Looking to lower your energy bill? PGE has you covered!

Portland General Electric (PGE) has launched the Income-Qualified Bill Discount Program. This program provides ongoing, monthly help with your PGE bill, that’s in addition to any other assistance you may be getting from PGE or other agencies.

• Monthly discount between 15 and 25%
• No financial documents are required to apply

So, where’s the catch to signing up? There isn’t one. (Trust us, we checked.) This program is easy to apply for and is available to qualifying residential PGE customers. Eligibility is determined by your household size and the average annual gross income for all members of your household 18 years and older combined (Gross income is your income before taxes).

Apply online here or call at 503-228-6322 to speak to a Customer Service Advisor. 

How Did We Get Here?

It all started last year when HB 2475, the Energy Affordability Act, passed at the Oregon state legislature. This bill aims to help low-income families afford their energy bills by giving the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) the authority to allow utilities to provide rate designs, such as discounts, that help reduce energy burdens for low income or other under-served customers. 

PGE blazed the trail as the first utility to come forward with their bill discount program plan, setting a precedent for other utilities to follow suit. PGE designed a bill discount program that addresses energy burdens for PGE’s low income customers and increases affordability of their electricity bills.

You can’t put a price on peace of mind or quality of life, but a discount doesn’t hurt! PGE’s Income-Qualified Bill Discount Program was created with low income customers in mind.

CEP as a Partner

PGE quickly moved forward with their plans for this program, but it was key that they incorporated the feedback of stakeholders and CBOs (community based organizations) to make the program successful from the moment it was launched. 

CEP was brought to the table as a stakeholder with 40+ years expertise working with low income and frontline communities.  PGE had a great starting point and we all worked together to make the plan even better.  

CEP’s Goals as an Stakeholder:

• High impact. To bring real relief, as low-income customers often carry higher energy burdens. 
  • Increased discount levels
  • Increased income threshold
• Equitable Reach. It’s crucial that PGE reaches ALL low income customers that meet the guidelines. In order to know if they’re doing so, they must know who they are serving, and who they are missing. CEP has advocated for:
  • Demographic tracking
  • Clear equity goals
• Accessibility. Programs need to be easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to sign up for regardless of native language, access to the internet, type of income, etc. 
  • Quick and painless signup online or on the phone
  • Self-verification (no need to submit financial information)
  • Physical mailings as well as digital marketing, to guarantee those without regular access to the internet are taken care of.
  • Multi-language accessibility for all customers

Our Work

CEP led a series of workshops with other CBOs and stakeholders to discuss PGE’s plan in depth to understand concerns and make recommendations from a diverse array of partners. During these workshops, we discussed the details of eligibility recommendations, self-verification, re-enrollment, demographic analysis, as well as the potential for CBOs to enroll clients directly into the program. 

We brought these recommendations with us to workshops and meetings with PGE and the PUC, where decisions on program design are made. 

Through the advocacy process with CEP and other CBO stakeholders, PGE modified important program characteristics based on stakeholder feedback such as: increasing discount levels, adapting income thresholds to cover all minimum-wage earners, bumping those with medical certificates to the next discount level, reducing barriers to access the discount program by adopting auto-enrollment, and planning to gather demographic information during enrollment to ensure that they are reaching our most vulnerable communities. 

Now that the program is up and running, PGE continues to work with CEP and other stakeholders to ensure the pilot phase works smoothly and creates real change in the lives of its participants. CEP has plans to work with Northwest Natural Gas next on their own version of this program. We’re here to work for you, your future, and energy affordability for all.