On May 7, 2026, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission or OPUC) adopted, with modifications, the partial stipulation for Portland General Electric Company’s (PGE) tariff provisions applicable to large loads. The order addressed cost allocation and tariff design for serving large electricity loads within PGE’s service territory, including revisions to existing tariff Schedules 89 and 90. Driven by the passage of House Bill (HB) 3546 (the POWER Act), this investigation’s primary focus was the creation of Schedule 96, a separate and distinct customer class specifically for large data centers utilizing 20 megawatts (MW) or more of capacity. The order aims to prevent unwarranted cost-shifting from data center loads onto residential and small commercial ratepayers while supporting continued progress toward the clean energy mandates outlined in HB 2021.
To achieve these protections, the Commission approved a strict suite of contractual and structural mechanisms for Schedule 96 and other large industrial tariffs. Key provisions include a minimum transmission and generation demand charge set at 90 percent of contracted capacity, flat distribution charges covering 100 percent of expansion costs, and a 1-cent per kilowatt-hour surcharge for customers with an allocated capacity of 100 MW or greater. The revenue from this surcharge is earmarked to fund non-cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades and home repairs for vulnerable, energy-burdened customers. Additionally, the order establishes a minimum contract term of 10 years that scales upward based on the size of the load (up to a maximum of 30 years), alongside early exit fees and exceedance penalties to guard against stranded asset risks.
Through this order the Commission also adopted a landmark interconnection queue for Schedule 96 customers to manage the grid impacts of rapid load growth. Under this framework, data centers cannot be energized until a reliable plan of service is established that matches non-emitting capacity to the load without hindering PGE’s compliance with HB 2021 greenhouse gas reduction goals. Customers can navigate the queue and accelerate connection by leveraging load flexibility, onsite generation, or direct access arrangements, or utilizing Commission-approved special contracts for dedicated renewable resources.
The order also adopts a First Partial Stipulation, which resolved several non-contested procedural and study parameters among participating stakeholders. These include lowering the Large Load Customer Agreement threshold to 20 MW and implementing updates to PGE’s distribution marginal cost study to separate substation costs by class. PGE is ordered to implement these changes through a compliance filing, integrating the updated cost-allocation principles to provide immediate rate relief to residential and small commercial customer groups.
This order was later modified by Order No. 26-309, granting reconsideration in part, and both orders are currently under appeal before the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Sanger Greene (Irion Sanger and Max Greene) represented the Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition in the OPUC docket. The Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition represents electricity market participants in the Pacific Northwest, including independent power producers, electricity service suppliers, and transmission companies. NIPPC is committed to facilitating cost-effective electricity sales, offering consumers choices in their energy supply, and advancing fair, competitive power markets.