PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Portland General Electric (PGE) has filed for regulatory approval of new electricity rates that would increase costs for large data centers while lowering rates for residential and small business customers, the utility announced Wednesday.

The proposed changes, filed under Oregon’s POWER Act regulatory framework, are scheduled to take effect June 10 pending review and approval by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC).

Under the proposal, rates for large-load data center customers would increase 29%. Residential customers would see a 1.3% decrease in rates, while small business customers would get a 3.7% reduction. Commercial customers would see a 2.2% decline and industrial customers would get a 1.5% decrease.

The filing follows a May 7 decision by OPUC approving PGE’s implementation of the POWER Act. making it the first utility in Oregon to establish a desperate customer class for data centers and adopt a framework designed to allocate infrastructure costs based on growth-related demand.

PGE said the new structure is intended to ensure customers driving increased electricity costs bear the costs associated with new infrastructure investments.

“Oregon is building a modern regulatory framework that supports responsible growth while keeping customer affordability front and center,” said John McFarland, Chief Customer Officer at PGE. “As energy demand from large-energy users grows, this approach helps ensure the costs of new infrastructure are paid by the customers driving that growth.”

The commission also authorized more measures aimed at managing data center growth, including exit fees, minimum charges and special contracts intended to support clean energy development.

The proposed rate changes remain subject to regulatory review and approval by OPUC.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Thousands of Oregonians have lost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits over the past year, and advocates say more people could be affected as the state resumes a pandemic-paused eligibility requirement.

Since July 2025, the Oregon Food Bank says 40,000 Oregonians have lost SNAP benefits. The spokesperson for the organization tells KATU they expect that number to increase following the return of mandatory renewal interviews, which resumed on June 1.

“All SNAP households will be required to complete an interview when they apply for or renew benefits,” said Nate Singer, director of the Oregon Eligibility Partnership with the Oregon Department of Human Services.

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Singer said the interviews are not new but were temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. “During the pandemic, some households were allowed temporarily to renew benefits without an interview,” Singer explained.

A spokesperson for the Oregon Food Bank said an estimated 187,000 Oregon residents could be affected by the renewal interview requirement. The organization did not clarify whether that figure reflects people who may lose benefits entirely or experience reduced assistance.

The Oregon Department of Human Services said some households no longer meet the income requirements to qualify for SNAP benefits. Others have failed to provide the documentation needed to complete the renewal process.

A woman died when she sustained critical injuries after falling into the Devil’s Punchbowl on the Oregon coast near Newport on June 3, the Depoe Bay Fire District said.