Portland General Electric’s rate hikes largely stem from increased wholesale power market costs, the utility wrote after Sen. Ron Wyden voiced concern that Oregon customers are struggling to pay their electricity bills.

State utility commissioners who launched the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative in July 2023 have praised the initiative’s “Step 2” proposal to create a “regional organization.”

A California wildfire fund created by state lawmakers in 2019 could serve as a model for a similar nationwide fund, speakers said during a webinar hosted by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid.

Backers of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative will move quickly on a proposal to alter the governance of CAISO’s Western EIM and EDAM after voting to approve the plan.

The coalition of utility commissioners that proposed the creation of an independent Western RTO is wasting no time getting the project up and running.

Utility regulators from Oregon and California discussed their proposal for a new independent RTO covering the entire West for the first time publicly.

PacifiCorp will be able to meet Oregon’s ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for electric utilities but “it will not be without challenges,” a company official said.

Utilities shared ways to narrow the impact of public safety power shutoffs — and convince customers of the need for them — at the WIEB Wildfire Meeting.