July/August 2004 Living Now
Inner East Side Portland to Boldly Go for Local Power

by Kris Nelson

Last November eight precincts of District 42 in Portland’s inner east side voted in favor of forming a Public Utility District. Over 12,000 voters (57 percent) in the area roughly from the Willamette to 50th, and from I-84 to Holgate, excluding Laurelhurst, voted for power for the people. These eight will form the Willamette Electric People's Utility District – WEPUD – if approved by voters in the next election.

"Electricity is an essential public service," says Jeff Shields, the former director of Emerald PUD in Lane County, "so there’s no reason to deliver it on a for-profit basis. Like water, people have a right to public power."

Investor-owned utilities are monopolies that operate differently from free-enterprise entities. The regulators of PGE-Enron, for example, are appointed by the governor. They don’t live in the east side district and aren’t accountable to its residents. "There’s no better way to ensure accountability than by an elected board" says Shields. Customers of a PUD can easily attend board meetings or comment on proposed programs.

Based on the experience of other PUDs, it is reasonable to believe that electric rates will be lower with WEPUD.

On average, rates among the 18 publicly-owned utilities in Oregon are 25 percent lower than PGE-Enron’s.

A recent feasibility study in Clackamas County showed that a proposed PUD would reduce rates by about 15 percent in two years and 30 percent in 10 years (see www.cheappower.org).

Central Lincoln PUD on the coast, Oregon’s largest, has nearly the same number of customers, about 33,000 total, as WEPUD will and offers rates 39 percent lower than PGE-Enron’s.

PGE-Enron has collected over $630 million in taxes but has paid only $10 in state taxes. WEPUD will neither collect nor pay income tax, but will circulate more dollars in the local economy. The PUD will pay local salaries, contractors, and installers of efficiency measures. PUDs pay franchise fees, property taxes to cities and counties, and Tri-Met taxes at the same rate as PGE-Enron.

To support the case for a PUD, the WEPUD campaign wants to commission a study to quantify the economic impact of a PUD. It can only do so if sufficient funds can be raised in time.

What is the process to create WEPUD? In November, district voters will be asked to:

  • Start the process to form the district
  • Elect five PUD directors who live in the district
  • Invest about 90 cents per $150,000 of assessed property value one time to fund a formal engineer’s report to examine and recommend the most effective way to provide affordable, reliable power.

If the report confirms significant savings, voters will be asked to approve revenue bonds to purchase PGE-Enron’s assets within the district. If this effort sounds like a good idea to you, there are several ways to help make a green, lean PUD real. Volunteer opportunities abound, including help with fund raising. On that note, individual donations up to $50 qualify for the Oregon Political Contribution Tax Credit. Your financial support will help produce materials to reach voters and fund a feasibility study to determine potential savings (Oregon Public Power Coalition, PMB 1335, 818 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, OR 97204).

Kris Nelson is the business outreach coordinator for the WEPUD campaign and is principal of Geonomics Consulting in SE Portland. For information or to volunteer, contact info@wepud.org, visit www.wepud.org, or call 503-234-2318.