Oregon PUC Orders Data Centers to Pay for Grid Expansion

The Oregon Public Utility Commission issued an order implementing the 2025 POWER Act to prevent residential utility consumers from subsidizing the growth of large data centers. The framework, established under Schedule 96 for Portland General Electric territory, targets facilities using 20 megawatts or more and requires them to cover 100% of distribution network expansion costs.

The regulatory order introduces minimum payment obligations and a one-cent-per-kilowatt-hour surcharge on very large loads exceeding 100 megawatts to fund low-income energy programs. Furthermore, the commission ruled that new data centers cannot connect to the grid unless sufficient zero-emission capacity is available.

State Representative Nathan Sosa and the Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon backed the decision, asserting that data centers must pay their fair share of energy costs. This state-level action addresses the challenge of managing grid scarcity caused by data center expansion and environmental policies.