Oregon regulators protect customers from paying more for coal

On Friday, the Oregon Public Utility Commission denied PacifiCorp the ability to charge its customers for capital expenditures at its Jim Bridger coal plant, ruling that the utility failed to consider more affordable strategies for complying with the federal Clean Air Act, including retiring the plant. Pacific Power customers in Oregon will see a 1.6 percent decrease in their monthly rates as of Jan. 1, 2021 due in part to these avoided costs.

See the commission’s full order HERE.

The costs stem from Pacificorp’s decision in 2013 to spend $218.6 million on selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology on Jim Bridger Units 3 and 4. The commission ruled that before spending the money, Pacificorp failed to consider other alternatives for cutting pollution, including whether it would be more affordable for customers to retire the plant. In 2019, the company had already identified the Bridger plant as one of its most expensive sources of energy in its portfolio. Pacificorp has cited the sunk costs of the SCR technology to justify continued coal burning at the plant, even though cleaner energy like wind, solar and battery storage are consistently more affordable than the ongoing costs of operating coal plants.

Elsewhere, the commission has also ordered Pacificorp to produce plans and cost estimates for decommissioning its aging coal plants, as well as updated analysis of the current operating costs of its coal units compared to clean energy. In its last long-range plan, the company called for accelerated retirement for a handful of its coal units, though the company’s own analysis shows that at least 60% of its coal plants are more expensive to operate right now than building new clean energy from the ground up. Its next long-term energy plan is expected by April 2021.

In 2019 the Jim Bridger plant produced 11.5 metric tons of greenhouse gases, making it the 13th largest single source of carbon dioxide in the country, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Pacificorp still gets nearly 75 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels.

Cesia Kearns, Deputy Regional Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign issued the following statement:

“This decision sends a clear signal to utilities — coal plants are not a cost-effective way to produce electricity, and they shouldn’t expect customers to shoulder the costs of propping them up. By denying Pacificorp the ability to charge its customers for tens of millions in ill-advised spending on the 45-year-old Jim Bridger coal plant, this decision saves Oregon families money on their monthly electricity bills and makes it clear that Pacificorp needs to move its aging coal plants towards an orderly retirement that supports community transition.”