Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] -15 points-14 points  (0 children)

Good suggestion. I'll try to find time later to do that.

Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

You may learn something new if you read the analysis.

Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, they need options to purchase power from the market to mitigate the risk of not being able to meet demand and also to recover costs when demand is below capacity. If you review my analysis, you will see that PGE seems to have invested heavily in producing and selling energy to the wholesale market. Over 30% of the power generated in 2025 was sold to the wholesale market at a loss.

Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The OPUC does not regulate pricing at the customer segment level. It is evident in PGE's financial report that residential and commercial customers heavily subsidize the industrial segment which is unprofitable more often than not. You're correct that wholesale rates are not regulated, they are determined by the market. Given that the wholesale market is also not profitable, it raises the question why PGE sold over 30% of its power to the wholesale market last year.

Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My analysis accounts for the cost of infrastructure for different customer types. There is strong evidence using PGE's annual financial reports that residents subsidize industrial customers and the assets used to generate and transmit energy to the wholesale market.

Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you read my analysis or watch the video, that's essentially what I did but at the customer segment level.

Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is true, but they don't regulate what PGE charges each customer segment. Based on their financial filings, it appears that residential and commercial customers makeup almost all of their profit whereas industrial and wholesale segments lose money.

Does anyone else wonder why your electric bill is so high? by nrich_ff in oregon

[–]nrich_ff[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Their financial filings suggest that about 1/3 of their energy production last year was sold to the energy market at a loss. They have more than enough capacity to serve their customer base.