Energy Advocates Retreat

In September, we held our first-ever Energy Advocates retreat in Portland, in partnership with GEI, Citizens Utility Board, Oregon Solar + Storage Industries Association, Multnomah County, Verde, Clackamas Community College, and Climate Solutions.

The idea for the retreat followed the 2025 Oregon legislative session and the huge wave of implementation that’s now moving to the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC). With so many big bills coming down the pipeline, it felt important to create space for the Energy Advocates to step back and strategically think about how we can remain coordinated and proactive. We also wanted to be mindful of the current federal landscape and any short session opportunities coming up.  

The goal of the retreat was for Energy Advocates to identify capacity gaps, talk through organization priorities, and align on messaging and strategy for both implementation and upcoming legislative work. We held a full-day hybrid retreat with more than 50 people attending in person and virtually. OPUC and Oregon Department of Energy staff also joined, and we went over implementation timelines, expectations and challenges, desired outcomes, and strategies. Each bill had its own breakout session and included topic overviews, time for questions and discussion, and time to chat without OPUC staff present. We are so grateful to everyone who participated and look forward to more retreats in the future.