POWER Act aims to protect consumers from absorbing costs of big tech energy usage

The Jefferson Exchange

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Experts predict demand for electricity in the Northwest to grow at least 3% per year until 2034.(Robert Zullo / States Newsroom)

Legislation passed in the Oregon Senate will shield families and small businesses from the extra utility costs brought on by huge corporate users of electricity, like data centers and cryptocurrency operations.

The POWER Act — Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility — sets up a separate pricing system for electricity users demanding more than 20 megawatts, roughly the same usage as a small city. The measure, also known as House Bill 3546, is a response to the tight squeeze utility bills are putting on Oregon households.

Joining the Exchange to shed more light on the issue is State Representative Pam Marsh, a chief sponsor of the bill in the Oregon House.

The bill establishes a new customer class for large energy users, requiring them to pay a fair share of the costs associated with grid upgrades and investments necessary to meet their demand. This includes creating contracts with these users and ensuring they pay for their energy consumption even if it's less than originally expected. Since 2021, electric rates at some power companies have risen by nearly 50 percent and thousands of families have had the power shut off at home because they couldn’t afford the bill. At the same time, large industrial users currently pay about 2 cents a kilowatt hour while households are charged more than triple that rate.

The measure passed the Senate in a vote of 18 to 12 and now returns to the Oregon House of Representatives for final passage.

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