Oregon Revised Statutes
As used in ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210: “Acquires service territory” does not include an acquisition by a city of a facility, plant, equipment or service territory within the boundaries of the city, pursuant to ORS 225.020 or city charter, if the city: Already owns, controls or operates an electric light and power system for supplying electricity to the inhab…
Except as provided in this section, and subject to ORS 469A.135, electricity generated from a renewable energy source may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard only if the facility that generates the electricity meets the requirements of ORS 469A.020. Any electricity that the Bonneville Power Administration has designated as environmentally …
Except as provided in this section, electricity may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard only if the electricity is generated by a facility that becomes operational on or after January 1, 1995. Electricity from a generating facility, other than a hydroelectric facility, that became operational before January 1, 1995, may be used to comply w…
Electricity generated utilizing the following types of energy may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard: Wind energy. Solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy. Wave, tidal and ocean thermal energy. Geothermal energy. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, electricity generated from biomass and biomass by-products may be…
The State Department of Energy may certify as eligible for renewable energy certificates a facility that qualifies under ORS 469A.020 (5) and (6) and 469A.025 (6) and (7) only for electricity generated on or after January 1, 2011. Note: 469A.027 to 469A.031 were enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but were not added to or made a part of ORS chapter…
To be eligible for renewable energy certificates, the owner or operator of a generating facility that qualifies under ORS 469A.020 (5) and (6) and 469A.025 (6) and (7) must register the generating facility with the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System or other regional system or trading program designated by the State Department of Energy b…
Notwithstanding ORS 469A.029, a facility described in ORS 469A.020 (5) is eligible for renewable energy certificates if the owner or operator of the generating facility registered the generating facility with the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System on or after January 1, 2011. Note: See note under 469A.027. (Renewable Portfolio Standards…
Electric utilities must comply with the applicable renewable portfolio standard described in ORS 469A.052 or 469A.055. Electricity service suppliers must comply with the renewable portfolio standard established under ORS 469A.065.
The large utility renewable portfolio standard imposes the following requirements on an electric utility that makes sales of electricity to retail electricity consumers in an amount that equals three percent or more of all electricity sold to retail electricity consumers: At least five percent of the electricity sold by the electric utility to retail electr…
Except as provided in this section, an electric utility that makes sales of electricity to retail electricity consumers in an amount that equals less than three percent of all electricity sold to retail electricity consumers is not subject to ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210. Beginning in calendar year 2025, at least five percent of the electricity sold to retail e…
Electric utilities are not required to comply with the renewable portfolio standards described in ORS 469A.052 and 469A.055 to the extent that: Compliance with the standard would require the electric utility to acquire electricity in excess of the electric utility’s projected load requirements in any calendar year; and Acquiring the additional electricity …
An electricity service supplier must meet the requirements of the renewable portfolio standards that are applicable to the electric utilities that serve the territories in which the electricity service supplier sells electricity to retail electricity consumers. The Public Utility Commission shall establish procedures for implementation of the renewable portf…
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, an electric utility or electricity service supplier must comply with the renewable portfolio standard applicable to the utility or supplier in each calendar year by: Using bundled renewable energy certificates issued or acquired during the compliance year; Subject to the limitations described in ORS 469…
An electric company that is subject to a renewable portfolio standard shall describe the electric company’s plan for meeting the requirements of the renewable portfolio standard as part of the electric company’s integrated resource plan filed with the Public Utility Commission. At a minimum, a plan for meeting the requirements of the renewable portfolio sta…
Electric utilities are not required to comply with a renewable portfolio standard during a compliance year to the extent that the incremental cost of compliance, the cost of unbundled renewable energy certificates and the cost of alternative compliance payments under ORS 469A.180 exceeds four percent of the electric utility’s annual revenue requirement for t…
Except as provided in ORS 469A.180 (5), all prudently incurred costs associated with complying with ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210 are recoverable in the rates of an electric company, including interconnection costs, costs associated with using physical or financial assets to integrate, firm or shape renewable energy sources on a firm annual basis to meet retail e…
The State Department of Energy shall establish a system of renewable energy certificates that can be used by an electric utility or electricity service supplier to establish compliance with the applicable renewable portfolio standard. The department shall consult with the Public Utility Commission before establishing a system of renewable energy certificates…
If a facility that generates electricity using biomass also generates thermal energy for a secondary purpose, the State Department of Energy shall provide that renewable energy certificates must be issued for the generation of the thermal energy. Notwithstanding the definition of “qualifying electricity” in ORS 469A.005 or any other provision of law stating …
A bundled renewable energy certificate may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard if: The facility that generates the qualifying electricity for which the bundled renewable energy certificate is issued is located in the United States and within the geographic boundary of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council; and The qualifying electr…
Renewable energy certificates may be traded, sold or otherwise transferred. Renewable energy certificates that are not used by a consumer-owned utility to comply with a renewable portfolio standard in a calendar year may be banked and carried forward indefinitely for the purpose of complying with a renewable portfolio standard in a subsequent year. For the …
Except as otherwise provided in this section, unbundled renewable energy certificates, including banked unbundled renewable energy certificates, may not be used to meet more than 20 percent of the requirements of the large utility renewable portfolio standard described in ORS 469A.052 for any compliance year. The limitation imposed by subsection (1) of this…
Unless the exemption provided by ORS 469A.055 (1) terminated for the consumer-owned utility pursuant to ORS 469A.055 (5), a consumer-owned utility described in ORS 469A.052 (2) that is subject to the large utility renewable portfolio standard described in ORS 469A.052 (3) may use, notwithstanding ORS 469A.145 (1), unbundled renewable energy certificates, inc…
The Public Utility Commission by rule shall establish a process for allocating the use of renewable energy certificates by an electric company that makes sales of electricity to retail customers in more than one state. (Compliance Reports)
