We can’t promise we are going to count every penny more you may be paying because of the 2025 Oregon Legislature. But here’s one way.

In the first meeting this session of one House committee, they were already talking about charging more to Oregonians.

The increase is small. The Oregon Department of Energy says it will only be pennies more a month for most Oregonians. It says the energy bill for most customers will only go up 3 to 5 cents a month more than it was last year. But every little bit adds up and power bills have certainly been going up already.

The increase would come in the energy supplier assessment. It’s charged to fuel providers that produce energy in Oregon. The money goes to the Oregon Department of Energy. Every Oregonian paid about $1.87 in 2024. That added up to about $7.91 million in 2024, the department says.

Gov. Tina Kotek’s recommended budget calls for an 18% increase in the assessment. But again the agency says it will only be 3-5 cents more a month or maybe $2.19 a year.

It will help pay for increases in costs of living being paid to department employees and increases in other costs. The state’s Energy Department does many things. It collects data on energy and makes it available. It plans for energy needs for the state. It keeps an eye on radioactive materials. It manages programs to save energy and support decarbonization.

It may be easy for many people to pay a couple more pennies a month. But depending what inflation does, depending how new tariffs may impact prices, depending on what else the Legislature does and depending on a whole variety of other things, a few pennies more a month may be on top of many other increases in costs.