Southern Oregon homeowners are staring down yet another Pacific Power rate hike in 2026—this time a proposed 2.8% increase. While that may sound modest on its own, it marks the fourth consecutive year of rising electricity prices, totaling a staggering 54% cumulative increase since 2022. What began with a sharp 21% rise in 2022 was followed by a 12.9% jump in 2024 and another 9.8% hike in 2025. Each increase compounds the financial strain for households already stretched thin by inflation, record-high consumer debt, and rising costs across nearly every sector.
The reasons for these repeated hikes are complex but undeniable. Pacific Power’s parent company, PacifiCorp, faces an estimated $2.7 billion in wildfire lawsuit liabilities stemming from catastrophic fires across Oregon and California. Those financial pressures are being passed down, at least in part, to ratepayers. Meanwhile, the national demand for electricity is surging as massive data centers and artificial intelligence operations buy up enormous energy blocks years in advance. These for-profit corporations—backed by tech giants and venture capital—are reshaping the energy landscape, competing directly with communities for limited power resources and driving up wholesale costs.
For ordinary families, the outcome is predictable but painful: higher bills, less control, and more uncertainty. As the grid strains to serve the digital economy, residential users are left footing a larger share of the infrastructure and liability burden. The irony is that while southern Oregon homeowners are being asked to pay more, many of them already live in one of the nation’s best regions for clean, renewable solar energy production—a resource that can dramatically reduce dependence on volatile utility pricing.
If you’re tired of watching your power bill climb year after year, now’s the time to take control. Sunshine Solar designs and installs local, grid-tied solar systems that let you generate and bank your own power at a 1:1 net-metering rate—locking in predictable, clean energy for decades. Don’t wait for the next utility increase to hit. Get your free solar design today and see how much you can save before Pacific Power’s next rate hike takes effect.
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