Oregon Electricity Rates: What to Know

Oregon electricity rates have been on a tear. Since 2021, the average residential customer has seen cumulative rate increases approaching 50% — roughly $70 more per month than five years ago. As of early 2026, the typical Oregonian pays between 15 and 17 cents per kilowatt-hour, which translates to an average monthly bill of $132-150 depending on the source and season.

Those numbers still sit about 10-15% below the national average, thanks largely to Oregon's legacy hydropower from the Columbia River Basin. But the gap is closing fast. Two forces are colliding head-on: billions of dollars in wildfire liability costs and one of the most aggressive clean energy mandates in the country. Understanding these pressures — and what you can do about them — is the key to managing your electricity costs in Oregon.

How Oregon's Electricity Market Works

Oregon is a regulated electricity market. Unlike deregulated states where you can shop for an electricity provider, most Oregon residential customers are served by whichever utility holds the franchise for their area. You do not get to choose.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) oversees the state's three investor-owned utilities: Portland General Electric (PGE), Pacific Power, and Idaho Power. The OPUC sets rates, approves rate increase requests, and establishes the rules these utilities must follow. Its mission is to ensure Oregon utility customers have access to safe, reliable service at just and reasonable rates.

However, the OPUC does not regulate consumer-owned utilities — people's utility districts (PUDs), cooperatives, and municipal utilities like Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) and Springfield Utility Board (SUB). Those utilities are self-governing with elected boards, and they set their own rates.

Here's a quick breakdown of Oregon's utility types:

Utility Type	Regulation	Examples
Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs)	OPUC-regulated	PGE, Pacific Power, Idaho Power
Municipal Utilities	Self-governing (elected board)	EWEB (Eugene), SUB (Springfield)
People's Utility Districts (PUDs)	Self-governing	Various across rural Oregon
Electric Cooperatives	Self-governing	Oregon Trail Electric, Clatskanie PUD

One thing Oregon does not have is community choice aggregation (CCA). In some states, cities and counties can band together to negotiate electricity purchases on behalf of residents. That option does not exist in Oregon yet, though nonprofit groups like the Local Energy Aggregation Network are pushing for CCA legislation.

The bottom line: as a residential customer, your main lever for controlling costs is not choosing your provider — it's managing your usage, taking advantage of rate structures, and tapping into the state's unusually strong incentive programs.

What Oregonians Actually Pay

Let's put real numbers on the table. The average residential electricity rate in Oregon in early 2026 ranges from about 15 to 17 cents per kWh, depending on the data source and time period. The EIA reported 14.91 cents per kWh for 2025, while more recent utility bill data from EnergySage puts the April 2026 average closer to 17 cents per kWh.

The average monthly electric bill for an Oregon household lands between $132 and $150. The national average is $147-156 per month, so Oregon is still somewhat below the median — but that advantage has been shrinking rapidly.

The trend is what matters most. Here's what the last five years of rate increases look like for Oregon's two largest utilities:

Year	PGE Increase	Pacific Power Increase
2022	3%	15%
2023	12%	21%
2024	18%	11%
2025	5.5%	9.8%
Jan 2026	—	-0.7% (small decrease)
Apr 2026	5% (~$8/month)	2.9% (~$4/month)

When you stack those increases year after year, the cumulative effect is staggering. Both utilities have raised rates by approximately 50% since 2021. A customer paying $100 per month in 2021 is now paying close to $150 for the same usage.

If your bill has been climbing and you're not sure where the money is going, our guide on how to read your electric bill and spot overcharges walks through every line item.

PGE vs. Pacific Power: Oregon's Two Major Utilities

Most Oregonians are served by one of two investor-owned utilities. Here's how they compare:

Portland General Electric (PGE)

PGE serves over 950,000 customers across 7 counties and 51 cities, covering a population of about 2 million Oregonians. Its territory includes most of the Portland metro area and surrounding communities — roughly 75% of the state's commercial and industrial activity.

PGE's April 2026 rate increase of 5% adds about $8 per month for a typical residential customer. While that's a meaningful bump, PGE's increases have been more moderate than Pacific Power's in recent years. Key cost drivers for PGE include distribution system improvements, substation upgrades, cable replacement, wildfire mitigation, and renewable energy additions.

