A state lawmaker from eastern Lane County is pushing a bill that would require utilities to help pay for backup power equipment during planned, prolonged outages of eight hours or more.
The subsidies in Senate Bill 443, sponsored by Sen. Cedric Hayden, R-Fall Creek, would only apply to low-income households that also use medical equipment powered by electricity. It would provide those households with up to $250 to reimburse the purchase of a generator or battery back-up system.
The bill is meant to lessen the impact of planned power outages, which are sometimes scheduled in advance of severe weather to reduce the chance of wildfires starting from downed power lines. It's a fire-prevention strategy that's increased in usage across the western United States, but is relatively new in Oregon
Hayden told the Oregon Senate’s Energy and Environment Committee Tuesday that ideally, utilities would identify eligible customers ahead of a power outage.
“We want to make sure that our medically-fragile ratepayers in that area are one, known...and two, provided some assistance so that they can keep these medical devices functioning,” he said.
The general manager of Lane Electric, Debi Wilson, testified in opposition to the measure.
"We do have some concerns...including the potential cost of providing backup generators on a primarily residential rural community with a relatively small customer base to spread it across," she said.
Lane Electric serves an area that was hard hit by the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. In 2022, in advance of a predicted windstorm amid hot, dry conditions, the utility implemented a "public safety power shutoff," telling customers their power could be deliberately turned off for 24 hours or more. It's the type of outage that Senate Bill 443 would apply to.
Regardless of whether the bill passes, lawmakers on the panel agreed that more discussion is needed about how to help Oregonians cope with what could be a more common practice in years to come.
"It is a very significant challenge," said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland. "There are all kinds of issues, (including) people with marginal incomes who have freezers full of food."
