Bill > HB3159

This bill limits the annual rate increases that public utilities can implement by tying them directly to inflation, specifically the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the West Region. Under the proposed legislation, the Public Utility Commission would be prohibited from approving rate increases for public utilities that exceed the September annual 12-month average change in the CPI for All Urban Consumers in the West Region, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bill requires the commission to publish the maximum allowable percentage increase by September 30th each year for the following calendar year. This means that if the CPI for the West Region shows an inflation rate of 3% in a given year, public utilities would be restricted to raising their rates by no more than 3% for that calendar year. The goal of this legislation appears to be protecting consumers from potentially excessive utility rate increases by linking them to a standardized measure of economic inflation.

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/HB3159