climate change.

“We want to invite visitors to explore in hands-on participatory ways how climate change is affecting our region here in the Pacific Northwest, both in our ecosystems and in our communities,” said Ciera Iveson, OMSI’s creative director.

Key climate science concepts and climate solutions will be presented, she said.

The climate impact message carried through the project’s design. OMSI is working with Timberlab to create an entrance using reclaimed yellow cedar left over from construction sites. Inside, tan oak will be used. The team will use mainly reclaimed wood that otherwise would have become waste, Iveson said.

The project’s theme is reclaiming waste, sourcing local building materials, and minimizing use of anything that in the long run would be discarded, she added.

Hall features will include: an immersive multimedia experience developed by Tellart that highlights the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world; design showcasing the beauty of the Pacific Northwest through landscapes, textures, and ecosystems; and other interactive, hands-on elements and education modules.

“We’re putting in a story theater where we’re sharing some documentary films we’ve been shooting of local communities here in the Pacific Northwest and their solutions,” Iveson said. “That’s going to be a really beautiful part of this installation.”

Donors, trustees and sponsors in the past few years have provided support for the project, Iveson said.

The museum’s “Accelerated” campaign raised $6.75 million from 2020-2025 in support of OMSI District plans. Approximately $2 million was allocated for the Nancy Stueber Natural Sciences Hall. Officials also garnered approximately $2 million in federal grants (from the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services), of which $1.5 million was rescinded, Iveson stated in an email. When the grants were terminated, OMSI reduced the project scope and allocated operational funds to its partners to ensure key exhibition elements of the exhibitions could be preserved, she added.

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Data center construction is slowing nationwide as U.S. electrical infrastructure struggles to keep up with demand, according to a CBRE report.

Nationally, data centers totaling 5,242.5 megawatts were under construction in the first half of the year, down 17.4 percent from 6,350.1 megawatts in 2024, according to the brokerage.

Data center investments fell by more than half in the first six months of 2025 to less than $1 billion, CBRE reported.

“This slowdown was largely the result of delayed decision-making by investors due to economic uncertainty, geopolitical conflicts and power supply challenges,” the brokerage stated.

Companies including Microsoft and Amazon Web Services have paused or slowed their data center growth this year, while other large operators continue to expand.

Despite the constraints, demand remains strong, said Kristin Hammond, a CBRE senior vice president and broker based in Portland.

“The infrastructure has now been outpaced by the construction of facilities,” she said. “There’s no use to having the facility if you don’t have the power poles to service it.”

Hillsboro, along with big cloud-computing players in the Prineville area and The Dalles, remains the epicenter of the Oregon data center boom, Hammond said.

Hillsboro’s data centers had an almost nonexistent 0.2 percent vacancy rate in the first half of the year, the lowest in the nation for a major market. Rental rates averaged $150 to $155 per kilowatt per month, according to CBRE.

Net absorption in the first half of the year totaled 48.4 megawatts.

Oregon remains a popular destination for data center operators, in part due to geography, relatively cheap energy and a skilled high-tech construction workforce. Hillsboro had 475.4 megawatts of data center inventory, making it the seventh-largest market in the country, according to CBRE data. Northern Virginia remains by far the nation’s largest data center market.

Increasingly, Oregon subcontractors are being sought for data center projects in other states, said Gabe Fox, chief estimator for Mortenson in Portland.

“We have a really strong labor force that’s highly technical, which is not always the same in other markets,” he said. “We have some of the best sheet metal companies and electrical companies here in the Northwest. These companies are being sought after to bring their expertise. … They’re definitely staying busy.”

In addition to contractors’ abilities to build high-tech projects, Portland General Electric‘s experience powering semiconductor facilities has given it a leg up in providing electricity to data centers, Hammond said.

“PGE has been very savvy about it,” she said.

PGE is seeking additional energy sources to alleviate the power crunch. The company in 2023 issued a request for proposals for new power sources. Then in September 2024, PGE recommended a list of chosen projects to the Oregon Public Utility Commission. PGE is now working with the bidders to update their pricing following the passage of the federal budget bill.

PGE plans to finalize contracts this year, with projects expected to come into service by the end of 2027, the utility disclosed in July.

