Oregon
Oregon moved from posture to policy in mid-2026: the POWER Act's first-in-nation large-load tariff took effect June 10 (PGE data centers +29%, residential/small-business decreases) and a data-center property-tax-break moratorium in HB 4084 became effective June 5, 2026 (DWT, Utility Dive, OR House Democrats).
ILens Signals
Civic/Governance Barriers activates on moratorium-class action (C1), meaningful 2026 race (C3) — governance instruments on the electoral, legislative, and regulatory surface (protocol §10; Overview Civic breakout). Capital Flows/Insurability is a dominant stressor: the POWER Act tariff imposes exit fees, minimum charges, and life-of-asset cost responsibility explicitly to prevent stranded-asset cost shifts, and HB 4084 pauses ~$450M/yr in tax subsidies (Columbia Riverkeeper, Utility Dive). Energy/Power and Water/Geology (Columbia River corridor) also central.
IIKey 2026 Races
Yes — defining local and statewide plank. Senate District 15 Democratic primary (May 2026): educator Myrna Muñoz defeated incumbent Sen. Janeen Sollman 51.7%–46.1% after a campaign centered on Hillsboro/Silicon Forest data-center expansion and Sollman’s withdrawn SB 1586 (JOBS Act) urban-growth/data-center provisions; Muñoz advances vs. Republican Harold Hutchison in November (Willamette Week, Oregonian spring elections). Related Washington County races elevated data-center skeptics (House Dist. 27 Tammy Carpenter; Metro Council President Juan Carlos González); Hillsboro council seats and a possible Beach Pace recall are live November pathways. 2026 Governor (incumbent Tina Kotek seeking reelection): data centers are a live reelection pressure point after the Legislature’s tax-break moratorium and Kotek’s July 2026 call for communities to pause until her advisory committee reports (Oregonian / Kotek, KLCC).
IIIMoratorium · Ban Status
No statewide siting ban, but a statutory moratorium on new data-center eligibility for Enterprise Zone property-tax breaks took effect June 5, 2026 under HB 4084, running until 90 days after the 2027 session adjourns (into fall 2027 or later) (DWT, HB 4084 text). It excludes projects already approved and does not touch the separate Strategic Investment Program (DWT).
IVRatepayer · Cost-Shift Legislation
POWER Act (HB 3546, enacted 2025) is now being implemented: Oregon PUC approved a large-load tariff framework May 7, 2026 (docket UM2377) requiring 10-30 year contracts, 100% customer-paid distribution upgrades, minimum charges, exit fees, and a 1 cent/kWh surcharge above 100 MW; PGE filed rates raising data centers ~29% while residential customers see ~1.3-1.6% cuts, effective June 10, 2026 (Utility Dive, Willamette Week, Sahm/UM2377). HB 4084 adds the tax-break pause (DWT).
VBallot Measures
None identified. Ballotpedia's 2026 data-center ballot-measure tracker lists CA, MI, NV, and WI, not Oregon (Ballotpedia).
VITop Contested Sites
Hillsboro is the urban focus, where operators rushed permit applications before the June tax-break pause; the city has stacked Enterprise Zone tax-break renewals worth ~$85M in 2026 property taxes forgone (Tualatin Riverkeepers). Columbia River corridor rural expansions (~9,100 acres) remain outside the urban-only pause (Tualatin Riverkeepers).
VIITalent · Workforce
Debate frames data-center subsidies against jobs delivered; POWER Act reporting requires annual usage disclosure but jobs-vs-promises scrutiny is secondary to the fiscal/energy fight (OCPP).
VIIIData Center Cluster Size
Major hub — Hillsboro (Silicon Forest) plus dense Columbia River corridor (The Dalles, Umatilla/Morrow); data centers are ~5.6% of PGE load (OPB via YouTube/Gov, Tualatin Riverkeepers).
IXKey Quote
"We're not going to change the rates that are currently being paid... it's just going to stop future raises," said the POWER Act's sponsor on the rate framework (Stateline).