PGE closed Oregon's only in-state coal plant — the Boardman facility — in 2020. It still holds an ownership stake in the Colstrip coal plant in Montana, which must be phased out of rates by 2030 under Oregon law.

Pacific Power (PacifiCorp / Berkshire Hathaway Energy)

Pacific Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, serves approximately 555,000 customers across 243 communities in Oregon, Washington, and northern California. In Oregon, Pacific Power covers much of rural and suburban territory outside the Portland core.

Pacific Power customers have been hit hardest by rate increases. The 21% jump in 2023 was among the steepest single-year increases in the country. A typical Pacific Power residential bill for 900 kWh of usage was approximately $153 per month as of January 2026.

The driving force behind Pacific Power's outsized increases is the company's massive wildfire liability — more on that in the next section.

Idaho Power (Eastern Oregon)

Idaho Power serves roughly 20,000 customers in Malheur County and parts of Harney and Baker counties in far-eastern Oregon. Its average rate of 11.76 cents per kWh is about 27.5% below the national average, making it the cheapest option in the state.

A major transition is underway: Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) has entered an agreement to purchase Idaho Power's entire Oregon service territory. If completed, all 20,000 meters would shift from an investor-owned utility to a member-owned cooperative — a rare move that could give these customers more local control over rates and service decisions.

Wildfire Costs: The Crisis Driving Oregon's Rate Surge

If there's one thing you need to understand about Oregon electricity rates right now, it's wildfire costs. The 2020 Labor Day fires fundamentally changed the financial landscape for Oregon utilities — especially Pacific Power.

What Happened

On September 7-8, 2020, extreme winds drove catastrophic wildfires across western Oregon. Multiple fires — the 242 Fire, Archie Creek Fire, Echo Mountain Fire, Slater Fire, and South Obenchain Fire — were attributed to PacifiCorp's infrastructure. The fires killed multiple people, destroyed thousands of structures, and burned hundreds of thousands of acres.

The Financial Toll

PacifiCorp now faces over $2.2 billion in agreed wildfire settlements, with major payouts still ongoing:

Settlement	Amount
Federal government claims (2020 fires + 2022 McKinney Fire)	$575 million
Wildfire class-action jury verdict (16 victims, Mar 2026)	$305 million
Archie Creek fire plaintiffs (463 plaintiffs)	$299 million
403 individual plaintiffs (Jun 2024)	$178 million
1,434 Labor Day fire survivors (Nov 2025)	$150 million
Oregon vineyards and wineries (smoke damage)	$125 million

As of late 2025, the company had paid out $1.7 billion to settle roughly 70% of total claims. More verdicts and settlements continue to come in.

How This Hits Your Bill

PacifiCorp cannot directly pass wildfire settlement costs through to ratepayers — the OPUC must approve any rate recovery. However, the financial fallout reaches your bill through indirect channels:

• Wildfire mitigation costs — vegetation management, line hardening, undergrounding power lines, inspections — are approved rate base items that flow directly into rates.
• Higher borrowing costs — major bond rating agencies have downgraded PacifiCorp's debt, increasing the company's cost of capital, which gets passed through in rates.
• Skyrocketing insurance costs across the utility industry flow into rates.
• Canceled renewable energy projects — PacifiCorp scrapped plans to purchase 1.5 GW of renewable energy due to financial strain, which delays the benefits of cheap wind and solar generation.

PGE did not face the same scale of wildfire liability, but it still incurs significant wildfire mitigation costs that contribute to its rate increase requests.

The cumulative 50% rate increase since 2021 reflects these compounding pressures. Wildfire costs are not a one-time hit — they're reshaping the utility's finances for years to come.

HB 2021: Oregon's Clean Energy Mandate

While wildfire costs are the immediate crisis, Oregon's clean energy law is the long-term force shaping electricity costs and the generation mix.

