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Vote on Klamath power bill delayed
Increased power rates would
help pay for removal of dams
A state legislative committee will wait until at least Tuesday to decide whether to send a bill to the Senate that would increase power rates to help pay for removal of four Klamath River dams.
The Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee was expected to vote on the bill Thursday, but issues related to amendments and the need for a fiscal review led the committee to postpone its decision.
“It doesn’t mean anything, it just means we’ll wait until Tuesday,” said Greg Addington, executive director of Klamath Water Users Association.
A group of stakeholders, state and federal officials and representatives from PacifiCorp reached a tentative dam removal agreement in November.
As part of that agreement, Gov. Ted Kulongoski promised he’d introduce legislation directing the state’s Public Utility Commission to raise PacifiCorp’s rates to help pay for dam removal.
$180 million
The increase would generate $180 million over 10 years. PacifiCorp has said the increase would raise the average Oregon customer’s bill by about $1.50 a month. Agricultural power users would see about a 2 percent increase in their bill.
California funding
The $180 million, along with $20 million from PacifiCorp’s ratepayers in other states, would be combined by $250 million in yet-to-be-approved bonds from the state of California.
If dam removal does not take place, money collected through rates to pay for it would be returned to ratepayers.
Opponents have criticized the bill for not addressing the removal of tons of sediment built up behind the dam and the potential it would open a door to unchecked rate increases.
Proponents argue that the bill protects power users from more rate increases, while also helping fulfill the broader Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which seeks to resolve conflicts over water in the Basin.
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