Behind the Protections: How Energy Advocates are Helping Oregonians Keep the Lights On
September 17, 2026 Advocacy
When communities face urgent challenges, energy advocates can respond to harm already happening — and work ahead of a crisis to prevent it. Oregon’s permanent disconnection protections show what that looks like in practice. From pushing for the protections to making sure customers know their rights, advocates worked together to turn concerns into opportunities.
How These Protections Help You
Oregon customers have permanent protections around disconnection. They help make reconnection more affordable and help households keep life-saving power during extreme weather.
How Protections Are Passed
In 2024, Oregon utilities disconnected a record number of households. Families were struggling with arrearages — also known as “past-due bills” — while facing extreme weather events such as heat waves in the summer and ice storms in the winter.
In response to these events, a group of advocates, including Community Energy Project, Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board (CUB), Multnomah County Office of Sustainability, and Verde, came together to push the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) for protections that would keep the most vulnerable households connected during unhealthy conditions. Advocates rushed to put the first set of protections into effect before summer 2025. These protections were temporary because of the shortened approval timeline and effort to get protections in place before extreme weather.
A similar process took place in the winter of 2025, made even more urgent by the federal government shutdown. This time, it wasn’t just advocates asking for protections. A group of state senators wrote a letter to the OPUC asking for a temporary pause in disconnections. PGE voluntarily put this into effect for households on the income-qualified bill discount program or the medical certificate program.
The OPUC then approved the permanent disconnection protections in January 2026.
How the Community is Informed
Customer protections are only effective if customers are aware they are in place. Advocates from CEP, Coalition of Communities of Color, CUB, Multnomah County Office of Sustainability, Oregon Just Transition Alliance, and Verde designed a workshop series to reach those most vulnerable for disconnection. Advocates developed an intentional outreach strategy, even calling community members to share a personal invitation.
In June, these advocates gathered over a dozen community members at the East County library to discuss the protections available throughout the summer. Advocates provided dinner and access to childcare — core components for event accessibility. Two translators were also available for Spanish-speaking community members. Participants were encouraged to ask questions and engage in an interactive activity to understand the timing of protection windows. Advocates were impressed by the level of engagement from the group and took it as a reminder that people are willing to take the time to join a community space and engage with questions.
Throughout the conversation, Sara Wallach, CEP’s Climate Justice Advocate, noticed that participants were very interested in learning about resources for lowering their bills to avoid the risk of disconnection in the first place. Participants raised questions about utility bill discount programs, demand response programs, and the Oregon Community Solar Program.
“Our partnerships allow us to connect community members with a variety of resources. We had a great opportunity to meet people where they’re at and empower them with information,” said Sara.
Advocates also hosted a virtual workshop in February covering the winter weather protections.
How We Prepare for the Future
In an effort to make the information-sharing process more sustainable, the group is looking to implement a “train the trainer” model. This will empower organizations who are connected with vulnerable households to spread awareness of the disconnection protections. As a result, community members will be better served because utility disconnection is tied to many other challenges facing Oregonians.
Energy affordability continues to be a priority for CEP and other energy advocates. Work is ongoing to improve access to income-qualified bill discount programs and arrearage management programs. Advocates are committed to ensuring that everyone can afford the energy they need to live a healthy and resilient life.
