There may not be an official name for it, but from time to time we have heard people in Central Oregon express what we will call power anxiety.

It’s what we are calling the concern that there might not be enough electrical capacity to meet growth. The concern has been most acute, perhaps, with discussions about power for the data centers for Apple and what is now called Meta around Prineville and power for charging electric vehicles.

We asked representatives from Pacific Power to talk to us about power load and capacity. They were happy to. Pacific Power shares the electrical responsibility for Central Oregon with Mid-State and Central Electric cooperatives, but it is the big dog.

Does Central Oregon have the capacity to meet the load now and in the future?

The short answer is yes. Pacific Power does have needs for upgrades and other changes to meet growth.

For instance, more electric vehicle charging stations in homes in the northwest part of Bend drove Pacific Power to add another transformer at its substation in the NorthWest Crossing area. A new transformer is spendy, coming in at about $12 million.

In the near future, Pacific Power will be adding transformers to its Bond Street substation, which is by the Old Mill, at Hunter Circle, which is in the Juniper Ridge area, and at Yew Avenue in Redmond. Those are changes to deal with growth.

Power demand peaks for Pacific Power in Central Oregon in the winter. In 2024, the winter peak was 665 megawatts, Matt Chancellor, the regional business manager, told us. In the summer it is close, at 663 megawatts. The average load is 444 megawatts.

The growth in load was at about a rate of 1% in 2018. In 2024, it accelerated to about 3% growth.

Several factors driving the increase are happening everywhere in the country. Some are slightly more unique to Oregon and Central Oregon.

One notable change happened in 2021 when Central Oregon experienced a heat dome. Chancellor said many people added central air conditioning to their homes and that demand driver has not gone away.

Changes in state policy have created more demand for power and helped shape how Pacific Power develops its infrastructure. The state push for more density has helped lead to taller buildings. Chancellor said some taller apartment/multi-unit housing can have loads up to 1 megawatt and higher. Earlier in his career, an apartment building might have a demand of a few hundred kilowatts. The increase in load is not only because of more housing units. It also comes from meeting new state requirements for readiness for electric vehicle charging. And he is seeing more buildings, even commercial buildings, go fully electric for appliances, heating and cooling.

A major change in Central Oregon for Pacific Power to prepare for future growth is the planning for a new 180-mile, 500-kilovolt line coming up from southern Oregon to help serve the region. That adds capacity, redundancy and takes some of the pressure off a heavily loaded similar line coming down from the north into Prineville.

Chancellor, himself, doesn’t seem to have anxiety about Pacific Power’s ability to meet Central Oregon’s future demand. If there was anything he emphasized, though, it was the need for lead time from large commercial or industrial customers with new, large power requests.

The biggest power anxiety issue for most consumers is obviously not supply. It’s rising costs. If you want to get involved in the debate over rates, we recommend starting with the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board. They advocate for the interests of consumers. Check out the organization’s website here: oregoncub.org. It recently called for a rate increase cap.

A key to keeping prices down is to keep peak demand down. Large industrial customers can participate in Pacific Power’s demand response program. Participants can make targeted energy reductions during times of peak demand and get paid for it.

Residential customers can do a residential-scale version of that, too. It requires a thermostat connected to the internet. “Customers earn payments by agreeing to have your smart thermostat automatically adjust by a few degrees during peak times on select weekdays.” Pacific Power says. Of course, that may add another kind of anxiety that most people don’t want.