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Oregon Shifts Electricity Costs to Data Centers Under New State Law - IJR

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Oregon Shifts Electricity Costs to Data Centers Under New State Law

State regulators say the change is designed to prevent households and small businesses from subsidizing the growing electricity demands of data centers.

Andrew Powell·Jul 8, 2026·2 min read

🖥️Data centers⚡Electricity rates🌲Oregon🇺🇸U.S. News

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Oregon has begun charging Data centers significantly higher Electricity rates under a new state law aimed at reducing energy costs for residential customers and other businesses.

According to FOX Business, the Oregon Public Utility Commission implemented the new rate structure on Wednesday for customers served by Portland General Electric, marking the first utility in the state to adopt the changes required under the Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility, or POWER Act.

Under the updated rates, electricity costs for Data centers will increase by an average of 29%.

At the same time, residential customers will see their bills decrease by an average of 1.3%, while commercial customers will receive an average 2.1% reduction.

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Other industrial users are expected to see rates fall by about 1.4%.

Regulators estimate the changes will affect roughly 963,000 customers across Portland General Electric's service area.

Commission Chair Letha Tawney said the new pricing structure is intended to better reflect the costs created by large energy users.

"These changes ensure that costs created by Data centers in PGE's territory are more accurately reflected in their rates," Tawney said.

She added that the rule is intended to prevent future cost increases from being passed on to households and smaller businesses.

The rate changes were delayed for about a month while regulators completed an extended review before taking effect.

President Donald Trump's administration has highlighted the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure nationwide, and states have increasingly grappled with the growing electricity demands created by large-scale Data centers.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed the POWER Act into law last year after it passed the Democrat-controlled state legislature. She said the legislation was designed to ensure that large electricity users, including Data centers, bear a greater share of the costs associated with their growing demand on the state's power grid.

The Data Center Coalition, which represents owners and operators of Data centers, said it supports protecting consumers from paying for infrastructure expansions driven by the industry.

However, the group argued Oregon's approach differs from policies adopted in many other states.

Aaron Tinjum, the coalition's vice president of energy, said the organization has filed a petition asking regulators to reconsider the order.

He said the industry remains committed to paying the full cost of the electricity it uses but argued the current rule could create uncertainty and reduce Oregon's competitiveness for future investment.