Pacific Power & PGE Rate Increase April 2026: What Oregon Homeowners Need to Know

Your Electric Bill Just Got More Expensive — Again

Starting April 1st, Oregon's two largest electric utilities got the green light to raise rates on residential customers, for the sixth year in a row. Pacific Power and PGE received state approval to increase rates, affecting 1.5 million Oregon households. PGE customers will see a 5% increase, roughly $8 more per month, while Pacific Power customers face a 4% hike, adding over $5 to monthly bills.

That may not sound like much on its own. But zoom out and the picture gets harder to ignore. Oregon electricity rates are now more than 50% higher than they were just five years ago, more than twice the rate of inflation since 2020. Pacific Power customers alone have weathered increases of 15% in 2022, 21% in 2023, 11% in 2024, and 9.8% in 2025, before this latest 4% hike. PGE customers saw an 18% jump in 2024 followed by a 5.5% increase in 2025. The April 2026 hike is just the latest chapter in a pattern that shows no signs of stopping.

And it's not slowing down. Utility companies cite grid upgrades, wildfire mitigation, and fuel costs as drivers, but explosive demand from data centers has played a major role, with industrial power demand on PGE's system growing nearly 70% over the past decade, while everyday homeowners foot more and more of the bill.

You don't have to keep paying for it and here's the simply reality:

Solar gives you the ability to generate your own power and lock in predictable energy costs, so rate hikes like this one stop being your problem. Oregon homeowners who go solar are insulating themselves from the next increase, and the one after that.

To be straightforward with you: solar doesn't eliminate your utility bill entirely. Both Pacific Power and PGE charge a small monthly base service fee that all customers pay regardless of how much power they use, so you'll still see a bill. But when you're generating your own electricity, that bill shrinks dramatically compared to what your neighbors are paying. And with Oregon rates now more than 50% higher than they were just five years ago, the math gets more compelling every single year.

If this trend continues, and there's little reason to believe it won't, every month you wait is another month you're paying a utility company instead of investing in your own home.

Ready to stop renting your electricity and start owning it?

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