Oregon Electric Co-Ops Had a Successful Legislative Session, but Major Challenges Still Loom
By Tucker Billman
The Oregon Legislative Assembly faced another challenging session in 2025 as it attempted to address high-profile issues such as transportation funding and housing. Energy issues were also on the forefront as legislators from both parties—and in both chambers—considered legislation that could have a significant impact on the more than 500,000 electric cooperative consumers across the state.
The Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association spent the 6-month session educating lawmakers about the impact that various proposals—nearly 20 in all—could have on the affordability and reliability of the power supply serving electric co-op members. This included individual meetings with legislators, offering testimony during hearings, and participating in a work group on electric utilities and wildfire mitigation— a priority of every electric cooperative in Oregon.
Electric cooperative voices were heard. During the February Legislative Days, ORECA relied on robust engagement of more than 60 electric co-op leaders to explain to legislators the significant work we’re doing to mitigate wildfire risk and improve our resilience. This included meetings with House Speaker Julie Fahey and Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, among many others.
ORECA worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle to protect the ability of electric cooperatives to offer affordable, reliable power. This included blocking the mandate to force electric co-ops to underground all new power lines, thwarting efforts to remove caps on net-metering programs, and forcing co-ops to interconnect with investor-owned utilities’ community solar projects in their service territories. ORECA also successfully protected co-ops’ autonomy over their efficiency rebate programs.
While the 2025 session was a success for Oregon’s electric cooperatives, there remains some unfinished business for the 2026 Legislative Assembly just around the corner—particularly on the issue of protecting electric co-ops from unchecked liability from wildfires.
In the meantime, we want to thank the Oregon Legislative Assembly for listening to our concerns and working hard to solve Oregon’s most pressing problems.
