74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
HA to RC to A-Eng. SB 443
LC 2165/SB 443-A14
HOUSE AMENDMENTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS TO
A-ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 443
By COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, ETHICS AND RULES
June 20
On page 26 of the printed A-engrossed bill, after line 35,
insert:
' { + SECTION 43a. + } { + If Senate Bill 838 becomes law,
section 43 of this 2007 Act (amending ORS 757.612) is repealed
and ORS 757.612, as amended by section 27, chapter 301, Oregon
Laws 2007 (Enrolled Senate Bill 838), is amended to read: + }
' 757.612. (1) There is established an annual public purpose
expenditure standard for electric companies { + and Oregon
Community Power + } to fund new cost-effective local energy
conservation, new market transformation efforts, the above-market
costs of new renewable energy resources and new low-income
weatherization. The public purpose expenditure standard shall be
funded by the public purpose charge described in subsection (2)
of this section.
' (2)(a) Beginning on the date an electric company { + or
Oregon Community Power + } offers direct access to its retail
electricity consumers, except residential electricity consumers,
the electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + }shall
collect a public purpose charge from all of the retail
electricity consumers located within its service area until
January 1, 2026. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this
subsection, the public purpose charge shall be equal to three
percent of the total revenues collected by the electric
company { + , Oregon Community Power + } or { + the + }
electricity service supplier from its retail electricity
consumers for electricity services, distribution, ancillary
services, metering and billing, transition charges and other
types of costs included in electric rates on July 23, 1999.
' (b) For an aluminum plant that averages more than 100 average
megawatts of electricity use per year, beginning on March 1,
2002, the electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + }
whose territory abuts the greatest percentage of the site of the
aluminum plant shall collect from the aluminum company a public
purpose charge equal to one percent of the total revenue from the
sale of electricity services to the aluminum plant from any
source.
' (3)(a) The Public Utility Commission shall establish rules
implementing the provisions of this section relating to electric
companies { + and Oregon Community Power + }.
' (b) Subject to paragraph (e) of this subsection, funds
collected by an electric company { + or Oregon Community
Power + } through public purpose charges shall be allocated as
follows:
' (A) Sixty-three percent for new cost-effective conservation
and new market transformation.
' (B) Nineteen percent for the above-market costs of
constructing and operating new renewable energy resources with a
nominal electric generating capacity, as defined in ORS 469.300,
of 20 megawatts or less.
' (C) Thirteen percent for new low-income weatherization.
' (D) Five percent shall be transferred to the Housing and
Community Services Department Revolving Account created under ORS
456.574 and used for the purpose of providing grants as described
in ORS 458.625 (2). Moneys deposited in the account under this
subparagraph are continuously appropriated to the Housing and
Community Services Department for the purposes of ORS 458.625
(2). Interest on moneys deposited in the account under this
subparagraph shall accrue to the account.
' (c) The costs of administering subsections (1) to (6) of this
section for an electric company { + or Oregon Community
Power + } shall be paid out of the funds collected through public
purpose charges. The commission may require that an electric
company { + or Oregon Community Power + } direct funds collected
through public purpose charges to the state agencies responsible
for implementing subsections (1) to (6) of this section in order
to pay the costs of administering such responsibilities.
' (d) The commission shall direct the manner in which public
purpose charges are collected and spent by an electric company
{ + or Oregon Community Power + } and may require an electric
company { + or Oregon Community Power + } to expend funds
through competitive bids or other means designed to encourage
competition, except that funds dedicated for low-income
weatherization shall be directed to the Housing and Community
Services Department as provided in subsection (7) of this
section. The commission may also direct that funds collected by
an electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + } through
public purpose charges be paid to a nongovernmental entity for
investment in public purposes described in subsection (1) of this
section. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection
{ - , - } { + :
' (A) + } At least 80 percent of the funds allocated for
conservation shall be spent within the service area of the
electric company that collected the funds { - . - } { + ; or
' (B) If Oregon Community Power collected the funds, at least
80 percent of the funds allocated for conservation shall be spent
within the service area of Oregon Community Power. + }
' (e)(A) The first 10 percent of the funds collected annually
by an electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + } under
subsection (2) of this section shall be distributed to education
service districts, as described in ORS 334.010, that are located
in the service territory of the electric company { + or Oregon
Community Power + }. The funds shall be distributed to individual
education service districts according to the weighted average
daily membership (ADMw) of the component school districts of the
education service district for the prior fiscal year as
calculated under ORS 327.013. The commission shall establish by
rule a methodology for distributing a proportionate share of
funds under this paragraph to education service districts that
are only partially located in the service territory of the
electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + }.