Each electric utility and electricity service supplier that is subject to a renewable portfolio standard shall make an annual compliance report for the purpose of detailing compliance, or failure to comply, with the renewable portfolio standard applicable in the compliance year. An electric company or electricity service supplier shall make the report to the…
The Public Utility Commission shall establish an alternative compliance rate for each compliance year for each electric company or electricity service supplier that is subject to a renewable portfolio standard. The rate shall be expressed in dollars per megawatt-hour. The commission shall establish an alternative compliance rate based on the cost of qualify…
The governing body of a consumer-owned utility shall establish an alternative compliance rate for the utility. To the extent possible, the alternative compliance rate shall be determined by the governing body of the consumer-owned utility in a manner similar to that used by the Public Utility Commission in establishing alternative compliance rates under ORS …
If an electric company or electricity service supplier that is subject to a renewable portfolio standard under ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210 fails to comply with the standard in the manner provided by ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210, the Public Utility Commission may impose a penalty against the company or supplier in an amount determined by the commission. A penalty un…
Electric utilities shall allow retail electricity consumers to elect a green power rate. A significant portion of the electricity purchased or generated by a utility that is attributable to moneys paid by retail electricity consumers who elect the green power rate must be qualifying electricity, and the utility must inform consumers of the sources of the ele…
The Legislative Assembly finds that community-based renewable energy projects, including but not limited to marine renewable energy resources that are either developed in accordance with the Territorial Sea Plan adopted pursuant to ORS 196.471 or located on structures adjacent to the coastal shorelands, are an essential element of this state’s energy future.…
To facilitate the creation of hydrogen power stations using anhydrous ammonia as a fuel source to comply with a renewable portfolio standard under ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210, the Public Utility Commission may allow full recovery of costs by public utilities in prudent energy investments related to the planning, financing, construction and operation of hydrogen…
As used in ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475: “Baseline emissions level” means: For an electric company, the average annual emissions of greenhouse gas for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 associated with the electricity sold to retail electricity consumers as reported under ORS 468A.280, or rules adopted pursuant thereto. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this …
It is the policy of the State of Oregon: That retail electricity providers rely on nonemitting electricity in accordance with the clean energy targets set forth in ORS 469A.410 and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions associated with serving Oregon retail electricity consumers by 2040; That electricity generated in a manner that produces zero greenhouse gas …
A retail electricity provider shall reduce greenhouse gas emissions, measured for an electric company as greenhouse gas emissions reported under ORS 468A.280, and measured for an electricity service supplier as greenhouse gas emissions per megawatt-hour as reported under ORS 468A.280, to the extent compliance is consistent with ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475, by t…
An electric company shall develop a clean energy plan for meeting the clean energy targets set forth in ORS 469A.410 concurrent with the development of each integrated resource plan. The electric company shall submit the clean energy plan to the Public Utility Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality. A clean energy plan must be based on or i…
For the purposes of verifying emissions and determining compliance with the clean energy targets set forth in ORS 469A.410, the Department of Environmental Quality shall determine: For each electric company, the electric company’s baseline emissions level; and For each retail electricity provider, the amount of emissions reduction necessary for the retail …
An electric company that files a clean energy plan under ORS 469A.415 shall convene a Community Benefits and Impacts Advisory Group. The members of the electric company’s Community Benefits and Impacts Advisory Group will be determined by the electric company with input from stakeholders that represent the interests of customers or affected entities within t…
For the purposes of determining compliance with ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475, electricity shall have the emission attributes of the underlying generating resource.
In determining whether a retail electricity provider has complied with the clean energy targets set forth in ORS 469A.410, the Public Utility Commission shall take into consideration unplanned emissions in excess of the amount projected in an electric company’s clean energy plan submitted under ORS 469A.415 or the information provided by an electricity servi…
Upon its own motion or at the request of an electric company, the Public Utility Commission may open an investigation pursuant to ORS 756.515 (1) to determine whether to grant a temporary exemption to an electric company’s compliance with one or more of the requirements of ORS 469A.052 or a clean energy plan adopted pursuant to ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475. The…
An electric company or an organization that represents broad customer interests and that has a written agreement with an electric company pursuant to ORS 757.072 may request that the Public Utility Commission open an investigation to provide accounting for investments made, costs incurred or forecasted costs estimated by the electric company for the purpose …
The Public Utility Commission shall provide the same opportunity to an electricity service supplier as provided an electric company under ORS 469A.445 to receive a comparable exemption from further compliance with the requirements of ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475. A comparable exemption shall be provided based on comparable procedures and criteria, to the extent …
In furtherance of the clean energy targets set forth in ORS 469A.410, the Public Utility Commission may apply a performance incentive for early compliance with one or more of the clean energy targets.
The requirements of ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475 do not replace or modify the requirements of ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210.
The Public Utility Commission may adopt rules as necessary to implement ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475. The commission shall review and identify costs incurred by electric companies for obligations not similarly imposed on electricity service suppliers to comply with ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475 that retail electric consumers served by electricity service suppliers m…
The Legislative Assembly finds that existing and future electricity markets will play a critical role in the transformation of the electric sector to nonemitting sources, as well as enabling load serving entities to reduce costs and serve load reliably by accessing resource and load diversity. The Legislative Assembly further finds that accounting and compl…
ORS 469A.400 to 469A.475 do not apply to an electric company, as defined in ORS 757.600, that serves electricity to 25,000 or fewer retail electricity consumers, as defined in ORS 757.600, located in this state. _______________