The Oregon House’s Legislative Session officially adjourned June 27, killing chances for Senate Bill 926 to be passed. The bill would have implemented stricter regulation by the Public Utilities Commission on investor-owned utilities and prohibited additional expenses onto consumers after wildfires.
The bill was created with bipartisan support, being introduced by Sen. David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) and Sen. Chris Gorsek (D-Gresham), and intended to prevent IOU’s from recovering costs and expenses incurred by a court from wildfire victims after being found negligent and causing a wildfire. The bill defines “costs and expenses” as funds used by IOU’s to pay for settlements with victims, litigation fees, penalties or fines and other payments required by the court after being found at fault for a wildfire.
SB 926 would have also imposed consequences onto IOU’s with remaining unsettled debt due to causing wildfires. Section 3, an amendment introduced by the Senate, prohibited companies from paying and distributing ownership, stock, dividends and other investments.
The House revised this section and instead required companies to immediately request an investigation by the Public Utilities Commission if they still haven’t satisfied a judgment but wish to work with investors. The Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board claimed in their testimony that although they supported the protection of ratepayers, these harsh financial restrictions would affect the safety of consumers, resulting in their opposition.
Another amendment by the House would have required IOU’s to apply for an annual Safety Certification that the PUC would only issue if the company implemented a plan of wildfire safety policies and practices. In an email to The Daily Emerald, PUC Policy Advisor Garrett Martin described how the proposed Safety Certification would have modified the scope of PUC’s regulation.
“The Safety Certification concept, proposed in SB 926, went beyond reviewing the performance of utility programs and would have required internal safety culture assessments and other continuous improvement practices meant to address how rapidly the wildfire risk is changing,” Martin said. “When the risk – and the science and practices related to managing that risk – are changing very quickly, it is important to ensure utilities are rapidly and continuously learning.”
Although SB 926 failed, Oregon lawmakers were able to address growing wildfire concerns by passing a revenue-raising emergency fund of almost $300M. Oregon lawmakers have promised to continue to fight for stable rates, victim compensation and more safety policies.
If future legislative sessions vote and pass bills like SB 926, Martin states that PUC would create more standards that hold utilities accountable, and research further into preventive methods and recovery for victims. “Going forward, there is an opportunity for the legislature to collaborate with stakeholders in crafting wildfire-related policies that foster utility accountability and safety.”
The question of regulation surrounding IOU’s brings light to an increasingly common answer for some cities: publicly owned utilities. POU’s are operated by a board with members being elected by the public, which promotes more direct oversight of rates, policies and recoveries. Oregon has 38 POU’s, making it one of the top states in the country.
The Eugene Water and Electric Board, a Eugene-based POU that serves about 200,000 people in Eugene and the McKenzie River area, did not take a position on SB 926.
“EWEB is a community-owned utility, governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners who are elected by the people of Eugene. The bill wouldn’t have affected EWEB and we didn’t take a position on it,” EWEB spokesperson Aaron Orlowski said.
Although EWEB and other POU’s in Oregon have managed to keep rates relatively stable, the country has seen steadily rising rates due to international markets and energy consumption.
The safety procedures of EWEB and Lane Electric Co-op, a member-owned utility in Eugene, have also been legally questioned since the Holiday Farm Fire of 2020. They have faced ongoing legal battles from multiple businesses and individuals who’ve claimed that delays and lack of responses from EWEB and LEC contributed to the devastating fire.