' (B) An education service district that receives funds under
this paragraph shall use the funds first to pay for energy audits
for school districts located within the education service
district. An education service district may not expend additional
funds received under this paragraph on a school district facility
until an energy audit has been completed for that school
district. To the extent practicable, an education service
district shall coordinate with the State Department of Energy and
incorporate federal funding in complying with this paragraph.
Following completion of an energy audit for an individual school
district, the education service district may expend funds
received under this paragraph to implement the energy audit. Once
an energy audit has been conducted and completely implemented for
each school district within the education service district, the
education service district may expend funds received under this
paragraph for any of the following purposes:
' (i) Conducting energy audits. A school district shall conduct
an energy audit prior to expending funds on any other purpose
authorized under this paragraph unless the school district has
performed an energy audit within the three years immediately
prior to receiving the funds.
' (ii) Weatherization and upgrading the energy efficiency of
school district facilities.
' (iii) Energy conservation education programs.
' (iv) Purchasing electricity from environmentally focused
sources and investing in renewable energy resources.
' (f) The commission may not establish a different public
purpose charge than the public purpose charge described in
subsection (2) of this section.
' (4) { + (a) + } An electric company that satisfies its
obligations under this section shall have no further obligation
to invest in conservation, new market transformation or new
low-income weatherization or to provide a commercial energy
conservation services program and is not subject to ORS 469.631
to 469.645 and 469.860 to 469.900.
' { + (b) Oregon Community Power, for any period during which
Oregon Community Power collects a public purpose charge under
subsection (2) of this section:
' (A) Shall have no other obligation to invest in conservation,
new market transformation or new low-income weatherization or to
provide a commercial energy conservation services program; and
' (B) Is not subject to ORS 469.631 to 469.645 and 469.860 to
469.900. + }
' (5)(a) A retail electricity consumer that uses more than one
average megawatt of electricity at any site in the prior year
shall receive a credit against public purpose charges billed by
an electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + } for that
site. The amount of the credit shall be equal to the total amount
of qualifying expenditures for new energy conservation, not to
exceed 68 percent of the annual public purpose charges, and the
above-market costs of purchases of new renewable energy resources
incurred by the retail electricity consumer, not to exceed 19
percent of the annual public purpose charges, less administration
costs incurred under this subsection. The credit may not exceed,
on an annual basis, the lesser of:
' (A) The amount of the retail electricity consumer's
qualifying expenditures; or
' (B) The portion of the public purpose charge billed to the
retail electricity consumer that is dedicated to new energy
conservation, new market transformation or the above-market costs
of new renewable energy resources.
' (b) To obtain a credit under this subsection, a retail
electricity consumer shall file with the State Department of
Energy a description of the proposed conservation project or new
renewable energy resource and a declaration that the retail
electricity consumer plans to incur the qualifying expenditure.
The State Department of Energy shall issue a notice of
precertification within 30 days of receipt of the filing, if such
filing is consistent with this subsection. The credit may be
taken after a retail electricity consumer provides a letter from
a certified public accountant to the State Department of Energy
verifying that the precertified qualifying expenditure has been
made.
' (c) Credits earned by a retail electricity consumer as a
result of qualifying expenditures that are not used in one year
may be carried forward for use in subsequent years.
