Regulators in Oregon have approved a new rate class for data centers and other large loads that will require them to cover the costs for the electricity grid infrastructure used to power their facilities.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved the new regulations earlier this month. The rules are directed by the Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility (POWER) Act, which was passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on June 5, 2025, and officially signed into law in August 2025.

The act creates a new rate class for data centers and crypto mining operations at 20MW and above, requiring that the rate reflect all costs of providing energy to those facilities. Secondly, it mandates a long-term contract between the utility and the incoming data center, specifically to address the stranded-asset risk at the heart of the ratepayer-protection problem.

Following the approval by the PUC, Portland General Electric (PGE), Oregon's largest utility, has until 3 June to file a new pricing framework. The new rates take effect on 10 June.

According to PGE spokesperson Ben Morris, 16 data centers in the state would be immediately impacted by the new rates, and be subject to fees to cover grid upgrade costs.

The order also imposes renewable energy requirements on data centers before they come online and introduces exit fees for facilities that abandon projects before completion.

The Data Center Coalition argued that the new rates were excessive, with VP of energy Aaron Tinjum seeing the order as “out of step” with other states.

Oregon is part of a growing tide of states enacting or seeking to enact new rules to protect ratepayers from bill hikes due to the growing energy demand of data centers.

Earlier this month, Oklahoma’s governor, Kevin Stitt, signed into law a new bill aimed at protecting ratepayers in the state from rising utility and infrastructure costs associated with data centers. This closely followed Florida, whose governor signed into law a similar bill which prohibited utilities from passing data center infrastructure costs on to residential and small-business ratepayers and requiring large-scale users to bear their full cost of service.

Other states to see similar rules proposed and passed include Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia, to name a few.