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Senate approves bill creating special rate class for very large electricity users including data centers
Summary
The Senate passed House Bill 35 46 B to direct regulators to create a special service class for facilities using 20 MW or more, aiming to shield households from infrastructure costs tied to large data centers and similar users.
The Oregon State Senate on Tuesday approved House Bill 35 46 B, known in debate as the “Power Act,” directing the Public Utility Commission to establish a separate class of service for very large electricity users — those using 20 megawatts or more.
Sponsor Representative (as presented to the Senate) and floor proponents framed the bill as protecting household ratepayers from paying for the infrastructure needed by energy‑intensive facilities such as data centers and some cryptocurrency operations. “Over the past five years, data center growth on PGE system alone has been equivalent to adding 406,000 people,” the bill’s floor advocate said, noting a disparity between residential and industrial rates.
The measure requires contracts and accountability for large users, including long‑term commitments, a baseline minimum usage, and additional fees if a facility exceeds expected consumption. The sponsor said those requirements are designed so that “those who create the need for massive infrastructure investments are the ones that pay for them, not Oregon families.”
Opponents criticized the bill as singling out an industry and argued it risks deterring business investment. Senator David Brock Smith called the proposal “not just bad policy” and said singling out data centers could harm Oregon’s competitiveness given the state’s role as a landing point for transcontinental fiber and data infrastructure.
Other senators framed the underlying problem as a broader market and regulatory question. Senator Michael Gerard argued the real issue is the behavior of investor‑owned utilities and a lack of competitive discipline from monopolies; he suggested the bill merely shifts costs among customer groups rather than addressing monopoly incentives.
Senators also discussed technical points the bill directs the PUC to report on biennially, supplying data to the legislature for future decisions. After floor debate, the clerk announced the bill had received a constitutional majority and declared it passed.
The law directs the PUC to develop rules and reporting mechanisms; implementation details and any rate design will be determined through the PUC rule‑making process.