House Bill 2021, passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2021, is one of the most aggressive clean energy mandates in the United States. It requires PGE and PacifiCorp to hit these emissions reduction targets:

Year	Emissions Reduction Target
2030	80% below baseline
2035	90% below baseline
2040	100% — zero greenhouse gas emissions

Oregon also requires utilities to eliminate coal from rates entirely by 2030. PGE already closed its Boardman coal plant, but both PGE and PacifiCorp hold ownership stakes in Montana's Colstrip facility that must be unwound.

Consumer-owned utilities face separate, less aggressive targets — reaching 50% renewable energy by 2040 rather than 100% clean.

The Affordability Tension

Here's where it gets complicated. Meeting HB 2021 requires enormous capital investment in wind, solar, and battery storage to replace fossil fuel generation. That investment gets folded into the rate base that customers pay for.

To provide a guardrail, the law caps the cumulative rate impact of HB 2021 compliance at 6% of annual revenue requirements. If compliance costs push rates beyond that cap, utilities can slow their timeline.

PacifiCorp is already testing that guardrail. The company has warned regulators that meeting HB 2021's aggressive timeline would cause "severe affordability impacts" for customers already reeling from 50% rate increases. PacifiCorp does not currently have a plan that meets HB 2021 requirements, and it canceled 1.5 GW of planned renewable energy purchases due to wildfire-related financial strain.

The tension between climate ambition and consumer affordability is real, and it will play out over the next decade in rate cases, legislative battles, and utility planning proceedings at the OPUC.

Understanding Oregon's Rate Structures

Oregon uses several rate structures that directly affect what you pay. Knowing how they work gives you opportunities to save.

Tiered Rates

Oregon's default residential rate structure uses two tiers. Tier 1 covers a baseline amount of usage at a lower per-kWh rate. Once you exceed that baseline, Tier 2 kicks in at a higher rate. The system is designed to encourage conservation — the more you use, the more you pay per unit.

This means the most effective way to lower your average rate is to reduce consumption enough to stay within Tier 1 as much as possible. Efficiency upgrades — insulation, air sealing, smart thermostats — pay for themselves faster in a tiered system because every kWh you eliminate at the Tier 2 rate saves more money.

Time-of-Use (TOU) Options

Both major utilities offer voluntary time-of-use rate plans that charge different rates depending on when you use electricity.

Pacific Power's TOU (Schedule 29):

• On-peak hours: 5 PM to 9 PM, every day
• Off-peak hours: All other hours
• Credits applied for off-peak usage, surcharges for on-peak usage

PGE Time-of-Use:

• PGE offers several TOU options including market-based pricing plans
• Savings come from shifting heavy usage — laundry, dishwasher, EV charging — away from peak hours

TOU plans reward flexibility. If you can run your dishwasher at 9 PM instead of 6 PM, charge your EV overnight, and pre-cool your home before the peak window, you'll pay less per kWh for a significant portion of your usage. EV owners in particular benefit because overnight charging falls squarely in the cheapest off-peak window.

What's on Your Bill

A typical Oregon electricity bill includes several components beyond the energy charge:

• Energy charge (tiered) — the largest component
• Basic/service charge — fixed monthly connection fee
• Public purpose charge — funds Energy Trust of Oregon programs
• Low-income assistance charge — OEAP meter charge (all customers pay this)
• Transmission and distribution charges
• Taxes and fees

Understanding these line items matters because some — like the public purpose charge — fund programs you can take advantage of to lower your overall costs. You're paying into the Energy Trust of Oregon whether you use its programs or not.

Solar Energy in Oregon

Despite its reputation for rain, Oregon is a viable solar state — especially for homeowners facing 50% rate increases who want long-term bill protection.

Net Metering

Oregon offers 1:1 net metering for rooftop solar customers of PGE, Pacific Power, and Idaho Power. When your panels produce more electricity than you're using, the excess flows back to the grid and you receive a credit at the full retail rate. When you sign a net metering agreement, your credit value is locked in for the lifetime of your system.

This is a significant advantage. In many states, utilities have reduced net metering credits below retail rate. Oregon's full-credit policy makes the economics of solar substantially better. However, there has been discussion about potential future modifications — if you're considering solar, locking in your net metering rate sooner rather than later is worth considering.

