Yesterday’s public utilities commission hearing shows utility failing to be transparent about dependency on coal, costs to customers according to report from the Sierra Club.
Yesterday afternoon, the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) held a final hearing on the long-term energy mix of PacifiCorp, which operates as Pacific Power in Oregon. The OPUC commissioners deeply criticized the company’s poor planning in its Integrated Resource Plan, the blueprint for its energy mix going forward, and said that PacifiCorp must do a better job of protecting its customers from rate increases and long-term risk caused by the utility’s aging coal plants. To date, PacifiCorp has refused to give the OPUC a risk analysis of the full costs and future risks of operating its numerous coal plants.
Acknowledging PacifiCorp’s lack of transparency, Commissioner Bloom said, “We can’t have the analysis if we don’t have the data.”The OPUC hearing comes in light of Sierra Club’s analysis of reports from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) showing that Oregon Pacific Power customers have seen their electricity bills increase by 61 percent since the utility started operating in the state. Pacific Power customers saw a greater rate increase than customers of any other major utility in the six states that Pacific Power serves.
The costs of continuing to operate old, outdated coal plants continue to rise, and Pacific Power’s parent company, PacifiCorp, will seek rate recovery from Oregon customers for its $4.2 billion coal fleet expenditures. PacifiCorp owns the largest number of coal plants in the West, and Pacific Power customers in Oregon get 63 percent of their energy from out-of-state coal plants.
“Today’s hearing shows that PacifiCorp, and by extension Oregon’s local Pacific Power, has not been transparent with its customers about the costs of remaining dependent on coal,” said Amy Hojnowski, senior campaign representative Beyond Coal Campaign, Portland. “At the same time, we find out that over the past seven years, Oregon Pacific Power customers have seen their electricity bills skyrocket compared to customers of any other major utility in the area. Clearly, the company feels it has something to hide.”
The staff and the commissioners of the OPUC have been dogged in their efforts to protect the interests of the state’s Pacific Power customers throughout the 2013 IRP process. At the last public hearing held by the commissioners in October 2013, the commissioners warned the company that their continued refusal to be transparent about the true costs of relying on coal as a primary energy source would likely result in a “train wreck” if the utility were once again to spend money on its coal plants and then seek reimbursement from ratepayers. PacifiCorp’s long-term energy plan does not include any investments in new clean energy technologies like wind and solar projects until 2025.
Meanwhile, Oregon’s clean energy economy is growing: there are more than 122 solar companies in the state and Oregon ranks 5th in the nation for total wind energy installation. “We have a tremendous opportunity to transition towards more renewable resources, which are more affordable and efficient today than ever before and have brought over $9 billion in capital investment and created over 5,000 jobs in Oregon,” added Megan Decker, counsel for Renewable Northwest. “We should build on our renewable energy legacy and transition away from coal to provide the cleaner sources of power Oregonians demand.”Other utilities are proving that investing in clean energy like wind power can lower customers’ rates.
Utility regulators in New Mexico recently approved Xcel Energy’s plan to purchase close to 700 megawatts of wind energy, saving its customers an estimated $590 million in fuel costs over 20 years. “PacifiCorp needs to come clean about the financial risks its out-of-state coal plants pose to its Oregon customers and should redo its long-term energy plan to put coal in our rear-view mirror,” added Hojnowski. “Investments in local solar and wind power will mean that we no longer need to send our money out-of-state to pay for PacifiCorp’s coal plants across the West.
Instead, we can keep our dollars in Oregon and grow our clean energy economy.”
Info: Lauren Randall, Sierra Club, lauren.randall@sierraclub.org, 202-495-3027
