Oregon's Energy Future: Navigating Reliability, Affordability, and Climate

About the Program Oregon has set ambitious targets for its energy future: a grid that is reliable, electricity that stays affordable, and steep reductions in carbon emissions.  But these goals carry tensions and tradeoffs that can be difficult for the public to understand.  As utilities, regulators, and communities weigh how to keep the lights on, hold down costs, and meet the state’s climate commitments, the choices made in the coming years will shape the daily lives of Oregonians for decades. This Friday Forum panel discussion provides an opportunity for leading regional energy experts to unpack the competing pressures facing Oregon’s energy system and the available paths forward.  Panelists include Arne Olson, Senior Partner at Energy and Environmental Economics (E3), Karin Power, Commissioner for the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC), and Ruchi Sadhir, Associate Director of Strategic Engagement at the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE). Ted Sickinger, Business and Economy Editor at The Oregonian, will moderate. Registration Details General admission is free for everyone, but registration is requested to help us manage capacity. Lunch admission is $25 for City Club members and their guests, and $32 for nonmembers. It includes lunch and reserved seating. Lunch registration closes Tuesday, December 8 at 12:00 pm. Lunch is served buffet style, with options for most dietary needs (please let us know if you need any additional accommodations and we can ask about making you an individual plate). December 11’s “Northwest Pasta Bar” menu includes the following: Mixed Green Salad (w/ Garden Vegetables and Farm Vinaigrette) House-Made Focaccia Bread (w/ olive oil drizzle, house-infused salt, and cracked black pepper) Two Pasta Choices (Casarecce or Fettuccine) Two Sauce Choices (House Made Marinara w/ Garlic + Basil or Creamy Mushroom Alfredo w/ Wine, Garlic, Lemon, + Crave Farm herbs) Two Protein Choices (Grilled Rosemary Chicken or Handmade Meatballs) Grated Parmesan [Register Here!] Speakers Arne Olson leads E3’s planning practice helping clients navigate changes to bulk electric system operations and investment needs brought about by higher levels of clean and renewable energy production. He has led a number of landmark studies of the feasibility and cost of achieving deep decarbonization and high renewable penetration goals for electric utilities.  Olson has over 30 years of experience in the energy industry, is a frequent speaker at energy industry conferences, and has provided expert witness testimony in over a dozen jurisdictions. His clients include utilities, asset owners, market operators, government agencies and environmental organizations. Prior to joining E3 in 2002, he served for six years in the Energy Policy Division of the Washington State Energy Offices. Arne holds an MS in international energy management and policy from the University of Pennsylvania and the Institut Français du Pétrole; a BS in statistics and a BS in mathematical sciences from the University of Washington.   Commissioner Karin Power was appointed to the OPUC by Governor Tina Kotek in February 2025.  Prior to her appointment, Power served as Governor Kotek’s Natural Resources and Climate Advisor and as a State Representative from 2017 to 2023. In the Oregon House, served as Chair of the House Energy and Environment Committee and as Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction. Earlier in her career she served as Associate General Counsel for The Freshwater Trust, advising on environmental compliance solutions for municipalities and public and private utilities. Power has also served on the board of Clackamas Community College and as a Milwaukie City Councilor. Commissioner Power holds a BA in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College and a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School, with a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law.   Associate Director Ruchi Sadhir has served with the Strategic Engagemen