Note that EWEB in Eugene has different net metering rates: $0.071/kWh as of 2025, down from $0.1045 in 2024.

What Solar Costs in Oregon

The average solar panel cost in Oregon as of March 2026 is $2.69 per watt. A typical 12.62 kW system runs between $28,853 and $39,037, with an average around $33,945. The federal Investment Tax Credit for residential solar expired at the end of 2025, which makes state and local incentives more important than ever.

Average payback periods range from 7 to 10 years depending on location, usage patterns, and which utility you're on. With rates climbing at 5-10% per year, those payback periods may shorten as the savings accelerate over time. For a deeper dive into panel selection and installation, check out our guide on choosing the best solar panels for your home.

Community Solar

About one-third of Oregonians — renters, multifamily residents, or homeowners with shaded roofs — are not good candidates for rooftop solar. Oregon's Community Solar Program offers an alternative: subscribe to a share of a large local solar project and receive credits directly on your monthly utility bill.

The program is available to PGE and Pacific Power customers. However, it's approaching capacity and may soon be oversubscribed. Senate Bill 92 would expand the program's capacity, increase flexibility for project locations and subscriptions, and incentivize battery storage for community resilience. If community solar interests you, acting before the program fills up is smart. Our guide on community solar explains how it works.

Energy Trust of Oregon: Your Best Tool for Fighting Rate Increases

Oregon has something most states do not: a ratepayer-funded nonprofit dedicated to helping you reduce your energy costs. The Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent organization created by the OPUC in 2002, and it's one of the most effective consumer energy programs in the country.

How It Works

Every customer of PGE, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas, and Avista pays a public purpose charge on their utility bill. That money flows to the Energy Trust, which invests it in programs that lower overall energy demand — helping the state meet climate goals while reducing the need for expensive new generation.

The Energy Trust brings in hundreds of millions of dollars annually and returns it to ratepayers through cash incentives, rebates, and technical assistance. You're already paying into it. If you're not using its programs, you're leaving money on the table.

Key Programs for Homeowners

Solar incentives: $2,500 flat rebate per residential solar system. You must use an approved Energy Trust Trade Ally contractor.

Solar Within Reach (low-income): Income-qualified customers of PGE and Pacific Power can receive $0.90/watt, up to $5,500 per home. Battery storage incentives are also available — up to $520/kWh for PGE customers (maximum $6,500) or $440/kWh for Pacific Power customers.

Home efficiency rebates: Cash back for insulation, heat pumps, water heaters, windows, lighting, and efficient appliances.

Weatherization: Assistance with sealing air leaks, adding insulation, and improving your home's thermal envelope — particularly valuable given Oregon's wet, cool climate.

The Energy Trust works through a network of approved Trade Ally contractors, so you're getting qualified installers who know the incentive process. Visit energytrust.org to see what's available for your specific utility and home situation.

Strategies to Lower Your Oregon Electricity Bill

With rates climbing at 5-10% per year, every efficiency improvement you make today becomes more valuable over time. Here are the highest-impact strategies for Oregon homeowners:

1. Claim Every Available Rebate

Between the Energy Trust of Oregon, the new federal HOMES and HEAR programs (launching spring 2026), and utility-specific incentives, Oregon homeowners have access to some of the most generous efficiency rebates in the country. Stack them: use an Energy Trust rebate for a heat pump, then claim HEAR point-of-sale rebates for additional appliances.

2. Switch to a Time-of-Use Rate Plan

If you can shift your heaviest electricity use — laundry, dishwasher, EV charging, water heating — away from the 5-9 PM peak window, a TOU plan will lower your average rate. Both PGE and Pacific Power offer voluntary TOU options.

3. Invest in Weatherization

Oregon's cool, wet climate means heating is a major cost driver. Insulation upgrades, air sealing, and window improvements reduce the energy needed to keep your home comfortable. The Energy Trust offers rebates that offset a significant portion of these costs. Our guide on how to cut your electric bill in half covers the most impactful efficiency upgrades.

4. Consider Solar

With net metering at full retail credit, Energy Trust's $2,500 rebate, and payback periods of 7-10 years, rooftop solar is a strong hedge against continued rate increases. Every kWh your panels produce is a kWh you do not buy at an ever-increasing rate. For those who are not candidates for rooftop panels, community solar subscriptions offer a similar benefit.

