2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 19 - Utilities, Vehicle Code, Watercraft, Aviation › Chapter 757 - Utility Regulation Generally › Section 757.522 - Definitions for ORS 757.522 to 757.536.

As used in ORS 757.522 to 757.536:
(1) "Additional interest" means:
(a) The acquisition, by the holder of an interest in a generating facility located in Oregon, of a separate interest in that generating facility that is producing energy and is in service for tax purposes, commercially operable or in rates on July 1, 2010; and
(b) The renewal of an existing contract of five or more years that includes the acquisition of baseload electricity for an additional term of five or more years where the expected greenhouse gas emissions profile of the contract renewal is substantially similar to that of the previous contract.
(2) "Annual plant capacity factor" means the ratio of the electricity produced by a generating facility during one year, measured in kilowatt-hours, to the electricity the generating facility could have produced if it had been operated at its rated capacity throughout the same year, expressed in kilowatt-hours.
(3)(a) "Baseload electricity" means electricity produced by a generating facility that is designed and intended, at the time a site certificate is issued to the owner of the facility or a permit authorizing the construction and operation of the facility is issued to the owner of the facility by another state or country, to provide electricity on a continuous basis at an annual plant capacity factor of at least 60 percent.
(b) "Baseload electricity" does not include electricity from:
(A) A qualifying facility under the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, 16 U.S.C. 2601 to 2645;
(B) A generating source that uses natural gas or petroleum distillates as a fuel source and that is primarily used to serve either peak demand or to integrate energy from a renewable energy source described in ORS 469A.025; or
(C) A generating facility that:
(i) Previously used coal as the facility’s primary fuel source;
(ii) Is owned in whole or in part by an electric company; and
(iii) Currently uses natural gas or another resource as the facility’s primary fuel source.
(4) "Construction" has the meaning given that term in ORS 469.300.
(5) "Consumer-owned utility" has the meaning given that term in ORS 757.600.
(6) "Electric company" has the meaning given that term in ORS 757.600.
(7) "Electricity service supplier" has the meaning given that term in ORS 757.600.
(8) "Generating facility" includes one or more jointly operated electricity generators that use the same fuel type, have the same in-service date and operate at the same location as described in ORS 469.300.
(9) "Governing board" means the legislative authority of a consumer-owned utility.
(10)(a) "Long-term financial commitment" means an investment in or upgrade of a generating facility that produces baseload electricity, or a contract with a term of more than five years, beginning on the date on which the contract is executed, that includes acquisition of baseload electricity.
(b) "Long-term financial commitment" does not include:
(A) Routine or necessary maintenance;
(B) Installation of emission control equipment;
(C) Installation, replacement or modification of equipment that improves the heat rate of the facility or reduces a generating facility’s pounds of greenhouse gases per megawatt-hour of electricity;
(D) Installation, replacement or modification of equipment where the primary purpose is to maintain reliable generation output capability and not to extend the life of the generating facility, and that does not increase the heat input or fuel usage as specified in existing generation air quality permits, but that may result in incidental increases in generation capacity;
(E) Repairs necessitated by sudden and unexpected equipment failure; or
(F) An acquisition of an additional interest.
(11) "Output-based methodology" means a greenhouse gas emissions standard that is expressed in pounds of greenhouse gases emitted per megawatt-hour, factoring in the useful thermal energy employed for purposes other than the generation of electricity.
(12) "Site certificate" has the meaning given that term in ORS 469.300.
(13) "Upgrade" means any modification made for the primary purpose of increasing the electric generation capacity of a baseload facility. [2009 c.751 §1; 2013 c.172 §1]
Note:
757.522 to 757.538 were enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but were not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 757 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.