PacifiCorp

Amid a class-action lawsuit over allegations it negligently caused wildfires, PacifiCorp is moving ahead with a new Wildfire Intelligence Center in Medford aimed at preventing future disasters.

A new state law changes the scope of investigations by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission. A proposed powerline in Medford is the first time this law will be tested.

Electric utilities are preparing for another wildfire season. The area’s largest power company is upgrading its system to reduce the number of power outages.

In its appeal filed Tuesday, PacifiCorp argued that thousands of people and businesses across the state should have never been grouped together into a class-action certification. The company also contends there is no proof showing it is at fault for causing fires across multiple regions, including in Santiam Canyon, Southern Oregon and the coast.

The Oregon Department of Forestry report comes five years after the 2020 fire, as PacifiCorp pushes for legislation that would limit utilities' wildfire liabilities.

Oregon’s power regulators denied a proposal by a watchdog group that would cap electricity rate increases by 10%.

The federal government is suing the electric utility PacifiCorp over a 2020 wildfire in Douglas County. The Archie Creek Fire burned across more than 131,000 acres, about half of that federal land, according to the legal complaint filed Thursday.

The utility finally turned off the extra-sensitive settings on the region's power grid after the end of fire season. Those settings were the cause of a large number of outages in the city of Talent.

The president of electric utility Pacific Power visited the City of Talent Wednesday night to apologize for a series of power outages that have plagued the city this summer.

While Pacific Power says elevated fire risk settings are an effort to prevent wildfires, many residents are wondering why Talent has been so affected.

Pacific Power, part of PacifiCorp, said Monday it has agreed to a $178 settlement with over 400 Oregon plaintiffs in the latest multimillion-dollar payout related to the deadly 2020 wildfires that ravaged the state.

PacifiCorp can’t limit how much it will have to pay for wildfire damage in Oregon, under a decision Thursday by state utility regulators.