5. Electrify Strategically

If you're still running a gas furnace or gas water heater, switching to a heat pump can lower your overall energy costs — especially when paired with Energy Trust and federal rebates that reduce the upfront cost. Oregon's abundant hydropower makes the electricity grid cleaner than natural gas for heating in most cases. Our whole-home electrification guide walks through the process step by step.

6. Monitor Your Usage

You cannot manage what you do not measure. A home energy monitor shows you exactly where your electricity is going, often revealing surprises — a basement freezer running inefficiently, a phantom load from an old entertainment system, or HVAC cycling more than it should. In a tiered rate structure, identifying and eliminating waste is directly tied to paying a lower average rate.

Low-Income Assistance Programs

Oregon has multiple safety nets for households struggling with electricity costs, and they've been significantly strengthened recently.

OEAP (Oregon Energy Assistance Program)

OEAP is a state-mandated bill payment assistance program for customers of PGE and Pacific Power. It's funded by a meter charge that all customers pay — the low-income assistance line item on your bill.

In a major expansion, Governor Tina Kotek signed HB 3792 in August 2025, doubling OEAP funding from $20 million to $40 million annually. This came in direct response to concerns about federal energy assistance cuts and the mounting burden of 50% rate increases on vulnerable households.

OEAP provides year-round assistance, unlike some federal programs that operate on limited funding cycles. Priority is given to customers in danger of disconnection. Contact your utility or call 211 to apply.

LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)

LIHEAP is a federal program administered in Oregon by Oregon Housing and Community Services. It provides one-time energy bill payment assistance to households at or below 60% of State Median Income.

LIHEAP has faced a funding crisis: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not issue annual federal funding following the October 2025 federal government shutdown, leaving thousands of Oregonians at risk of losing heating assistance. The OEAP expansion was partly designed to backstop this gap.

New Federal Rebate Programs (Spring 2026)

Two new federal programs are launching in Oregon in spring 2026:

• HOMES Program (Home Efficiency Rebates): Covers 50-100% of project costs up to $10,000, depending on income and energy savings achieved.
• HEAR (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates): Point-of-sale rebates for low-to-moderate income households buying high-efficiency electric appliances and weatherization.

Both programs are being administered by the Oregon Department of Energy in partnership with the Energy Trust. If you qualify, these rebates can dramatically reduce the cost of efficiency upgrades that permanently lower your monthly bills.

Winter Disconnection Protections

Oregon has winter protections for utility customers. During the 2024-2025 winter, the state implemented a disconnection moratorium with a $1,000 arrearage forgiveness program running from December 2024 through May 2025. If you're behind on your bill during the winter months, contact your utility immediately — protections may be available.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average electricity rate in Oregon?

As of early 2026, the average residential electricity rate in Oregon is approximately 15-17 cents per kWh. This is about 10-15% below the national average of roughly 17 cents per kWh. However, rates have been rising rapidly — up nearly 50% since 2021 — and the gap with the national average is narrowing.

Why is my electricity bill going up so fast?

Oregon electricity rates have increased approximately 50% since 2021, driven primarily by wildfire costs (especially PacifiCorp's $2.2 billion+ in wildfire settlements), clean energy investments required by HB 2021, infrastructure upgrades, and coal plant retirement expenses. PGE has seen annual increases of 3-18%, while Pacific Power has seen 9-21% in individual years.

Can I choose my electricity provider in Oregon?

No. Oregon is a regulated electricity market. Residential customers are served by whichever utility holds the franchise for their area. The three investor-owned utilities are regulated by the OPUC. Community choice aggregation does not exist in Oregon yet, though legislation has been proposed. Your options for reducing costs focus on managing usage, choosing the right rate plan, and using incentive programs.

Is solar worth it in Oregon?

Despite the rain, Oregon gets enough sun — especially east of the Cascades and during long summer days in the Willamette Valley — to make solar economically viable. With 1:1 net metering at full retail credit, the Energy Trust's $2,500 rebate, and payback periods of 7-10 years, many homeowners find it worthwhile. The calculation becomes even stronger as rates continue climbing at 5-10% per year. Low-income households can get up to $5,500 through the Solar Within Reach program.

