As part of our agency mission and vision, the Oregon Department of Energy carefully watched the 2026 legislative session, which opened February 2 and closed March 6. So that our work in the future is well-informed, we paid attention to all legislation that touches the energy sector. We provided information on energy topics to ensure informed decisions about legislation and legislative action. In addition, we followed bills that could affect our own work and were engaged in conversations about our agency budget.

On March 24, 2026, the Oregon Department of Energy participated in one of its annual nuclear emergency exercises. This year’s exercise involved a “hostile act” scenario at the Columbia Generating Station. In the scenario, CGS alerted Oregon of explosions on site that could affect the safety of the plant. Over the course of the exercise, our experts discussed risks to Oregon and potential actions residents in Morrow or Umatilla counties would need to take to stay safe.

Recent local and national headlines have highlighted what many Oregonians are experiencing when they stop to get gas: prices have increased at the pump. International and national actions are affecting prices across the country, including here in Oregon. While Oregonians are seeing fuel costs go up, the state does not expect to experience any fuel shortages. Learn more about our supply and pricing.

ODOE is conducting a workforce needs assessment to better understand the extent to which Oregon’s current workforce and training opportunities are prepared to meet the strategy’s modeled employment needs. 

On this episode of Grounded, we’re joined by Jillian DiMedio, ODOE Senior Energy Policy Analyst to discuss the availability and reliability of chargers in Oregon. We’re also joined by Steve Gutmann, co-founder of EVmath, and Robert Wallace, executive director of Wy’East RC&D, to discuss the challenges and benefits of EVs and charging in rural Oregon.

On March 12, the Oregon Department of Energy was proud to sponsor the 2026 Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Students from public elementary and middle schools along the coast created their own renewable solar, wind, or wave energy devices to compete for best design.

The Oregon Department of Energy is seeking public comments related to the Transformational Integrated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction 2.0 project. The TIGHGER 2.0 Project aims to assess Oregon’s progress toward meeting the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council will be held on Thursday and Friday, March 19-20, 2026.

The Oregon Climate Action Commission will meet on March 13, 2026. The public meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. online. 

In this month's newsletter, ODOE announces 24 Community Renewable Energy Grant awardees, recipients of early action and planning grants for Oregon's Building Performance Standard, launches a second incentive program for Oregon's BPS, opens a public comment period for two Executive Order 25-29 efforts, shares ODOE's 2025 by the numbers for incentive programs, publishes a new Getting Grounded episode, and more.