Imagine a life without electricity or natural gas. No A/C to keep you cool in the summer. No heat to warm your family in the winter. No stove, no refrigerator, no lights, no internet.

For thousands of Oregon families, this scenario is all too real. A medical emergency or loss of income can quickly snowball into a financial crisis, leaving families with mounting debt and agonizing decisions. Buy food or pay the electric bill? Give up light, or sacrifice medicine? Rent or the gas bill? We believe no one should face these questions.

The Oregon Energy Fund is a 35-year-old nonprofit that provides energy bill assistance to low-income Oregonians in support of household stability. Since 1989, OEF has helped over 350,000 people pay their bills in times of crisis, ensuring that families in need don’t have to sacrifice food, rent, or medicine to pay for electricity. Through the direct service of energy assistance, we supply a basic need that prevents the triple traumas of illness, homelessness, and hunger, and gives children and adults alike the support they need to lead healthy and productive lives.

We’ve been serving the state since 1989. But we wanted to reintroduce ourselves and let you know we’re here: Powering Homes, Powering Lives