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Columbia River PUD to raise rates 7.6% next April; $100 million transmission upgrades flagged
Summary
A Columbia River PUD representative told the committee the PUD board approved a 7.6% rate increase effective April 1, 2026, citing higher BPA power and transmission charges and an estimated $100 million transmission upgrade in the PUD service area under study.
A representative of Columbia River PUD told the Columbia County Economic Development Committee on Sept. 18 that the PUD board approved an overall 7.6 percent rate increase at its September meeting, to take effect April 1, 2026.
"The PUD board approved an overall rate increase of 7.6% at their September board meeting this week," the representative said, explaining the main driver is higher wholesale costs from the Bonneville Power Administration and rising labor and materials costs. The representative said BPA had increased power costs by 8.9 percent and transmission costs by 19.9 percent.
The PUD speaker also summarized a joint Portland‑area reinforcement study with local utilities and BPA that estimates about $100 million in transmission upgrades just within the Columbia River PUD service territory to increase capacity for potential new industry. The PUD said it is working with BPA to determine cost allocation and that the allocation decision will affect whether ratepayers face additional charges beyond the 7.6 percent increase.
The PUD representative noted PUD residential customers still pay substantially less than large investor‑owned utilities: "PUDs residential rates are still 49% lower than PGEs," the representative said.
Committee members asked whether the transmission upgrade costs would be included in the 7.6 percent increase; the representative said that will be determined with BPA and may be an additional expense depending on cost allocation decisions.
What’s next: PUD staff will continue discussions with BPA on cost allocation and the committee will track how upgrade funding decisions affect future rates and any customer notification requirements.