PGE CEO and President Maria Pope told investors during a July 25 call that the company is “seeing sustained growth from data center and high-tech customers – over 16 percent compared to the same quarter last year.”

PGE locks in long-term contracts of 10 years or more with data center customers, which allows the utility to better securitize and finance its operations, Pope said.

Nationally, CBRE found data center vacancy dropped to 1.6 percent, a record low.

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By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has announced $3.5 billion for 58 projects across the country, including in Oregon, to strengthen electric grid resilience as extreme weather events such as the deadly Maui and California wildfires continue to strain the nation’s aging transmission systems.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said it was the largest federal investment ever in grid infrastructure, supporting projects that will harden electric systems and improve energy reliability and affordability. The federal spending, combined with money promised by private partners, could result in up to $8 billion in investments nationally to upgrade the grid, Granholm said.

“The grid, as it currently sits, is not equipped to handle all the new demand” and withstand natural disasters and extreme weather worsened by climate change, Granholm said at a news conference. “We need it to be bigger, we need it to be stronger, we need it to be smarter” to bring a range of renewable energy projects online and meet the Biden administration’s goal of reaching 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, she said.

Projects funded by the federal Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program will increase the flexibility, efficiency and reliability of electric power systems, with a particular focus on spurring solar, wind and other renewable energy, Granholm said. The projects also are aimed at fixing problems that may contribute to wildfires and other disasters and will improve reliability by deploying innovative approaches to electricity transmission, storage and distribution, she and other officials said.

Projects to be funded include $249 million each for rural areas in Georgia and Louisiana and $250 million for a Native American tribe in Oregon.

The largest grant, $464 million, will go to improve five transmission projects across seven Midwestern states, from Iowa to North Dakota. The money includes $95 million previously announced for Hawaii in the wake of devastating wildfires this summer, and $150 million to PacifiCorp to upgrade the grid and boost wildfire mitigation in California, Oregon, Utah and other states.

“Our outdated grid has been in need of an update for a long, long time,” said Mitch Landrieu, a White House senior adviser who coordinates implementation of the 2021 infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden.

The grid “is especially vulnerable to the increasing impacts of the climate crisis,” Landrieu added. “Older equipment can overload during extreme heat and cold when power is needed most. And it’s more likely to fail when communities are washed out by historic floods and decimated by stronger storms.”

The nation’s existing power grids are not built to handle the growing energy demand, a fact that is complicated by the intermittent nature of renewables, since energy isn’t generated when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind isn’t blowing.

“As we sadly saw in California, aging electricity infrastructure can cause catastrophic loss of life, property, natural areas and forest fires,” said Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown, a group that publicizes climate solutions.

The projects announced Wednesday are “exactly the kind of thing that we should be doing: promoting renewables, better storage and better electrical grids for a better, greener, more resilient future,” Foley said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the $464 million grant to the state Department of Commerce and its partners for five high-voltage transmission lines in seven states will spur about $1 billion in private investments, reducing costs to ratepayers and providing communities with a range of benefits.

“Minnesota is proud to lead the way on delivering affordable, clean energy to families across the Midwest,” he said.

In Georgia, the state’s environmental finance authority and companies that supports Georgia’s electric cooperatives will team up on a project to upgrade the grid, including investments in battery storage, local microgrids, grid reliability and new transmission lines.

The project will focus on remote, historically underinvested communities, Granholm said, including rural Locust Grove, where she visited Wednesday as part of the grant rollout.

In Louisiana, two projects will focus on helping disadvantaged communities withstand extreme weather and develop microgrids to work with local utilities and back up existing assets. Entergy New Orleans also will enhance the local grid’s resilience to severe weather, including hardening existing transmission lines and distribution systems to reduce outage frequency and duration.

CPS Energy in San Antonio will receive $30 million for a resiliency program, and Minnesota-based Xcel Energy will receive $100 million for projects in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota and Wisconsin to mitigate wildfire risk, including thousands of fire-resistant poles.

Texas has faced repeated challenges, from sweltering heat this summer to a winter blackout in 2021 that knocked out power to millions of customers and resulted in hundreds of deaths.

