the film forum library tutorial contact DONATE

Bentz Warns of Future Power Shortfall in Oregon, Calls for Changes to Energy Policy by Michael Kohn Bend Bulletin, January 7, 2026

"This isn't ideological... It's practical. We have to have enough power."
-- Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, said Oregon is facing a future shortage of electric power and will need to make difficult policy changes -- including reconsidering nuclear energy -- to meet growing demand.

Bentz, whose district spans most of central and eastern Oregon, said utilities have told him they do not expect to have enough electricity to meet future needs. He said he raised the issue last week in a meeting with PacifiCorp (parent company of Pacific Power), one of the region's major utilities.

"I asked them directly if they have enough power to meet demand around here," Bentz said in an interview with The Bulletin. "And the answer was no."

Energy shortages could hobble economic growth in Central Oregon, where the population is growing and electrification of buildings is on the rise. Data centers near Prineville also consume large amounts of electricity for artificial intelligence applications.

Growing challenges
The Oregon Public Utility Commission, which regulates the state's three investor-owned electric utilities, said utilities currently have sufficient electricity to meet near-term demand but acknowledge growing challenges ahead.

"The electric utilities' Integrated Resource Plans project mid- to long-term load growth from new sources like large data centers, which will require significant investment in new energy resources to meet demand," PUC spokesperson Kandi Young said in an email.

According to Bentz, the energy problem is centered on limited transmission capacity and restrictions on in-state power generation. While the Bonneville Power Administration plays a central role in moving electricity across the Northwest, Bentz said the agency is not responsible for producing new power.

"Bonneville is in the transmission and marketing business, not generation," he said. "If you put BPA in the generation business, you immediately create all kinds of legal and political problems."

Young said transmission development is a shared responsibility involving state regulators, federal agencies and regional planning organizations. About 75% of Oregon's transmission system is owned by the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal entity outside the PUC's jurisdiction.

BPA spokesperson Kevin Wingert said the agency is responding to a surge in requests to connect new generation to the grid. BPA is currently studying 61 gigawatts of large generator interconnection requests -- more than double the region's anticipated electric load of 26.19 gigawatts in 2026.

"To put that in perspective, the anticipated regional load for the Pacific Northwest in 2026 is about 26 gigawatts," Wingert said.

Bentz said Oregon's energy policies compound the challenge. The state restricts nuclear power and does not allow new natural gas plants, leaving utilities increasingly dependent on imported electricity. That approach only works if the transmission system is expanded, he said.

"We can import power, but that requires wire," Bentz said. "And transmission is already a bottleneck."

Wingert said BPA expects to release an initial study report within the next month detailing how proposed generators could be interconnected and what transmission upgrades may be needed. He said BPA has identified up to 20 gigawatts of generation that could potentially be fast-tracked and online by 2030, depending on developer readiness and infrastructure improvements.

Nuclear option
Bentz said Oregon should revisit its constitutional restrictions on nuclear energy, which were adopted decades ago amid concerns over safety and radioactive waste. He argued advances in technology, including small modular reactors and improved waste management, have changed the landscape.

"The safeguards we have now didn't exist when that prohibition was put in place," he said. "We need to change our constitution so that option is available."

Bentz referenced a proposed small nuclear reactor project near Corvallis that received federal regulatory approval but was ultimately shelved due to high costs. He said similar projects may become viable as technology improves and demand for electricity continues to grow.

While state law restricts certain types of generation, Young said utilities are required through the PUC's Integrated Resource Planning process to evaluate all available resource options and demonstrate how they will meet demand in a least-cost, least-risk manner while complying with state and federal policy.

Any large new generation project -- whether renewable or otherwise -- would be subject to competitive bidding requirements and regulatory review to determine whether it is prudent and in the public interest before costs could be passed on to customers, she said.

Wind and solar tax credits
On renewable energy, Bentz expressed skepticism about tax credits for wind and solar projects, arguing they are no longer necessary for the industry to succeed. He pointed to Oregon's former Business Energy Tax Credit program as an example of what he described as poorly designed incentives that benefited financial institutions more than energy production.

"Solar has reached the point where it can stand on its own," Bentz said. "At this stage, the tax credits often end up as profit for banks and investors, not new generation."

He also said U.S. energy policy must contend with China's heavy subsidies for solar panel manufacturing, which he described as a major barrier to domestic production.

Bentz said he supports changes to federal permitting laws to speed construction of power lines, generation facilities and other infrastructure. Without reform, he warned, energy projects can take decades to move forward.

"If we don't streamline permitting," Bentz said, "we're not going to build what we need in time."

Wingert said BPA is working to shorten transmission project timelines from a decade or more to about five to six years. He cited Idaho Power's Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line, which took roughly 18 years from proposal to construction, as an example of the challenges involved.

Young said recent federal policy changes have added uncertainty to new energy development. New permitting requirements for renewable projects, the elimination of certain federal tax credits and the cancellation of previously approved grants have increased costs and could delay both generation and transmission projects, she said.

Energy demand in Oregon is expected to rise due to population growth, electrification and data center development, according to utility forecasts. Bentz said those trends make it urgent for state and federal leaders to reassess long-term energy strategy.

"This isn't ideological," he said. "It's practical. We have to have enough power."

Related Sites:
Letter to U.S. Office of Management and Budget