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THE BEAR FACTS The Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon, newsletter for members and friends 921 SW Morrison #550 P.O. Box 6345 April/May 1990 Portland, OR 97205 Portland, OR 97228 Volume 5, Number 2 CITIZENS UTILITY BOARD 1 What's Inside? The Corner Chair 2 Staff, Board enters new season ", Welcome to the speci~'1i5th "'; , anniversary edition of The Bear By Laura Olson able energy sources. Her backgro nd Facts! Five years ago this Spring, We read in Ecclesiastes "To every in physics, engineering and research after winning the November thing there is a Season, and a time to uniquely qualified Mavis for CU B every purpose under the heaven ... ". Board service. 1984 electio~r~he CUB if1.~~rim And at CU B as we observe our entry Mavis, after a distinguished teaching Board of Governors took office into our sixth year of working for and research career, and after v.-or<ing and CUB started to work and to consumers, these words in part apply with many organizations in Klama grow. Now, we present to our to the women and men who have County, has decided to run for e members and 'friends som~ " served energetically as board members Oregon state Legislature. We ' iss ristory alongh~ith the cur" nt' or as creative members of our small, her contributions as a Board me ber, 'events. ''''''''''''. hard-worki ng staff. though we know that her interest in Board terms expire. Staff members CUB's work will continue. iTo help fu'nd this expand~d find new challenges elsewhere. The And by now, many of yo a 'e edition, we sought advertis'ing "season" is changing. CUB owes a learned that our innovative Executive from businesses and political great deal to the men and women who Director, Barbara Head, will be eaving candidates, and we wis have nurtured it during these impor­ CUB in late May. She has been e , :"'-:~i':':'_ 'of " .thank our advertisers. Happy tant, formative years. At this time I glue which has held the organization reading! . want to write specifically of four together in these formative years, the • History of CUB. ...........•,, :3-4 individuals who are leaving or have teacher and guide for new Board left this year. members, often the spokesperson for •• ' Vote: CUB Board Membership which started at 5,000 CUB when private utilities took actions Electi~os '; .,... :..... ;; " when Bob Ackerman of Springfield and CUB felt adversely affected consumers. • US West scam revealed ... 1 0 . Mavis McCormic of Keno joined the Perceptive, alert, jack-of-all-trades, CUB board, has grown to more than • 1984 Campaign: , knowledgeable, aware of the need to 20,000 paid members. keep Board members well-informed, A Photo Essay ............ 8-9 Bob's interventions before the PUC and a patient instructor, Barbara will • Pro-Cons:umerLegisl(lt~ve on' behalf of CU B consumers in regards renew her "batteries" this summer in 'd-;<" , : -:J.in!&~:~:f:t)~' $: Can dI ates ......... ~ .. :7::;. 13 to utility proposed rate increases or Eastern Europe. It is fair to say that '@ expansion have benefited each of us. CUB's growth owes much to this Rate increases were examined, some­ woman. She, too, will be around to times denied or significantly reduced, help when she returns to Oregon. and expansions carefully reviewed. His And we will be seeing some work defeating WPPSS is a part of changes in our canvass. Charlie Potter environmental history. This man has who has directed the Canvass staff and given many hundreds of hours of legal our telephone membership renewal service, all pro bono (free). Fortunately program for the past year wi II be for us all Bob i.ntends to continue as an leaVing soon to get a Master's degree in intervenor after his term term on the Education a Lewis and Clark College. Board expires this Summer. We Charlie is a fi ne teacher. He'll do well welcome his decision to continue the in his chosen profession, as he has active intervenor battle. done for CUB. Our membership as Down in southern Oregon, Mavis grown Sign ificantly because o· is McCormic has served as the eyes and efforts and those of h is able .e urenant ears of consumers on the issues of Jim Hilton. conservation and energy efficiency, air So, in the lives of four peoo e, e quality, water policy, solar energy, active, current CUB chap e e s. transmission line safety, and the They move forward to development of non-polluting sustain- even as does CU B. I .....