Oregon Electricity Rates per kWh: PGE, Pacific Power and the Winter Ban

Oregon stops its big utilities raising home rates in winter, and from 2027 it limits how often they can ask. We measure what that protects on a real year’s bills, explain the two open requests, including why Pacific Power’s 10.8% becomes $3.12, and show how public power compares.

What the winter ban covers on a real year

Since the FAIR Energy Act, House Bill 3179, PGE and Pacific Power cannot start a residential increase between 1 November and 31 March. Its effect is easy to measure, because Oregon home bills peak in those same months.

So 46% of a home’s yearly spend is shielded from a new increase for those five months. The ban moves an increase; it does not remove it. Adjustments filed over the 2025–26 winter all waited for 1 April 2026, when PGE’s typical bill rose by $7.97, or 5%, for power costs, storm repairs and grid work. Pacific Power’s rose about 3%, more than $4. A price rise on 1 April saves the winter months of that year but applies to all that follow. The cover goes only to homes of the investor-owned utilities. Public utility districts, cities and co-ops set their own rates.

Oddly, winter is when Oregon’s price per kWh is lowest: 14.7¢ in January, against 16.3¢ in June. Fixed charges spread over more kWh, so a June bill can look dear on price while being one of the year’s smallest.

The three-year rule starts just as both utilities file

The same law limits residential increase requests to about one every three years from 2027, and requires yearly reports on what is coming. Both big utilities have large cases open as that begins.

The Pacific Power figure needs care. The gross rise for a typical home is $15.61 a month. The company nets off three decreases of $4.03, $3.42 and $5.04, to reach $3.12. Press reports give 11.3% for homes and July 2027, which include the sale of its Washington assets to PGE, and the timing of that sale is uncertain. On 27 May the Commission refused a 2.8% interim increase. The chair said emergency rises need a very high bar.

PGE proposes capping annual base rate increases in 2028 and 2029 at inflation, and further increases for data centers. We have booked a check on both cases.

Why these rules exist

PGE’s homes saw three straight rises: 8%, nearly 9% and then 18% in 2024. Pacific Power’s rose 9.8% from January 2025, against 17.9% requested; in that order the Commission disallowed half of its 2020 wildfire restoration costs. Its home rates had risen by nearly half since 2021.

The POWER Act (House Bill 3546) came next. Under it PGE moved costs onto data centers, an average 29% more for them, and cut residential rates by about 1.3% from 8 July 2026.

Start from a January bill

A January bill shows your largest use, so divide its total by its kWh; a summer bill alone understates the year. The utility menu gives a 2025 average instead.

PGE, Pacific Power and public power

PGE stood at 18.79¢ per kWh in 2025, the highest large figure. Pacific Power charged 15.18¢ and Eugene Water & Electric Board 14.24¢.

EIA-861 for 2025: each utility’s revenue from homes divided by the kWh they used, so monthly charges are spread into the price.

The low prices belong to public power. By federal law, the Bonneville Power Administration must give public bodies and co-ops preference when selling federal hydropower. McMinnville charged 7.82¢, Springfield 8.39¢, Columbia River PUD 9.75¢ and Central Electric 10.49¢. On the coast, Central Lincoln PUD charged 11.39¢ and Tillamook PUD 12.66¢.

A winter peak, a mild summer

January’s 1,139 kWh is about 1.7 times May’s, and summer adds only a small bump. By use Oregon places 29th of 51, by bill 40th. January 2026 ($167) was the dearest month and May 2026 ($110) the cheapest.

Twelve quiet years, then a jump

The 8.87¢ of 2010 was still only 11.4¢ twelve years later. Then came 12.7¢, 14.7¢ and 15.5¢ in the three years to 2025. The latest 12 months averaged 15.53¢, 75% above 2010, one of the ten steepest rises, with a record of 16.32¢ in June 2026. Even now it is below the national figure, as in every year of the series.

Washington less, California over twice as much

Washington paid about 1.3¢ less, Idaho about 2.8¢ less and Nevada about 2¢ less. California paid more than twice as much.

Across the border: Idaho 12.77¢, Nevada 13.45¢, Washington 14.20¢, California 32.33¢.

All 50 states and DC on one page, with a map.

Figures that do not quite agree

PGE’s 3.9% and $8.33 imply a bill of about $214 at 780 kWh, well above the $159 implied by April’s 5% and $7.97, so its final notice may differ. Pacific Power’s April rise was reported as 3% and, in places, 4%. Only January 2023 and January 2024 have moved 8% or more since 2010, up about 9% and 10%; the second was PGE’s 18%. The winter table is ours, from EIA data.

Figures to August 2026 (EIA marks recent months preliminary), utility figures for 2025, refreshed 3 November 2026. How every number in this series is made and checked.

• Oregon, every month since 2010 (CSV): price per kWh, kWh and bill per home, and the US price.
• Every state, DC and the US (CSV)
• Everything above with the utility and supplier figures (JSON)

EIA data is in the public domain: credit the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A link back is welcome.

Questions

Electricity rates in other states

Version history

• 2.0 (6 November 2026): rebuilt around what the winter ban covers on a real year, the three-year rule, and the open Pacific Power and PGE requests.
• 1.0.1 (November 2026): wording and page heading tidied; no figures changed.
• 1.0 (November 2026): first published.