Chapter 245
AN ACT
HB 2053
Relating to utility fees; amending ORS 756.310.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1. ORS 756.310 is amended to read:
756.310. (1) Subject to
the provisions of subsections [(3), (5)
and (6)] (3) and (4) of this section, each public utility and
telecommunications provider shall pay a fee to the Public Utility
Commission in each calendar year [such
fee as]. The amount of the fee shall equal the amount that the
commission finds and determines to be necessary, together with the
amount of all other fees paid or payable to the commission by such public
utilities and telecommunications providers in the current calendar year, to
defray the costs of performing the duties imposed by law upon the commission [in respect to such] with respect to
the public utilities and telecommunications providers, [respectively,] and to pay [such] those amounts as may be
necessary to obtain matching funds to implement the program referred to in ORS
824.058.
[(2) In each calendar year the fee per kilowatt-hour delivered to end
users required to be paid by each electric company that is a public utility
shall be determined by orders entered by the commission on or after March 1 of
each year and notice thereof shall be given to each electric company. The
company shall pay to the commission the fee or portion thereof so computed on
the date specified in the notice, which date shall be at least 15 days after
the date of mailing the notice.]
[(3)(a) The average fee payable under subsection (1) of this section by
each electric company shall not exceed eighteen-hundredths of one mill per
kilowatt-hour applied to kilowatt-hours delivered in the preceding calendar
year or portion thereof but in no case shall the fee be less than $10. If
appropriate to meet the conditions of paragraph (b) of this subsection, fees
for customer classes may exceed these limitations.]
[(b) The fees established by the commission for different electric
companies shall bear the same approximate relationship as the gross revenue
fees per kilowatt-hour delivered to end users paid by electric companies in
1997. The commission shall adopt rules for allocation of a company’s fee among
the company’s retail customer classes so that the fees established for
different classes bear the same approximate relationship as the gross revenues
per kilowatt-hour paid by those classes in 1997. After December 31, 2000, the
commission may establish or allow fees that are the same by customer classes
for all such companies, provided that the approximate relationship between
customer classes referred to in this subsection shall be maintained.]
[(4)] (2) In each calendar year the percentage rate of the
fee required to be paid by public utilities[, except electric companies,] shall be
determined by orders entered by the commission on or after March 1 of each
year[, and notice thereof]. Notice
of the orders shall be given to each utility. The utility shall pay to the
commission the fee or portion thereof so computed upon the date specified in [such notice, which date] the
notice. The date of payment shall be at least 15 days after the date
of mailing [such] of the
notice.
[(5) The fee payable under subsection (1) of this section by each public
utility, except electric companies, shall not exceed twenty-five hundredths of
one percent of such utility’s gross operating revenues derived within this
state in the preceding calendar year or portion thereof, but in no case shall
the fee be less than $10.]
(3) The fee payable
under subsection (1) of this section by each public utility may not be less
than $10, or more than twenty-five hundredths of one percent of the utility’s
gross operating revenues derived within this state in the preceding calendar
year. For the purpose of this subsection, the gross operating revenues of an
electric company do not include revenues from sales of power for resale to the
extent that the revenues from those sales exceed an amount equal to 25 percent
of the total revenues received by the electric company from sales of
electricity to end users in the preceding calendar year.
[(6)(a)] (4)(a) For a
telecommunications provider, the fee payable under subsection (1) of this
section shall be a percentage amount not to exceed twenty-five hundredths of
one percent of the provider’s gross retail intrastate revenue for each calendar
year, but [in no case shall the fee]
may not be less than $100. The percentage amount shall be determined by
order of the commission not less than 60 days prior to the calendar year upon which
the fee is based. The fee shall be payable to the commission not later than
April 1 of the year following that calendar year.
(b) A telecommunications
provider shall collect the fee payable under subsection (1) of this section by
charging an apportioned amount to each of the provider’s retail customers. The
amount of the charge shall be described on the retail customer’s bill in a
manner determined by the provider.
(c) In the event a
telecommunications utility has an approved rate that includes the fee required
under subsection (1) of this section and separately charges retail customers
for the fee described in this section, at the time the utility begins
collecting the charge the utility shall file with the commission a rate
schedule reducing rates in an amount projected to equal the amount separately
charged to customers.
[(7)] (5) The commission may use any
of its investigatory and enforcement powers provided under this chapter for the
purpose of administering and enforcing the provisions of this section.
[(8)] (6) As used in this section:
(a) “Electric company”
means any entity that is a public utility under ORS 757.005 that is engaged in
the business of distributing electricity to retail electric customers in
(b) “Retail customer”
does not include a purchaser of intrastate telecommunications services who is a
telecommunications provider, telecommunications cooperative, interexchange
carrier or radio common carrier.
(c) “Telecommunications
provider” means any entity that is a telecommunications utility or a
competitive telecommunications provider as defined in ORS 759.005.
Approved by the Governor June 1, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 1, 2007
Effective date January 1, 2008
__________