-; Barbara Head, Executive Director Charlie Potter, Can CUB History 1984-1990 ------------------------- 3 Grassroots CUB, the. first, and only Citizens' expanding the plans in the CUB Act Utility Board created through a ballot and with maki ng preparations for the initiative. This victory came in spite of election of a 1 5-member Board when action creates an intense and expensive media blitz CUB membership reached the required launched by the utility companies to 5,000 members. sway voters against CUB. The ballot measure did not succ'essful CUB Rhys Scholes, who managed the appropriate any money for CUB nor second half of the campaign through did the Interim Board request any by Bobbie Carrie the November 1984 election remem­ funds from the 1 985 legislature bers th i s as "One of the most exciti ng because the voters had stipulated that Just over five years ago the Citizens experiences of my life - we ran a low­ CUB, as an independent, nonprofit Utility Board (CUB) was created when bud,get, gra~sroots campaign ~~d went corporation, could use utility billing Oregonians passed a ballot measure to agal nst the I nvestor-owned utility envelopes up to six times each year, represent and protect the interests of companies·, and won!" He believes only reimburSing utilities for postage of Oregon consumers on energy and tele­ communications issues. The state Public Utility Commission (PUC) at that time consisted of one member who was appointed by the governor The utilities misjudged the independence and who, more often than not, favored the utilities rather than the public in and intelligence of the Oregon voters setting rates. The grassroots campaign to create CUB began long before Oregonians went to the polls in November of 1984, however. that the large number of volunteers, materials weighing more than 0.4 Ralph Nader, considered by many "over 200," he estimates, and the ounces. This was felt to be the most to be the father of citizen activism and identification of the opposition's ad efficient and effective way to reach consumer advocacy, had formulated campaign as being backed by the ratepayers. the concept of citizens' utility boards utility companies were the primary This right to be included in billing to serve as a watchdog and to protect factors in the victory for CUB. "The inserts was challenged by a group of consumers in utility rate-setting cases. utility companies hired a California ad three utilities in the Federal District The energy crisis of the early seventies agency which developed the slogan Court of Oregon on First Amendment and the impe"ding breakup of AT&T in 'Vote No, It's a boondoggle' regarding grounds. The judge found for the January 1984 further spurred public CUB. We turned their slogan around utility plaintiffs in September 1985, so action. Across the country communi­ asking 'Where's the boondoggle?' They CUB's access to their billings was ties recognized that utility rates were misjudged the independence and temporarily blocked. becoming a significant economic intelligence of the Oregon voters." As a result of this, the Interim concern and that representation was Adds Scholes, "The ratio of our budget Board was forced to look for member­ needed to make the rate-making to their budget shows that democracy ship in a number of ways: distribution process fair and accountable to all is still at work." (The CUB campaign of CUB materials by volunteers, direct consumers. was outspent 40 to 1 by the utilities.) mail solicitation and use of other Oregon joined this momentum The impact of the CUB victory on agencies' mailing lists, free newipaper when the Oregon State Public Interest the utility companies soon became inserts and advertising, news releases, Research Group (OSPIRG) recruited obvious when CUB supporters threat­ press conferences and appearances on Kerry Barnett, who had worked with ened to start another initiative cam­ television and radio, waiver of the Ralph Nader's organization in Wash­ paign for an elected three-member $5.00 minimum membership fee to ington, D.C. on similar issues, to PUC to replace the appointed, and those who could not afford it, and des­ manage the signature gathering phase utility-friendly, one-member Puc. ignation of November 1985 as "Join of the Oregon initiative campaign to Utility lobbyists quickly agreed to a CUB Month." According to the Interim establish the Citizens' Utility Board by three-member commission, provided it Board's 1986 report, "When the Board ballot measure. was appoi nted by the governor rather met for the first time its only assets "At the time there was a lot of than elected. The following year, were the hopes and energies of CUB's sensitivity on the part of the public newly-elected Governor Goldschmidt supporters." They reached the mem­ concerning utility rates. People were appointed Paul Cook, Charles Davis, bership goal of 5,000 in January 1986. very responsive to the idea of con­ and Nancy Ryles as Oregon's first By June 1986 the Interim Board sumer advocacy - very supportive," three-member Puc. had operated for 1 5 months, had recalls Barnett.

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