In December 2020, the Oregon Court of Appeals dismissed Portland General Electric Company’s (PGE’s) appeal of the Oregon Public Utility Commission’s (Oregon Commission’s) decision in Docket No. UM 1805 regarding contract term requirements under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The Court’s decision capped a series of decisions affirming a long-standing Oregon Commission policy where qualifying facilities (QFs) eligible for standard contracts receive 15 years of fixed price payments. [Read more…]
Oregon Court of Appeals Dismisses Utility Appeal regarding PURPA Fixed Price Payments
January 25, 2021 By
PacifiCorp Utah and Oregon GRC Orders
January 9, 2021 By
In late December 2020, the Utah Public Service Commission (Utah Commission) and the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) issued separate orders on PacifiCorp’s Utah and Oregon general rate cases. On December 30, the Utah Commission granted an increase to PacifiCorp, dba Rocky Mountain Power’s (PacifiCorp) annual revenue requirement of $31.41 million. In its initial Utah filing, PacifiCorp sought to increase its retail rates by $95.78 million, or 4.8%. On December 18, 2020, the Oregon Commission ordered a decrease to PacifiCorp’s revenue requirement of approximately $20.9 million, representing a 1.6% decrease from the its previous rates. PacifiCorp’s initial Oregon filing sought an increase of $78 million, or approximately 6%. [Read more…]
Oregon PUC and PGE Allow Projects to Participate in Community Solar Program
June 1, 2020 By
On May 19, 2020, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) approved, in principle, a proposed tariff for allocating community solar program (CSP) costs across Portland General Electric Company’s (PGE’s) customer classes. In a public settlement agreement, with the Oregon Commission’s approval of its tariff, PGE agreed to allow solar projects that were parties to the settlement agreement to terminate each project’s pre-existing power purchase agreement (PPA) if so requested within 90 days of the Commission order and to sell their power in the CSP. [Read more…]
Oregon PUC Supports Competitive Markets in Revamping PGE’s New Load Direct Access Program
January 16, 2020 By
On January 7, 2020, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission) ordered the Portland General Electric Company (PGE) to submit new tariffs that implement its Large New Load Direct Access (NLDA) program (Order No. 20-002). The new tariffs will go into effect on February 6, 2020. [Read more…]
Oregon Court of Appeals Reverses OPUC on PacifiCorp’s Direct Access Charge
June 28, 2019 By
On June 19, 2019, the Oregon Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Calpine Energy Solutions, LLC v. Oregon Public Utility Commission (Oregon Commission or OPUC), reversing the OPUC’s approval of PacifiCorp’s Transition Adjustment Mechanism (TAM). The core decision by the Court is that a state regulatory agency, like the Oregon Commission, must make its decision based on the evidence brought before it and not information or decisions from prior cases. [Read more…]
