SALEM — The Oregon Public Utility Commission is asking Pacific Power customers to weigh in on the company’s request for a $170.7 million rate increase, roughly 8.6 percent overall, as the utility continues to dig out from more than $2 billion in settlements tied to the deadly 2020 Labor Day wildfires.

A virtual public comment meeting is set for Monday, July 27, at 6 p.m. Residents can join by Zoom or phone and speak directly to the commissioners and administrative law judge overseeing the case. If people are still waiting to comment at 7 p.m., the meeting may run longer.

Details on how to join are available at https://bit.ly/PacificPower-meeting-notice.

Comments can also be submitted online at https://bit.ly/UE470-public-comment-form, by email to [email protected], by phone at 503-378-6600 or 800-522-2404, or by mail to the Oregon Public Utility Commission, Attn: AHD – UE 470, PO Box 1088, Salem, OR 97308-1088.

Pacific Power, a division of PacifiCorp, serves about 667,000 customers in Oregon. The company says the increase is needed to fund upgrades to transmission, distribution, and generation systems, plus work to improve resiliency and customer service. Current rates, it argues, are not enough to cover rising costs or attract investment for future work.

The full review of the general rate case (docket UE 470) will run nearly a year. Commissioners are expected to issue a final decision in March 2027, with any approved changes taking effect April 4, 2027. The PUC already rejected the company’s request for an interim 2.8 percent increase that would have started in June, saying PacifiCorp had not met the high bar required for emergency relief.

The Wildfire Shadow

The rate request lands against a backdrop of massive legal costs from the 2020 Labor Day fires. PacifiCorp has paid more than $2.2 billion to settle roughly 4,200 claims related to those blazes, including a $575 million settlement with the federal government in February 2026 for damage to public lands and a $150 million deal in late 2025 with 1,434 individual victims.

PacifiCorp Pays $575 Million Settlement for Ravaging Wildfires

Jury awards in the ongoing James class-action case have already topped $1 billion for a portion of the plaintiffs, though an Oregon appeals court ruling in April 2026 rolled back key parts of the original class treatment and sent some issues back for further proceedings. The company continues to appeal and settle remaining claims.

Those payouts have strained PacifiCorp’s balance sheet and credit ratings. The utility has sold assets, including its Washington state operations to Portland General Electric for $1.9 billion earlier this year, and has warned of liquidity pressure. At the same time, its Oregon operations remain profitable. 2025 net utility operating income for the Oregon jurisdiction was approximately $451.6 million, more than double the prior year, according to regulatory filings.

The company is not going bankrupt. Its parent, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, continues to stand behind it. Still, the optics are difficult for many customers, especially those on fixed incomes and those who lost homes in the Echo Mountain Complex Fire that tore through parts of Lincoln County in 2020.

Actual impacts would vary by customer class and usage. Residential customers face a higher percentage increase under the company’s proposal, though PacifiCorp claims other rate adjustments and the end of certain surcharges would soften the net effect for a typical household. The company has previously said the overall picture, with offsets, could leave a typical residential customer paying only a few dollars more per month by spring 2027 compared with early 2026 levels. Consumer advocates have called some of those projections optimistic and hard to track.

For residents already stretching to cover higher food, housing, and insurance costs, another utility increase is unwelcome. The same is true for wildfire survivors still rebuilding or living with the long-term costs of displacement.

The PUC, the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, and other intervenors will scrutinize the request over the coming months. Public comments are part of that process.

Anyone affected by the proposed increase is encouraged to speak up next week or submit written comments before the record closes.