NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Pacifi Corp proposes rate increase; PUC seeks public comment
By ALEX HASENSTAB
Oregon Public Broadcasting
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Pacifi c Power customers and
others may participate in the
public comment hearing to
provide verbal comments to the
Public Utility Commission and the
administrative law judge presiding
over this rate case.
Spanish translation services are
available at no cost. For those
individuals needing translation
services, log into the Zoom plat-
form and select English or Spanish
on the bottom of the page. Trans-
lation services are not available for
the meeting phone-in option.
SALEM — Utility provider
Pacifi Corp has proposed a 6.8%
increase in its rates. In Oregon, that
means Pacific Power customers
could see their electric bills go up
next year.
The agency responsible for over-
seeing utility costs in the state, the
Oregon Public Utility Commission,
is hosting a virtual public comment
hearing Tuesday, May 24.
“Technically your utilities are a
monopoly,” commission spokesper-
son Kandi Young said. “When you
move into a home, you don’t have
a choice of what electric service
provider you get or what natural
gas provider you get. The Public
Utility Commission is that protec-
tor of the customer in ensuring that
you’re getting safe, reliable service
at a reasonable rate.”
The hearing is part of a nearly
year-long review of the rate increase
proposal. The Oregon Citizens’
Utility Board, the Alliance of West-
ern Energy Consumers and other
agencies will aid in the investigation
on behalf of customers.
Citizens Utility Board President
Bob Jenks said the public hear-
ing is part of the review process.
The board will take comments
into consideration when it decides
whether to grant the PacifiCorp
request.
“This is a chance for customers
to come in and weigh in on whether
they think that’s justifi ed or not,”
Jenks said.
Pacifi Corp, which is owned by
East Oregonian, File
Pacifi Corp is proposing a 6.8% increase in its power rates. The Oregon Public Utility Commission is hosting a
virtual public comment hearing on the proposal on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
multinational conglomerate hold-
ing company Berkshire Hathaway,
identifi ed several factors driving
the rate increase. These included a
plan to close coal plants and transi-
tion to more renewable sources of
energy, particularly the TB Flats
wind energy project. Pacifi Corp
also pointed to increased costs asso-
ciated with its vegetation manage-
ment programs and expansion of
its wildfi re mitigation programs, as
well as infl ation and changes to its
capital structures.
But Jenks said the utility board
is not convinced all the reasons for
the increase are justifi ed.
“Raising rates on Oregonians
to send more money to Berkshire,
we don’t think has any justifi ca-
tion right now, particularly in the
context of this kind of big rate hike
being proposed,” Jenks said.
The proposed increase would
have consumers paying about $84.4
million more. The rate increase
would impact customer rates
diff erently depending on usage and
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
Partly sunny and
pleasant
Nice with sun
mixing with clouds
72° 55°
78° 56°
FRIDAY
High clouds; windy
in the p.m.
SATURDAY
Elgin High School art teacher
Beth Wasley, left, checks a loom
on May 16, 2022, while her stu-
dents — from left, Kylee Bagett,
Chelsie McKay and Dakota An-
derson — work on projects. The
Elgin School District has not had
art teachers for years, and now
has two: Wasley, who teaches
half time, and Amanda Welch,
who teaches full time at Stella
Mayfi eld Elementary School.
A shower; windy in
the afternoon
Mostly cloudy and
cooler
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
78° 56°
64° 46°
66° 46°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
76° 58°
82° 57°
83° 58°
70° 49°
71° 52°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
57/52
Yakima 72/52
61/50
63/50
72/48
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
70/56
Lewiston
64/54
76/59
Astoria
58/51
Pullman
71/56
Portland
Hermiston
66/57
The Dalles 76/58
Salem
Pendleton 64/48
69/55
Corvallis
69/51
La Grande
Yesterday
Normals
Records
68/54
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
72/50
74/47
70/47
Ontario
76/49
Caldwell
Burns
78°
46°
78°
49°
101° (1951) 30° (1964)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
71/55
0.00"
0.88"
0.59"
4.77"
2.23"
4.14"
WINDS (in mph)
74/47
73/41
0.00"
1.51"
1.06"
7.13"
4.01"
6.40"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
72/55
73/53
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
84/53
Wed.
