Adopt rates and charges for water and water-related services for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026

The ordinance sets rates and charges for retail and wholesale customers of the Portland Water Bureau for FY 2025-26.

Retail rates are expected to generate approximately $262.7 million in water sales revenue in FY 2025-26. Retail customers are also expected to pay $2.5 million in customer late charges. FY 2025-26 wholesale revenues will be $27.7 million. The proposed overall average effective retail rate increase is 6.3 percent in FY 2025-26. With a retail rate increase of 6.3 percent, the retail commodity rate will increase from $7.559 to $8.141, and the base charge will increase from $68.59 to $73.87 per bill (the billed base charge varies depending on the number of days in the billing period). The “typical” residential water customer using 5 hundred cubic feet (ccf) per month will now pay $65.33, up 6.3 percent from the FY 2024-25 “typical” bill of $60.66. The “medium” commercial customer using 100 ccf per month will see a water bill increase from $824.49 to $887.97; an increase of $63.48 or 6.3 percent. All revenue and expenses are included in the FY 2025-26 Water Bureau Requested Budget.

Two tiers of fixed low-income discounts for qualified single-family residents that are billed quarterly are included in the ordinance. The tier I discount is 50% for qualified low-income customers. The tier II discount is 80% for qualified extremely low-income customers. Also included in the rate ordinance is the Regulated Affordable Multifamily Assistance Program (RAMP), offering discounts for residents in multi-family dwellings. Further, the Smart Discount Program is also included in this ordinance, which utilizes machine learning and data to proactively identify eligible customers for financial assistance and automatically offer customer percentage-based discounts ranging from 5% to 80%, thereby eliminating the application process.

This ordinance will increase charges to all customers. The water utility rates and charges are designed to generate revenue to cover the cost of providing water. The costs are determined by the budget, which was reviewed by the Portland Utility Board (PUB), an eleven-member citizen body created to strengthen oversight functions for the City’s water, sewer and stormwater services. PUB provided input for the FY 2025-26 budget and rate proposal. Their recommendations were considered in creation of the FY 2025-26 Requested Budget. Additionally, all relevant documents were provided to the public on the Water Bureau website and information was shared through social media platforms