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Lawmakers opened their 35-day legislative short session last week with an ambitious agenda that includes speeding up Oregon's transition to renewable energy.
Among the bills being discussed: House Bill 4036, which would require Oregon's investor-owned utilities, Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp, to replace coal-generated electricity with new renewable sources of energy.
In case lawmakers think they are dealing with the old style of Oregon environmental lobbying—which was polite, patient and, often, poorly funded—activists pushing for change in this session have made a display of financial muscle: a quarter-million dollars in fundraising.
A group called the Renew Oregon Action Fund last week gave $250,000 to Initiative Petition 63, a proposed ballot measure that swaps a reduction in coal-generated electricity for an increased investment in renewable energy sources.
The Oregonian's Ted Sickinger reported recently that the Public Utility Commission, which regulates electricty producers, has serious doubts about the premise of that swap.
Emails Sickinger obtained show that PUC commissioners believe the proposed legislation would raise rates without reducing carbon emissions, because Oregon has no authority to dictate whether coal plants in other states are shuttered.
The higher electricity prices the PUC forecasts will be tough for industrial customers to swallow but renewables are popular with the general public.
The $250,000 check, which comes from a group affiliated with the Oregon Environmental Council, shows the environmental lobby is willing to put big money into a ballot measure if lawmakers cannot pass a coal/renewables bill in February.
Willamette Week