ORS Chapter 469a — Renewable Portfolio

ORS 469a.100. Limits on cost of compliance with renewable portfolio standard. (1) 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 utilitys annual revenue requirement for the compliance year. (2) For each electric company, the Public Utility Commission shall establish the annual revenue requirement for a compliance year no later than January 1 of the compliance year. For each consumer-owned utility, the governing body of the consumer-owned utility shall establish the annual revenue requirement for a compliance year. (3) The annual revenue requirement for an electric utility shall be calculated based only on the operations of the electric utility relating to electricity. The annual revenue requirement does not include any amount expended by the electric utility for energy efficiency programs for customers of the electric utility or for low income energy assistance, the incremental cost of compliance with a renewable portfolio standard, the cost of unbundled renewable energy certificates or the cost of alternative compliance payments under ORS 469A.180. The annual revenue requirement does include: (a) The operating expenses of the electric utility during the compliance year, including depreciation and taxes; and (b) For electric companies, an amount equal to the total rate base of the electric company for the compliance year multiplied by the rate of return established by the commission for debt and equity of the electric company. (4) For the purposes of this section, the incremental cost of compliance with a renewable portfolio standard is the difference between the levelized annual delivered cost of the qualifying electricity and the levelized annual delivered cost of an equivalent amount of reasonably available electricity that is not qualifying electricity. For the purpose of this subsection, the commission or the governing body of a consumer-owned utility shall use the net present value of delivered cost, including: (a) Capital, operating and maintenance costs of generating facilities; (b) Financing costs attributable to capital, operating and maintenance expenditures for generating facilities; (c) Transmission and substation costs; (d) Load following and ancillary services costs; and (e) Costs associated with using other assets, physical or financial, to integrate, firm or shape renewable energy sources on a firm annual basis to meet retail electricity needs. (5) For the purposes of this section, the governing body of a consumer-owned utility may include in the incremental cost of compliance with a renewable portfolio standard all expenses associated with research, development and demonstration projects related to the generation of qualifying electricity by the consumer-owned utility. (6) The commission shall establish limits on the incremental cost of compliance with the renewable portfolio standard for electricity service suppliers under ORS 469A.065 that are the equivalent of the cost limits applicable to the electric companies that serve the territories in which the electricity service supplier sells electricity to retail electricity consumers. If an electricity service supplier sells electricity in territories served by more than one electric company, the commission may provide for an aggregate cost limit based on the amount of electricity sold by the electricity service supplier in each territory. Pursuant to ORS 757.676, a consumer-owned utility may establish limits on the cost of compliance with the renewable portfolio standard for electricity service suppliers that sell electricity in the territory served by the consumer-owned utility. [2007 c.301 12; 2016 c.28 25] (Cost Recovery)