Funding for Participation at the PUC
About Funding
The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is responsible for ensuring Oregon utility customers have access to safe, reliable and high-quality utility services at just and reasonable rates.
There are two types of funding available to advocates participating in processes at the Commission: Justice Funding and Intervenor Funding.
Justice Funding
Justice Funding is available to groups representing environmental justice communities, and groups representing the interests of low-income customers. The Commission approved an Environmental Justice Communities Funding agreement, between justice advocates and utilities to implement this type of funding. The
current agreement is effective through December 31, 2025. A
new agreement, approved by the Commission on October 14, 2025, is effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030.
The Commission has also implemented rules pursuant to the above agreement, which are available here:
OAR 860-001-800 through 860-001-0900. The rules are currently being updated in docket AR 680.
There are two types of funding available under the Justice Funding opportunity. Please see the table below for the 2025 and 2026 deadlines for each type of funding under the Justice Funding agreement.
The first is Case funding, which is requested on a docket-by-docket basis. This means that a group may ask for funding as they start to participate in a single docket. Up to 50 percent of this funding is available up-front.
The second is Pre-Certification grant funding. This is a broader type of funding and is available to groups to participate in a variety of dockets. This funding can operate as a multi-subject grant for activity at the PUC, and groups can request that all funding be provided up front. Groups request this type of funding one time per year, with the PUC approving funding for up to five groups per year.
2025 Pre-Certification Fund Grant Deadlines
Filing
/ Milestone
| Deadline
|
Request
for payment; notice of release for 2025 grants
|
November
17, 2025
|
Final
request for payment; notice of release for 2025 grants *funds deemed
released if no request for payment is filed by this date
| December
15, 2025
|
2026 Pre-Certification Fund Grant Deadlines
Filing
/ Milestone
| Deadline
|
Pre-certification
fund applications
|
November
17, 2025
|
Pre-certification
grant reports (2026), requests for payment; notice of release for 2026
grants
| November
17, 2026
|
Final request for payment; notice of release for 2026 grants *funds deemed released if no request for payment is filed by this date
| December
15, 2026
|
2025 Case Fund Grant DeadlinesFiling
/ Milestone
| Deadline
|
Notice
of intent and case certification request
| With
petition to intervene, or for case without formal intervention as designated by
Commission
|
Budget
|
Within
30 days of case certification (but may be filed with notice of intent)
|
Request
for payment; notice of release for 2025 grants
|
November
17, 2025
|
Final
request for payment; notice of release for 2025 grants
|
December
15, 2025
|
Case
Fund Report (see below for more information)
|
April
1, 2026
|
2026 Case Fund Grant Deadlines
Filing
/ Milestone
| Deadline
|
Notice
of intent and case certification request
|
With
petition to intervene, or for case without formal intervention as designated by
Commission
|
Budget
|
Within
30 days of case certification (but may be filed with notice of intent)
|
Request
for payment; notice of release for 2026 grants
|
November
17, 2026
|
Final
request for payment; notice of release for 2026 grants *funds deemed released
if no request for payment is filed by this date
| December 15, 2026[
|
Case
Fund Report (see below for more information)
|
April
1, 2027
|
Case Fund Report: Each Case-Fund recipient who had a continuing or newly approved Case Fund Grant or pending Proposed Budget for an Case Fund Grant request in 2025 shall provide a report to the Administrative Hearings Division in docket UM 2276 showing, as of December 31, 2025, for each Case Fund, their budget request pending approval, approved budget amounts, requested payments, payments received, amounts actually spent on expenses described in budgets for proceedings in which the intervenor received an Case Fund Grant, and a statement indicating whether any of their approved budget amounts for an Case Fund Grant were or are expected to be released back to the applicable Case Fund because the grantee does not intend to use the full approved amount. For Case Fund Grants from 2026 on, the Case Fund Reports should be filed in UM 2389,
The Intervenor Funding Summary spreadsheet provides fund distribution details to date. On the spreadsheet, current funding levels are located under the “Justice Funding" tab under the section labeled “Case Fund".
Intervenor Funding
Intervenor funding is available to ensure that those qualified organizations who represent distinct classes of utility customers have the financial resources to participate in the PUC’s proceedings. The PUC must approve any agreement before financial assistance can be provided. See
OAR 860-001-0120 and
860-001-0130 for qualification information.
View the specific intervenor funding agreements below:
The Intervenor Funding Summary provides fund distribution details to date.