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Fall is here, the heat is back on, and nearly every utility bill in Portland costs more than it did a year ago. Oregon residential electricity rates are more than 50% higher than they were five years ago, more than twice the rate of inflation, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Multnomah County says 27% of its residents are now "energy burdened."
You don't get a vote on your energy rates. But you can use less, and pay less for what you do use. A lot of the best fixes are free, almost all of them work whether you rent or own, and the biggest one is a discount plenty of Portlanders qualify for and never sign up for.
What's Going Up
Here's every rate change we're tracking, plus NW Natural's new gas rates, which kick in Saturday, Oct. 31, and two increases already filed for 2027.
Utility | What Changed | When | Typical Household Impact |
Residential +2.9% | April 1, 2026 | About +$4.29/month | |
Residential +5% | April 1, 2026 | About +$8/month | |
Water +8.1%, sewer/stormwater +5.15% | July 1, 2026 | +6.36%, about $10.20/month; water rates projected to rise just under 10% a year for several more years. | |
Rate increase | July 1, 2026 | +$1.20 to $2.25/month | |
Residential -1.3% as costs shift to data centers under the POWER Act | July 8, 2026 | Small decrease | |
New Oregon rates from a settled rate case plus the annual gas-cost adjustment | Oct. 31, 2026 (this Saturday) | Not announced yet. Last year's change was +$4.38/month | |
Residential +10.8% requested, partly offset by other decreases | April 2027, if approved | Company says net +2%, about +$3.12/month vs. April 2026 | |
Residential +3.9% requested | July 1, 2027, if approved | About +$8.33/month |
One quirk worth knowing: Oregon law now bars electric rate increases from taking effect in winter, so new rates land in spring. Your bill still jumps in December and January because you're using more energy, not because the price changed.
Step 1: Check Whether You Qualify For a Discount
PGE, Pacific Power and NW Natural all offer monthly discounts to households earning up to 60% of Oregon's median income, and the city has its own water and sewer discount. These aren't loans, renters qualify as long as the bill is in their name, and signing up takes a few minutes.
Program | Discount | How to Apply |
15% to 60% off monthly bill, based on income and household size | Online or 503-228-6322; no financial documents required | |
Up to 40% off | Online or 888-221-7070 | |
15% to 40% off gas bills | nwnatural.com/BillDiscount or 800-422-4012 | |
Up to $210.35 off a 90-day water/sewer bill (under 60% median family income), up to $336.58 (under 30% median family income) (211info) | Online, by mail or 503-823-7770; reapply every two years | |
$21.90/month | Automatic for homeowners at the water program's Tier 2 level | |
One-time payment toward heating or electric bills | Dial 211, text your ZIP to 898211, or 211info.org |
You can stack many of these. A LIHEAP payment doesn't disqualify you from PGE's discount, and PGE says it automatically enrolls customers who've received energy assistance (still, call to confirm you're getting everything you qualify for). Discounts have to be renewed at least every two years, so watch for that notice. The water discount only covers single-family accounts, so most apartment renters can't enroll directly, and homes with an ADU on a shared meter aren't eligible.
County energy assistance is first come, first served, and some agencies fill their appointments within minutes of opening, so apply early in the season. Already behind? All three energy utilities offer payment plans, and the Oregon Energy Fund offers donation-funded help to PGE and Pacific Power customers.
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Step 2: Free and Cheap Fixes Anyone Can Do
Heating is the biggest energy cost of a Portland winter, so start there. You don't need to own your home for any of it.
First, the cheap stuff. Energy Trust of Oregon's online marketplace sells discounted door sweeps, weatherstripping and window insulation, plus smart thermostats for homes with a gas furnace. The Portland Water Bureau will also mail you free water-saving gear (more on that in Step 4); efficient showerheads and aerators use up to 40% less water. And as your old bulbs burn out, replace them with LEDs, which use up to 75% less electricity than incandescents.
If your place is drafty, sign up for a free DIY weatherization workshop from the Community Energy Project, which has been teaching Portlanders to seal drafts and install window kits since 1979. Anyone can attend, and households earning up to 80% of median family income go home with a free kit of window film, weatherstripping and pipe insulation. Workshops run through early February; call 503-284-6827 to register.
Then turn the heat down. Keep the thermostat around 68°F when you're home and awake, and drop it 7 to 10 degrees while you sleep or you're out. The U.S. Department of Energy says that can cut heating costs as much as 10% a year. And no, your furnace doesn't burn extra energy catching back up: a cooler house loses heat more slowly, so you still come out ahead. Just don't go below about 55°F, or you risk frozen pipes.
