On October 4, 2014, the Oregon Supreme Court issued a decision that affirmed an order by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) requiring Portland General Electric Company (PGE) to refund amounts to its customers. Some of PGE’s customers and ratepayer advocates challenged the Oregon Commission’s decision on the grounds that the refunds to customers were insufficient. [Read more…]
OPUC Partially Acknowledges PacifiCorp IRP
August 20, 2014 By
On July 8, 2014, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) issued an order regarding PacifiCorp’s long-term plan for its generation and transmission resources. [Read more…]
Oregon Passes Renewable Portfolio Standard Changes
May 15, 2014 By
On April 1, 2014, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed HB 4126, which makes changes to Oregon’s renewable portfolio standard. A renewable portfolio standard is a law that requires a utility to purchase a specific amount from renewable resources. HB 4126 is a compromise that will make it easier for electric cooperatives to meet their renewable portfolio standard requirements as they increase their electric load. The law may also allow Oregon utilities to offer separate “green tariffs” to non-residential customers. [Read more…]
Oregon Commission Reaffirms Many of Its PURPA Policies
May 5, 2014 By
On February 24, 2014, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) issued an order in the first part of its investigation into its policies related to contracting and pricing under the Oregon and federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The Oregon Commission maintained most of its existing policies; however, it made a number of modifications that could impact the development of small power production facilities. The order completes the first phase of its comprehensive investigation, and the Commission will consider a number of other critical PURPA-related issues in a second phase in 2015. [Read more…]
OPUC Declines to Investigate PGE’s Competitive Bidding Process
May 1, 2014 By
On September 20, 2013, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) declined to open a declaratory ruling proceeding or other investigation into Portland General Electric Company’s (PGE) competitive bidding processes. PGE conducted a controversial request for proposals (RFP) process in which PGE selected its own resources as the winning bids over the bids by independent third party power producers. PGE selected three of its own plants: 1) the Tucannon wind project with a 267 maximum megawatt (MW) capacity located in Columbia County, Washington; 2) the 440 MW capacity Carty natural gas generation facility near the company’s existing Boardman plant; and 3) the 220 MW capacity Port Westward II natural gas plant that will be adjacent to PGE’s existing Port Westward I natural gas plant.
