For many homeowners in Oregon, trying to understand what you are being charged on your electric bill can be challenging, to put it mildly. Understanding your electricity charges, however, is essential for managing your energy consumption effectively and potentially saving money. Today we will cover the components of your electric bill and help you to gain clarity on what you are actually paying for.

Usage

A large cheese pizza is going to cost you more than a small cheese pizza. Pretty simple concept, right? Solar works the same way. If you are using more energy, you are going to be charged more for it. Both PGE and Pacific Power show your last 13 months of usage on a graph. With some simple math, you can approximate your usage.

So now we know that this sample homeowner has paid for 9333 kilowatt-hours (kwh) in the past year. But how much is he paying for each kWh? For this, we need to dig into the details.

Charges, Charges, and More Charges

For this billing cycle, our sample homeowner was billed $77.42, for 533 kWh. As you look at the individual charges, you should see some inconsistencies.

Some of these line items are fixed charges, meaning that you will be paying for them regardless of how much energy you are buying.

Other charges are directly based on how many kWh you are purchasing from Pacific Power or PGE. You can directly offset these charges by reducing your usage or by installing solar.

And lastly, there are two charges you can indirectly offset by lowering your usage or by installing solar. These line items are charged as percentages of your total bill.

So What Are You Paying For Power?

If you subtract the fixed charges ($12.38) from the total bill ($77.42), you are left with $65.04. When you divide that charge by 533 kWh, you are left with a rate of $0.122 that you are paying for each kWh you need in Pacific Power.

Well, that was the rate in October, anyway. In January 2024, Pacific Power increased the rates by nearly 15%. Now they are petitioning the Public Utility Commission to raise the rates by an additional 16.9%.

So What Can You Do to Lower Your Bill?

When you go solar and take advantage of net metering, your solar production will offset both sets of charges. Connect with a solar installer to find out how many panels you will need to address your needs. Inform them of any future electric needs you are planning for the home (electric vehicles, heat pumps, etc), and you will be one step closer to controlling your energy costs!