What is the Energy Trust of Oregon, and should I use it?

The Energy Trust is an independent nonprofit funded by a surcharge on your utility bill — the public purpose charge. It administers rebates for solar, heat pumps, insulation, water heaters, and other efficiency upgrades. If you're a customer of PGE, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas, or Avista, you're already paying into it. Not using its programs is like paying for a gym membership and never going.

Will electricity rates keep going up?

Most likely, yes — at least in the near term. Continued wildfire mitigation costs, clean energy infrastructure investments under HB 2021, coal plant retirements, and PacifiCorp's ongoing financial challenges all point to continued upward pressure. PacifiCorp has warned of "severe affordability impacts" if forced to meet aggressive clean energy timelines. However, the OPUC caps HB 2021 compliance costs at 6% of annual revenue requirements, which provides some guardrail on the clean energy piece.

What happens if I cannot pay my electricity bill?

Oregon has several safety nets. OEAP provides year-round bill assistance and was recently doubled to $40 million per year. LIHEAP provides federal assistance when funded. Oregon also has winter disconnection protections. Contact your utility directly or call 211 to connect with local assistance agencies. Do not wait until you receive a disconnection notice — the earlier you reach out, the more options are available.

What is HB 2021 and how does it affect my bill?

HB 2021 is Oregon's clean energy law, passed in 2021. It requires PGE and PacifiCorp to reduce electricity emissions to 80% below baseline by 2030, 90% by 2035, and 100% by 2040 — making it one of the most aggressive clean energy mandates in the country. The law also requires coal elimination from utility rates by 2030. Meeting these targets requires massive capital investment in renewables and storage, which flows into rates. However, the law includes a 6% rate impact cap to limit the cost burden on customers.

Your Oregon Electricity Action Plan

Here's a concrete plan to take control of your electricity costs:

This week:

1. Pull up your most recent utility bill and identify your current rate tier, monthly kWh usage, and all the line items you're paying. If anything looks unfamiliar, our bill reading guide will help you decode it.
2. Log into your utility's website (portlandgeneral.com or pacificpower.net) and review your usage history for the past 12 months. Note your seasonal highs and lows.
3. Check whether a time-of-use rate plan would save you money given your usage patterns. Both PGE and Pacific Power let you model potential savings on their websites.

This month:

4. Visit energytrust.org and see which rebates and incentives apply to your home. Focus on the biggest energy users first: heating systems, water heaters, insulation, and windows.
5. Check your eligibility for the new HOMES and HEAR federal rebate programs launching spring 2026. These can cover 50-100% of efficiency upgrade costs for qualifying households.
6. If you're considering solar, get quotes from Energy Trust Trade Ally contractors to take advantage of the $2,500 rebate. Lock in your net metering agreement while 1:1 retail credit is still available.
7. If rooftop solar is not feasible for your home, explore the Oregon Community Solar Program at oregoncsp.org before the program reaches capacity.

If you're struggling to pay your bill:

8. Call your utility or dial 211 to ask about OEAP assistance — funding was just doubled to $40 million per year.
9. Ask about winter protection programs and arrearage forgiveness options.
10. Check LIHEAP eligibility through Oregon Housing and Community Services.

For the long term:

11. Budget for continued rate increases of 5-10% per year. Every efficiency improvement you make today compounds in value as rates climb.
12. Consider a home energy monitor to identify hidden waste and track the impact of the changes you make.
13. If you're planning a home renovation or equipment replacement, use it as an opportunity to electrify and weatherize — stacking Energy Trust, federal, and utility incentives to minimize out-of-pocket costs.

Oregon's electricity landscape is being reshaped by wildfire costs and clean energy ambitions. Rates are going up, and there's no sign of that reversing in the near term. But the state also offers an unusually strong toolkit for fighting back — from the Energy Trust's rebates to net metering to expanded low-income assistance. The Oregonians who will pay the least over the next decade are the ones who start using those tools now.