WSW 7-14
W 6-12
WSW 8-16
W 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
76/41
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:15 a.m.
8:29 p.m.
2:59 a.m.
2:36 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
May 30
June 7
June 14
June 20
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 98° in Needles, Calif. Low 20° in Lake Yellowstone, Wyo.
Dick Mason/The Observer
71°
48°
74°
48°
95° (2001) 23° (1903)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
62/49
Aberdeen
63/49
69/51
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
61/52
Those unable to participate
during the virtual public comment
hearing may submit comments
through June 22 in the following
ways:
Email: PUC.PublicComments@
puc.oregon.gov.
Phone: 503-378-6600 or 800-522-
2404 (all relay calls accepted, Span-
ish translation services available).
Mail: Oregon Public Utility Com-
mission, Attn: AHD – UE 399, P.O.
Box 1088, Salem, OR 97308-1088.
Bringing art back to the classroom
| Go to AccuWeather.com
THURSDAY
customer type: residential, business
or industrial customers. For exam-
ple, a residential customer, using
the average amount of energy for a
single-family home currently has a
bill of a little less than $100. They
would see around $13 added to their
monthly bill.
The meeting May 24 starts at
6 p.m. The investigation concludes
in December when the commission-
ers rule on the request. New rates,
if approved, are expected to go into
eff ect on Jan. 1.
When: Tuesday, May 24, 6 – 7 p.m.
Call-in: 971-247-1195; meeting
ID: 823 8399 1218; passcode:
4884093995.
English and Spanish: To par-
ticipate using Zoom, go to bit.
ly/3LEH8S1.
English: To participate by phone,
call 971-247-1195; meeting ID
is 823 8399 1218; passcode is
4884093995.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Baker City Presbyterian Church
donates $15,000 to Ukraine aid
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — A fund-
raising eff ort by Baker City’s
First Presbyterian Church
to aid humanitarian work in
Ukraine resulted in a $15,000
donation to Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance.
The local campaign
started in late March, a little
more than a month after
Russia invaded Ukraine.
Jean Simpson-Geddes, a
member of the local church
Session, the Presbyterian
governing body, said dona-
tions from members of the
Baker City and La Grande
congregations, along with
donations from other Baker
County residents, totaled
$7,500.
Baker City’s First Presby-
terian Session matched that
amount, for a total donation
of $15,000, Simpson-Geddes
said.
The Baker City church
will be sending thank you
notes to people from outside
the church congregation who
contributed to the campaign,
she said.
Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance has been work-
ing in Ukraine and bordering
countries to provide shelter,
meals, medicines and hygiene
products to residents aff ected
by the war.
“We’re happy to match
whatever we can,” said Jean
Simpson-Geddes, a member
of Session.
According to its website,
pda.pcusa.org, Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance focuses
on these areas:
• The long term recovery
of disaster impacted commu-
nities.
• Provides training and
disaster preparedness for
presbyteries and synods.
• Works collaboratively
with church partners and
members of the ACT Alli-
ance (Action by Churches
Together) internationally, and
nationally with other faith
based responders.
• Connects partners locally
and internationally with key
organizations active in the
response — United Nations,
NVOAD (National Voluntary
Agencies Active in Disaster),
World Food Program, Red
Cross, FEMA and others.
To learn more about the
Presbyterian Disaster Assis-
tance work in Ukraine, visit
pda.pcusa.org/situation/
ukraine/.
IN BRIEF
Wallowa Lake State Park to
host volunteer work party
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
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rangers are seeking 50 volunteers to celebrate
both State Parks Day and National Trails Day
through volunteer service.
Volunteers will join park staff to improve
the Nature Trail at the state park on Saturday,
June 4. Work includes blocking social trails,
cutting back overgrown limbs on the offi cial
trail and lining the offi cial trail where it is
hard to follow.
Volunteers will work with hand tools and
move on gravel and uneven surfaces. Tools
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to choose the Wallowa Lake volunteer event.
The 100 Volunteer Projects for 100 Years
series commemorates the Oregon State Parks
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teer opportunities scheduled in 2022. Those
who participate will contribute to the legacy
of service that has sustained the state parks
system for the past century.
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