Electricity shutoffs for non-payment soar as utility costs increase in Oregon - Fox 12 Oregon

Electricity shutoffs for non-payment soar as utility costs increase in Oregon

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The number of electricity service shutoffs for non-payment have increased for Portland General Electric (PGE) since the company raised rates at the start of this year, according to publicly available data.

In February this year, PGE shutoff power for 2,424 customers because they didn’t pay their bill. In March another 2,681 households had their power disconnected. April this year saw that number jump to an additional 4,712 shutoffs.

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On the good side, data shows most of those disconnected customers had their electricity tuned back on the same day or the next day, after making a payment.

Even more customers had their power restored within a week.

When asked for comment, PGE referred FOX 12 to its discount program, which gives up to a 60% monthly discount for qualifying households based on income.

Enrollment can be completed online at portlandgeneral.com/iqbd or by calling PGE customer service at 503-228-6322.

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PGE is is proposing another rate increase of 7.4%. This comes months after state regulators gave them the green light to bump rates by 18% in January this year.

The company said the proposed hike would amount to about an increase of about $11 per household per month.

PGE said they need to incorporate this proposed increase to upgrade facilities and technology to be able to reliably provide people with energy well into the future.

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