In Michigan, Consumers Energy will get $100 million to strengthen electric systems in disadvantaged communities where outages are more frequent, including northern Michigan and the Flint and Grand Rapids areas. DTE Energy, meanwhile, will receive $23 million for adaptive microgrids in the Detroit area to enhance reliability and reduce outages.

In Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation will work with Portland General Electric to upgrade transmission capacity and improve service east of the Cascade Mountains, including the reservation.

Associated Press writers Isabella O’Malley and Steve Karnowski also contributed to this report.

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A weekly list of highlights from commercial land use review activity in Portland by the Bureau of Development Services in the prior week.

Design review (type 2 procedure) – pending
Address: 500 S.W. Terwilliger Blvd., Portland
Applicants: Allison Jones and Meredith Armstrong of Portland General Electric
Owner: City of Portland

The proposal calls for an increase to electrical systems at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) facilities as part of the Portland General Electric Marquam Hill Underground Feeders project. The additions would help address limitation in the current emergency operation and future planned loading for OHSU and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center campuses. The project would be constructed in two phases with the first set for this year. Plans are also under environmental review.

Pre-application – pending
Address: 1715 N.W. Couch St.
Applicant: Michael Roberts of LRS Architects
Owner: St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland

The proposal calls for renovations to the exiting Archdiocese Pastoral Center offices that would involve rejoining the two buildings with a new interior and courtyard entryway, lobby, stairway and elevator core.

Source: Portland Bureau of Development Services

See also:

• $2.6M in upgrades for science buildings in Portland building permits | Feb. 20, 2023

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By SARA CLINE
Associated Press/Report for America

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s clean energy bill, which sets one of the most ambitious timelines in the country for moving to 100 percent clean electricity sources, was signed by Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday.

The legislation lays out a timetable for the state’s two major power companies — Portland General Electric and Pacific Power — to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity sold to Oregon consumers. Additionally, it bans the expansion or new construction of power plants that burn fossil fuels and allocates $50 million in grants for community-based energy projects, among other measures.

“With these policies, we will create jobs in a 21st Century, clean energy economy,” Brown said. “We will reduce carbon emissions. And, we will make sure the economic, environmental and health benefits of our clean energy economy reach all Oregonians, especially those who have been disproportionately impacted by climate change and pollution.”

The bill requires Portland General Electric and Pacific Power to submit plans to reduce emissions by 80 percent from a baseline amount by 2030, 90 percent by 2035 and 100 percent by 2040.

Dave Robertson, vice president of Public Affairs at Portland General Electric, says the timeline is an “important step toward the clean energy future”.

“It provides a clear path for this critical transition while protecting the affordability and reliability of electricity, and it establishes greenhouse gas reduction targets that are in line with the climate goals we set for ourselves late last year,” Robertson said.

At least 17 other states and the District of Columbia have already adopted similar goals, according to the Clean Energy States Alliance.

But officials say Oregon’s timeline is the “strongest electricity emissions reduction timeline in the country”. The deadline is nearer than nearly every other state that has adopted a clean power plan, including Washington and California.

Oregon would measure its progress in an atypical way, too.

Most states have opted to ratchet down greenhouse gas emissions by requiring utilities to gradually increase the amount of power they get from renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Oregon, which has already had such a “renewable portfolio standard” since 2007, is taking a more straightforward approach: requiring Portland General Electric and Pacific Power to reduce their overall carbon emissions, which are tracked by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

“Already, we are seeing the devastating impacts of climate change, from more frequent drought to more severe wildfire seasons that put our homes and our families in jeopardy,” said Rep. Jason Kropf, a sponsor of the bill and a Bend Democrat. “This bill will put Oregon on a pathway for a more environmentally sound future and create economic opportunity and jobs for our working families.”

Environmental activists have called the bill’s passage a huge victory, especially as the state and country continue to see the worsening effects of climate change. But the bill, which passed in Oregon’s Senate 16-12 and in the House 35-20, has also been criticized.

“Hiking Oregonians’ energy costs during an economic recovery is one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard of,” said Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod. “This bill just adds insult to injury to the countless Oregonians who have endured massive hardship over the last year and a half.”

