Panel weighs bill to require large energy users to shoulder grid costs

House Bill 3546 would require the Oregon Public Utility Commission to establish a separate class of service for large energy users that consume 20 megawatts or more, including data centers, and to assign to that class the incremental costs needed to serve them, the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee heard March 6.

Sponsor Representative Pam Marsh told the committee that rapid data‑center growth has concentrated system growth in a single customer class and risks shifting the cost of new transmission, distribution and capacity to residential ratepayers. “We just want them to pay their own bills,” Marsh said, arguing that large users should not offload the infrastructure costs they cause onto customers who did not require those investments.

Proponents described three principal reforms in the bill: (1) create a large‑energy‑user rate class for facilities using more than 20 megawatts; (2) require new facilities to sign a long‑term contract (sponsors described 10 years in testimony) to ensure utilities can justify investments; and (3) assign to the new class the costs directly attributable to serving it, including transmission,…