HB 3336 mandates upgrades to Oregon’s transmission system; HB 3681 is intended to clean up the state’s permitting system for new energy projects.
Before the frenzied end to the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers passed two bills intended to save money for utility ratepayers and clean up the state’s permitting process for new transmission lines.
House Bill 3336, which was signed by Gov. Tina Kotek last week, is intended to save ratepayers money and upgrade the state’s transmission system with grid-enhancing technologies or GETs, which improve how existing lines deliver electricity and at a lower rate to customers. The upgrades cost significantly less than new transmission lines.
“Oregon’s grid is old, outdated, and capacity strained,” wrote Joshua Basofin, program director with the nonprofit Climate Solutions, in a statement. “We need an all-of-the-above approach to modernize our transmission system, including permitting reform and grid enhancing technologies.”
GETs include smart meters and sensors that monitor power usage, power-flow control devices, and hardware and software upgrades to existing transmission systems. For instance, new transmission wires can carry significantly more electricity than existing ones. HB 3336 requires companies to file a plan to use GETs with the Oregon Public Utilities Commission and update it every two years.
Another bill passed in 2025 is intended to streamline the permitting process and speed the construction of new transmission lines. HB 3681, passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in early June, limits who can participate in contested case proceedings and reduces the avenues in which Oregonians can challenge proposed energy facilities. In theory, the law makes these cases more difficult to win by setting the venue as the Oregon Supreme Court rather than circuit court.
Oregon’s power transmission system is at capacity with demand predicted to grow 30% over the next 10 years and 100% over the next 30 years. And though developers want to build more power storage and alternative energy projects, they’re limited by the number of transmission lines and the state’s lengthy permitting process for new energy projects, The Oregonian reported. Much of that growth is expected to come from new data centers and electrification of homes and electric vehicles.
“This deficit in our grid will affect everyone from utility ratepayers, to small businesses, to large energy users including our high tech manufacturing and data centers,” wrote Rep. Mark Gamba (D-Milwaukie), the chief sponsor of both bills. “With the expected load growth, we do not have time for transmission lines to take 20 years to be built, or for shovel ready renewable energy projects to sit in a queue while they wait for transmission capacity.”
The backlog of projects to connect various new energy projects at the Oregon Department of Energy represents enough energy to power 72 million homes, according to Gamba’s office.
The bill is the product of a bipartisan stakeholder workgroup that met over the past 18 months. It included representatives from energy companies, environmental groups and renewable energy companies.
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