NEWS: Pacific Power’s recent rate-hike request ranks among the biggest yet from a US investor-owned utility.

The request: Last week, the company proposed a 57% rate increase (which would add roughly $120/month to the typical residential bill). Pacific Power is also asking to recover around $340M in costs linked to recent wildfires, which would raise bills by $46/month.

The record: CA regulators approved the 24% rate hike that Pacific rolled out in 2024. Now, they’ll weigh in on the new request next year.

The reasoning: The utility’s rate base is rural, sparse, and located in fire-prone areas. So there are relatively few residents to pay for grid-hardening measures, like replacing wooden poles and installing fire-resistant conductors.