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Columbia River PUD Customers Will See Higher Electric Bills Next Year Due to Rate Increases by Kaelyn Cassidy Columbia County Spotlight, December 5, 2024

The Bonneville Power Administration has decided to use $350 million
of power reserves distribution clause (RDC) funds to reduce power rates.

The average Columbia River People's Utility District customer will pay about $10 more for electricity each month when new rate increases go into effect next year.

Starting April 1, Columbia River PUD will raise electricity rates by 7.5% in anticipation of increased costs from the Bonneville Power Administration -- Columbia River PUD's wholesale electric provider. By Oct. 1, the Bonneville Power administration is expected to increase wholesale electric costs by 10%, and transmission costs by 15%, resulting in an overall 15% cost increase for Columbia River PUD.

"These costs have been passed on to us; we don't have control of these costs," board member Russ Hubbard said in a press release. "So it's the hand we're dealt and unfortunately, just like any business, we have to pass that cost along."

What will my new bill look like?

Columbia River PUD charges a monthly base rate as well as an energy usage charge. The base rate will rise from $22.50 to $25 per month, and the energy usage charge will increase from 7.19 cents to 7.79 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The average residential customer uses about 1,100 kWh per month, according to a Columbia River PUD spokesperson, and pays an average monthly bill of $101.59. After the rate increases go into effect, that same customer would pay $110.69.

Costs could increase even more

While Columbia River PUD expects charges from the Bonneville Power Administration to increase by about 15%, it won't know the official amount until July.

Instead of raising rates by 15% all at once, Columbia River PUD plans on a 7.5% increase in April, and then will conduct a cost study after Bonneville Power Administration announces its final rate changes.

The cost study will determine how much more Columbia River PUD will need to raise rates in 2026, if at all.

Still cheaper than PGE

Columbia River PUD often touts one of its founding ideals as keeping costs at least 5% lower than those charged by neighboring electricity provider Portland General Electric.

Even with the increase, that still holds true: PGE charges 16.336 cents per kWh used as well as a $13 base charge for single-family homes or a $10 base charge for multifamily homes. PGE customers also pay a few additional fees on top of those.

The average monthly bill for a PGE customer who uses 795 kWh is $157.47 as of October, according to a PGE spokesperson. A Columbia River PUD customer using the same amount of electricity would pay about $79.66. When rates increase, that customer would pay $86.93.

Funding improvements

The rate increases come as part of Columbia River PUD's newly-approved 2025 budget, which also allocated funds to improvements in the electric grid. About $8.3 million will be allotted toward new equipment, technology and facility improvements, system improvement projects and customer work such as meter replacements and adding new developments into the electric grid.

About $1.5 million will be spent on converting overhead power lines to underground ones on Dutch Canyon Road and Northwest Gilkison Road in Scappoose, as well as Anliker Road in Deer Island. This will help reduce the risk of damage from wildfires and winter storms.

Columbia River PUD also plans to end 2025 with about $3.2 million less in cash reserves. A major contributor to this is the $1 million the company set aside this year -- and the $1 million it plans to do the same with in 2025 -- to upgrade transmission capacity.

According to the press release, one of Columbia River PUD's most significant limitations is its inability to accommodate new industry that requires a large electric load.

In a plan dubbed Project Sprint, an American Hyperion Solar location in St. Helens could have brought 800 to 1,000 jobs and a $1 billion investment to St. Helens. The company cited a lack of electrical capacity as the prime reason for passing on the potential plant location earlier this year. Instead, Arcadia Paper Mills has agreed to purchase the former Cascade Tissues site.

Upgrading transmission capacity will help solve that problem.

"We are exploring every opportunity to add transmission to support economic growth within Columbia County," Columbia River PUD General Manager Michael Sykes said in the release.

Related Pages:
BPA Finalizes Allocation of $500M in Power Reserves Distribution Clause Funds
by Stephen Ernst, NW Fishletter, 1/13/23
BPA Decides to Use Some Power RDC Funds to Reduce Rates by Elizabeth Ingram, HydroWorld, 1/12/23
BPA's $500M Windfall Will Mostly Go To Rate Reductions, Irking Fish, Energy Efficiency Advocates by Pete Danko, Portland Business Journal, 1/11/23
Bonneville Power Administration Proposing Holding Power Fees Flat by Staff, Lake County Examiner, 11/21/22