Opponents of the bill say the policy will increase electric prices for Oregonians, cause business energy costs to skyrocket and put strain on the power grid — possibly leading to rolling blackouts.

“This bill accomplishes nothing for our environment,” Girod said. “It is simply a bill to virtue signal to extreme environmentalist groups that will cause Oregonians to pay more for less reliable energy.”

Whether or not the timeline is attainable is also uncertain.

“If you go out to 2030, we think we can hit that,” PacifiCorp Senior Vice President Scott Bolton told The Oregonian/Oregon Live last month. “We were pretty clear though, beyond that we don’t have a plan that shows we can get there.”

Likewise, Brett Sims, a vice president at Portland General Electric, told The Oregonian the company can meet the 2030 target by eliminating coal, operating its natural gas fired plants to serve peaks rather than base load demand, and adding substantial wind, solar, storage and demand reduction strategies to its resource mix. However, the 2040 target, he said, remains aspirational.

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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon would adopt one of the country’s most ambitious timelines for eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from its power grid under a bill being considered by the Legisltature this year.

House Bill 2021 — a product of negotiations between the state’s largest utilities, environmental justice groups, renewable energy boosters and more — advanced out of one House committee late last month. It must now navigate the state budgeting process before final votes in the House and Senate.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the bill sets a timetable by which Oregon’s two major power companies, Portland General Electric and Pacific Power, must eliminate emissions associated with the electricity they provide. Five “electricity service suppliers” in the state also would face regulation, though their emissions are tiny compared to the big utilities.

At least 17 other states and the District of Columbia have already adopted similar goals, according to the Clean Energy States Alliance.

But advocates say Oregon’s plan stands out in both approach and timeline. The bill requires PGE and Pacific Power to submit plans to reduce emissions by 80 percent from a baseline amount by 2030, 90 percent by 2035, and completely eliminate emissions by 2040.

That end date is notably ambitious. It’s a nearer deadline than nearly every other state that has adopted a clean power plan, including Washington and California.

Oregon would measure its progress in an atypical way, too. Most states have opted to ratchet down greenhouse gas emissions by requiring utilities to gradually increase the amount of power they get from renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Oregon, which has already had such a “renewable portfolio standard” since 2007 is taking a more straightforward approach: requiring PGE and Pacific Power to reduce their overall carbon emissions, which are tracked by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

“What we’re doing is harder, but I think it’s more honest,” said Bob Jenks, executive director of the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, which advocates on behalf of utility customers and supports the bill.

By targeting emissions, Jenks and others say, Oregon can focus on more than just ramping up its use of renewables. It can also place a premium on helping the state use power in a smarter, more efficient manner.

Unlike the ambitious cap-and-trade proposal that would have ratcheted down emissions throughout the economy, and developed many enemies as a result, HB 2021 touches far fewer entities. And many support the bill.

“We feel optimistic enough that we can get (to zero emissions) that we were willing to move forward to support this,” said Sunny Radcliffe, director of governmental affairs and energy policy at PGE, the state’s largest electric utility.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Pacific Power finished restoring power following powerful ice storms on Sunday and now some of its crews plan to help Portland General Electric, which still has about 4,000 customers waiting for power, the company said Wednesday.

Pacific Power predominantly serves the southern part of Oregon, but also serves cities such as Corvallis, Lincoln City, Bend and Astoria. At times, more than 80,000 Pacific customers were without power, KOIN-TV reported. The company had more than 400 field personnel working 24/7 through ice and snow to restore power as quickly as possible.

“Crews and contractors were all hands-on deck for this monumental restoration effort,” company officials said. “A special thanks goes out to the crews that came to assist us from Rocky Mountain Power within our PacifiCorp family and from MidAmerican Energy and NV Energy in our extended Berkshire Hathaway Energy family. And a heartfelt thank you and deep gratitude to our customers affected by this storm. They showed tremendous patience and generosity during a very trying time.”

PGE said on Tuesday it could be another week before all power is restored and that crews from multiple states had been helping out. Nearly half of PGE’s customers, more than 420,000, were impacted by outages during the storms, PGE President Maria Pope said.

Crews are in the last phases of work that generally only restores power to about 10 customers at a time, she said previously.

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