Issue #245, June 2025

7 Tips to Keep Your Electric Bill Lower this Summer

1. Use fans instead of air conditioners. Be sure to turn them off when you leave the room.
2. Set your central thermostat a little higher to reduce air conditioning costs.
3. Close windows, doors, and blinds to keep the sun's heat out.
4. Clean or replace your HVAC system's air filters regularly.
5. Seal air leaks in and around your home.
6. Make sure your ducts are sealed and insulated.
7. Use kitchen and bathroom fans after cooking or bathing.

Please Keep Your Contact Information Current

Please ensure the contact information we have for your account is current.

This helps us provide timely information to you about your account if necessary.

Call us at (503) 397-1844 or use the SmartHub app to make sure your information is up to date.

Tree Trimming Helps Mitigate Fire Risk

In addition to helping prevent storm-related outages, tree trimming near power lines helps fight against the threat of wildfire.

We regularly trim and remove trees growing near power lines as part of our wildfire mitigation plan. Please let us know if there are trees growing near power lines on your property.

Charging Your EV at Night Can Help the Grid

Charging your electric vehicle when demand for electricity is lower helps reduce the strain on our electrical grid. This helps us keep our rates down by mitigating costly upgrades to our electric system.

Please consider charging during our off-peak hours: Monday through Friday from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. or 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and anytime on weekends or holidays.

You may also consider reducing your charger power output either on the charging unit or through the vehicle itself. A slower charge rate will reduce your peak electric load and likely be better for the health of the vehicle's battery.

Please Keep Yourself Safe from Scam Attempts

Please be aware of potential scam attempts from people pretending to be utility employees.

We regularly receive reports from customers who have received phone calls or text messages trying to convince them to make an immediate payment or else their power will be shut off. This is not a tactic we use.

Learn how to protect yourself against scammers.

PUD Pays Franchise Fees to Cities

Local cities recently received more than $825,000 in franchise fee payments from the PUD.

In exchange for providing electricity within city limits, we are required to pay a fee to each city for the ability to use public spaces, such as roads and sidewalks. This is called a franchise fee.

This spring, we issued payments for franchise fees based on revenues billed in 2024 within each city's boundaries. We paid:

• Prescott – $2,071
• Rainier – $26,529
• Columbia City – $63,037
• Scappoose – $243,131
• St. Helens – $491,576

Customers in the city limits of Rainier, Columbia City, Scappoose, and St. Helens see this franchise fee as a line item on their bill for 1% of total charges.