The rest is small stuff that adds up. Seal gaps around doors and windows (a rolled towel works in a pinch), close the curtains at night, shut the doors to rooms you don't use, keep furniture off the heat registers and change your furnace filter on schedule. Wash clothes in cold water, take shorter showers and plug the TV and game console into a power strip you can switch off when not actively using them.
Step 3: Use Electricity When It's Cheaper
If you're a PGE customer, when you use power can matter almost as much as how much. Demand peaks on weekday evenings, and PGE will pay you to shift your use away from those hours.
The easiest way in is Peak Time Rebates. It's free, there's no penalty for sitting an event out, and you earn $1 for every kilowatt-hour you cut below your usual use during roughly five to 11 events a year. PGE gives you a day's notice, and the winter season runs Nov. 1 through Feb. 28. Warm the house up beforehand, push laundry to later and skip the oven. Got central heat and a smart thermostat? PGE's Smart Thermostat program will do the adjusting for you.
If your household can do most of its living outside the home 5 to 9 p.m. on weekdays, Time of Day pricing charges less than PGE's standard rate at every other hour. If you cook, heat and shower mostly in that window, it could cost you more, so check your usage history first. Pacific Power customers should check pacificpower.net for that utility's options.
Step 4: Water, Sewer and Stormwater
Winter is the most important time of year to save water in Portland. For many households, the city bases year-round sewer charges on winter water use, so a leak you fix now pays off every month next year.
Start with a free water efficiency kit from the Portland Water Bureau, which can include 1.5-gallon-per-minute showerheads, faucet aerators, shower timers and toilet dye tablets. Apartment dwellers can order one too. Drop a dye tablet in your toilet tank, and if color shows up in the bowl without flushing, you've got a leak. Once it's fixed, apply for a leak adjustment credit so you're not paying for the wasted water. Homeowners in the city's financial assistance program can also get help paying for leak repairs.
Homeowners whose downspouts drain into the yard, a rain garden or a swale instead of the sewer can cut up to 35% off their stormwater charge through Clean River Rewards. On a $115 quarterly stormwater charge, that's about $40 off every bill. Big trees on your property can count, and most single-family homes can register without a site visit. Rain barrels are also a way to save water for later use, reducing your water bill.
Step 5: Bigger Upgrades, and Who Helps Pay
Insulation, air sealing and heat pumps cut bills the most, but they cost real money, and the federal help is gone. The federal tax credits for these upgrades ended for anything installed after Dec. 31, 2025. What's left is state and local money, much of it aimed at lower-income households.
Before you call a contractor, take Energy Trust's free online home energy assessment. It only takes a few minutes and gives you recommendations on which upgrades make sense for your home. Here's who's still helping pay in 2026:
Program | What it Pays For | Who Qualifies |
Cash incentives for insulation, heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and smart thermostats; extended-capacity heat pumps get $1,000, or $2,000 through Savings Within Reach or in rentals | PGE, Pacific Power and NW Natural customers | |
Larger incentives on the same upgrades through participating contractors | Income-qualified households | |
$2,000 toward a heat pump | Homeowners and rental property owners | |
Whole-home energy retrofits; $140 million over five years for 3,000-plus single-family homes | Housing-cost-burdened Portland homeowners; see energyfriendlyhomes.com | |
Free weatherization services | Limited-income county residents | |
In-home weatherization and small safety repairs | Adults 55+ and adults with disabilities earning up to 80% of median family income |
Incentive amounts change every January, and some state programs are already fully reserved, so confirm with the program or your contractor before you sign anything. Oregon's federally funded home energy rebates, known as HOMES and HEAR, have money set aside but aren't taking applications yet.
If you heat with wall heaters or an electric furnace, take a hard look at a ductless heat pump. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a modern heat pump uses about 65% less electricity for heating than baseboard heat, and you get air conditioning for the next heat wave.
If You Rent
Most of this guide works for renters. If the bill is in your name, you can get the discounts and Peak Time Rebates on your own, and the weatherization kits use removable materials made for renters. If you swap in a free Water Bureau showerhead, keep the old one and put it back when you move out.
For the bigger stuff, give your landlord an offer that's easy to say yes to. Energy Trust pays higher heat pump incentives in rentals, the state's $2,000 Heat Pump Purchase Program is open to landlords, and a heat pump helps them meet Oregon's cooling rules for rentals. And remember that Oregon law requires landlords to keep rentals weatherproofed and heated. If you're paying the bill for a running toilet or busted weatherstripping, you're paying for their delay.
Shopping for a new place? Ask what the unit's utility bills averaged last winter and how water and garbage are billed.
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Stumptown Savings
