While utility companies are still settling years-old litigation over expenses and liability related to wildfires, three lawmakers in Oregon want to prevent them from hiking rates on consumers.
Days after the federal government announced it was suing PacifiCorp, the parent company of Pacific Power, over unpaid costs related to the 2020 Archie Creek fire near Roseburg, Republican state representatives Ed Diehl of Stayton, Virgle Osborne of Roseburg, and Jami Cate of Lebanon announced their proposal in a news release on Dec. 23. The federal government is one of thousands of plaintiffs suing the company since 2020. According to the announcement, during the next legislative session, which begins on January 21, the MPs will propose a restriction on rate increases for these utilities.
The three-member Oregon Public Utilities Commission approved Pacific Power’s request to increase residential power rates by over 10% in 2025 on the same day the federal case was made public. With over 574,000 users, it is the second-largest investor-owned electric company in the state.
Cate, who will sponsor the bill in the next session, stated in the release that it is now Oregon’s turn to pressure Pacific Power to finally acknowledge their responsibilities and end the practice of approving historic rate increases, thereby ending the ongoing financial hardship of our wildfire victims. When it comes to keeping utility companies accountable, we shouldn’t continue to do nothing.
Customers of Pacific Power now pay 50% more for power than they did in 2021 due to rate increases that have been authorized by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission almost year for the last four years. Since then, that rise has more than doubled the rate of inflation.
The corporation has requested rate increases for a number of reasons, such as growing inflation, constructing clean energy generation and storage infrastructure, and increased insurance premiums as a result of wildfires and the expenses associated with their recovery. In order to pay for $25 million in restoration work after the 2020 Labor Day fires, Pacific Power was most recently permitted by the commission to hike rates.
In an emailed statement, corporate spokesperson Simon Gutierrez stated that the company is collaborating with the federal government to address the allegations.
Although it is regrettable that the U.S. government chose to sue in federal district court, PacifiCorp will keep collaborating with the government to achieve a fair settlement, Gutierrez wrote.
A jury determined that PacifiCorp was responsible for a number of the 2020 Labor Day megafires that damaged over 4,000 homes, killed 11 people, and burnt about 850,000 acres of forest.
Archie Creek, the smallest of the Labor Day fires, burnt more than 130,000 acres, half of which were federal land, southeast of Roseburg. According to a Berkshire Hathaway annual report, the U.S. Attorney General’s Office is requesting repayment for expenses up to $625 million associated with the Archie Creek Fire and the neighboring Susan Creek Fire.
According to Securities and Exchange Commission documents, PacifiCorp distributed roughly the same amount to Berkshire stockholders each year in earnings before the 2020 Labor Day fires.
The international business Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffet, is the parent company of PacifiCorp. According to its lawyers, the utility is worth $10.7 billion, but the Oregon Department of Revenue and Oregon Tax Court estimate that it is worth over $19 billion.
According to a recent report filed with the federal commission, PacifiCorp has spent around $2.7 billion on wildfire lawsuits since 2020. This amount includes almost $550 million for 10 forestry firms and 463 plaintiffs who were harmed by the Archie Creek Fire. In Oregon, thousands more victims have sued the business and are awaiting a trial to decide damages. Many have spent years in limbo.
“I feel like Pacific Power is just using every chance to drag out court cases, waiting for victims to die off,” Cate told the Capital Chronicle, adding that it’s difficult to keep receiving urgent calls from fire victims. As power costs continue to rise, victims and Oregonians feel like they are being cheated, while Pacific Power has distributed enormous dividends to its shareholders.
— Oregon Capital Chronicle’s Alex Baumhardt
Established in 2021, The Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit news outlet that specializes in Oregon politics, government, and policy.
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