EWEB customers likely to see rates increase starting in February

Utility bills in Eugene could see a 7% increase in 2027.

Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners last week advanced a proposed $502 million budget for next year, an increase of $14.5 million from 2026.

Under the proposal, customers with average-sized single-family homes could see an $18 monthly increase in their water and electric bills starting Feb. 1, 2027.

The board will take a final vote on the proposed budget Dec. 1.

The bigger budget is largely due to design and engineering work for a new water treatment plant on the Willamette River. EWEB’s only drinking water treatment plant, the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant, taps the McKenzie River. The plant is 76 years old, and leaders say it will need to be taken offline by 2040.

The Willametter River plant, which would become Eugene’s second source of drinking water, is estimated to cost $431 million.

EWEB leaders described it as a “once in a generation investment.” The utility projects a 32% increase in the 2027 water budget, a hike of about $27.6 million, and it will need to collect 15% more revenue from customers as a result.

“Costs and risks are growing while federal funding is shrinking, and our customers face real affordability pressures,” EWEB Financial Planning & Analysis Supervisor Alicia Voorhees said.

She said the budget proposals reflect “deliberate choices about what we invest in, when we do the work, and how we pay for it.”

Under the proposed rate hike, a monthly utility bill for an average-sized all-electric home in Eugene with moderate usage — 1,600 kWh per month in energy and 9,000 gallons per month in water — could rise from about $257 to $275 per month.

A smaller home with gas heat, or an apartment, could see bills rise from $133 to $142, a $9 increase. 

Wholesale water customers — such as the city of Veneta, Willamette Water Co. and Santa Clara and River Road water districts — and customers at higher elevations, will see steeper water rate increases.

EWEB plans to defer about $100 million in capital projects to reduce the need for further rate increases. The utility also plans to continue to “scrutinize spending” and soften rate increases from the water treatment plant through cheaper, long-term borrowing. 

The proposed budget also adds $100,000 toward bill assistance, matching the “calculated need-based level,” Voorhees said. 

“Together, these actions help moderate rate impacts, but they cannot eliminate the need for increases,” she said.

EWEB customers currently spend about 3.3% of the median household income on electricity and water. The utility projects that figure will jump to 3.5% in 2027, a scenario in which a household earning $70,781 annually would spend $2,462 on utilities per year.

The state considers households that spend 6% or more of their income on electricity as energy-burdened. More than a third of households in Lane County fall into that classification.

EWEB commissioners, appearing to anticipate residents’ sticker shock, defended the rate increases, arguing the Willamette River water treatment plant was an investment worth paying for. 

“If we didn’t feel it was needed for our community to build the second source water treatment plant, and to make sure that all of our infrastructure is to where we want it to be, we wouldn’t be making these things,” Commissioner John Barofsky said. “We don’t take these types of decisions lightly.”

Commissioner Tim Morris urged residents to consider the “many conversations” that led to the proposal, which he said wasn’t “made in a bubble.”

The board backed plans for a smaller, cheaper version of the second plant in August, passing over a more expensive proposal. EWEB says a second water source is needed to protect the region’s water supply in the event of earthquakes, wildfires, severe weather or hazardous spills.

The proposed budget also includes other infrastructure investments, like rebuilding the Jessen Substation in west Eugene, saving for the future decommissioning of the retired Leaburg Dam, completing construction of the new College Hill reservoir, and advancing dam safety and fish passage at EWEB’s Carmen-Smith hydroelectric project, an effort that has drawn scrutiny from environmental groups.

“It’s a difficult decision, but it’s a necessary one,” Morris said.