' (d)(A) A retail electricity consumer that uses more than one
average megawatt of electricity at any site in the prior year may
request that the State Department of Energy hire an independent
auditor to assess the potential for conservation investments at
the site. If the independent auditor determines there is no
available conservation measure at the site that would have a
simple payback of one to 10 years, the retail electricity
consumer shall be relieved of 54 percent of its payment
obligation for public purpose charges related to the site. If the
independent auditor determines that there are potential
conservation measures available at the site, the retail
electricity consumer shall be entitled to a credit against public
purpose charges related to the site equal to 54 percent of the
public purpose charges less the estimated cost of available
conservation measures.
' (B) A retail electricity consumer shall be entitled each year
to the credit described in this subsection unless a subsequent
independent audit determines that new conservation investment
opportunities are available. The State Department of Energy may
require that a new independent audit be performed on the site to
determine whether new conservation measures are available,
provided that the independent audits shall occur no more than
once every two years.
' (C) The retail electricity consumer shall pay the cost of the
independent audits described in this subsection.
' (6) Electric utilities and retail electricity consumers shall
receive a fair and reasonable credit for the public purpose
expenditures of their energy suppliers. The State Department of
Energy shall adopt rules to determine eligible expenditures and
the methodology by which such credits are accounted for and used.
The rules also shall adopt methods to account for eligible public
purpose expenditures made through consortia or collaborative
projects.
' (7)(a) In addition to the public purpose charge provided
under subsection (2) of this section, beginning on October 1,
2001, an electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + }
shall collect funds for low-income electric bill payment
assistance in an amount determined under paragraph (b) of this
subsection.
' (b) The total amount collected for low-income electric bill
payment assistance under this section shall be $10 million per
year. The commission shall determine each electric company's
proportionate share of the total amount { + and Oregon Community
Power's proportionate share of the total amount + }. The
commission shall determine the amount to be collected from a
retail electricity consumer, except that a retail electricity
consumer is not required to pay more than $500 per month per site
for low-income electric bill payment assistance.
' (c) Funds collected by the low-income electric bill payment
assistance charge shall be paid into the Housing and Community
Services Department Revolving Account created under ORS 456.574.
Moneys deposited in the account under this paragraph are
continuously appropriated to the Housing and Community Services
Department for the purpose of funding low-income electric bill
payment assistance. Interest earned on moneys deposited in the
account under this paragraph shall accrue to the account. The
department's cost of administering this subsection shall be paid
out of funds collected by the low-income electric bill payment
assistance charge. Moneys deposited in the account under this
paragraph shall be expended solely for low-income electric bill
payment assistance. Funds collected from an electric company
{ + or Oregon Community Power + } shall be expended in the
service area of the electric company { + or Oregon Community
Power + } from which the funds are collected.
' (d) The Housing and Community Services Department, in
consultation with the federal Advisory Committee on Energy, shall
determine the manner in which funds collected under this
subsection will be allocated by the department to energy
assistance program providers for the purpose of providing
low-income bill payment and crisis assistance, including programs
that effectively reduce service disconnections and related costs
to retail electricity consumers and electric utilities. Priority
assistance shall be directed to low-income electricity consumers
who are in danger of having their electricity service
disconnected.
' (e) Notwithstanding ORS 293.140, interest on moneys deposited
in the Housing and Community Services Department Revolving
Account under this subsection shall accrue to the account and may
be used to provide heating bill payment and crisis assistance to
electricity consumers whose primary source of heat is not
electricity.
' (f) Notwithstanding ORS 757.310, the commission may allow an
electric company { + or Oregon Community Power + } to provide
reduced rates or other payment or crisis assistance or low-income
program assistance to a low-income household eligible for
assistance under the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Act of 1981, as amended and in effect on July 23, 1999.
' (8) For purposes of this section, 'retail electricity
consumers' includes any direct service industrial consumer that
purchases electricity without purchasing distribution services
from the electric utility.
' { + (9) For purposes of this section, amounts collected by
Oregon Community Power through public purpose charges are not
considered moneys received from electric utility operations. + }
' .
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