Oregon PGE Plan Would Raise Data Center Rates While Cutting Bills for Homes and Small Businesses

Portland General Electric (PGE) filed a 29% rate increase for data centers and lower rates for residential and small business customers for regulatory approval on Thursday.

PGE Seeks Approval For Higher Rates For Data Centers, Lower for Small Users

New proposed rates associated with UM2377, the regulatory docket that implements Oregon’s POWER Act, were filed by PGE to take effect on June 10, 2026, pending review and approval from the Oregon Public Utility Commission:

• Large-load data center customers: 29% increase
• Residential customers: 1.3% decrease
• Small business customers: 3.7% decrease
• Commercial customers: 2.2% decrease
• Industrial customers: 1.5% decrease

John McFarland, Chief Customer Officer at PGE, said, “Oregon is building a modern regulatory framework that supports responsible growth while keeping customer affordability front and center.”

PGE seeks to ensure that the costs of new infrastructure are paid by the customers driving that growth, protecting residential and small-business customers while continuing to support economic development across the region.

To do this, PGE secured regulatory approval from the Oregon Public Utility Commission on May 7, becoming the first utility in Oregon to implement the POWER Act by adopting a new customer class specifically for data centers and a new framework to allocate costs fairly based on growth.

PGE has also received authorization for proposals to responsibly manage data center growth, including exit fees, minimum charges, and special contracts to support clean energy development.

More information about these rate changes and the regulatory decision on data center costs is available on the Oregon Public Utility Commission website.