74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 401
Senate Bill 461
Sponsored by Senator DECKERT
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Increases amount to be collected from retail electricity
consumers for low-income electric bill payment assistance.
Requires annual amount to be adjusted for inflation.
Applies to electricity consumer billings that are made on or
after January 1, 2008.
Declares emergency, effective on passage.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to low-income electric bill payment assistance; creating
new provisions; amending ORS 757.612; and declaring an
emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 757.612 is amended to read:
757.612. (1) There is established an annual public purpose
expenditure standard for electric companies 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 offers direct
access to its retail electricity consumers, except residential
electricity consumers, the electric company shall collect a
public purpose charge from all of the retail electricity
consumers located within its service area for a period of 10
years. 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 or 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 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.
(b) Subject to paragraph (e) of this subsection, funds
collected by an electric company 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 new
renewable energy resources.
(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 shall be paid out of the funds
collected through public purpose charges. The commission may
require that an electric company 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
and may require an electric company 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 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, 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.
(e)(A) The first 10 percent of the funds collected annually by
an electric company 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. 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.
(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 establish a different public purpose
charge than the public purpose charge otherwise described in
subsection (2) of this section for an individual retail
electricity consumer or any class of retail electricity consumers
located within the service area of an electric company, provided
that a retail electricity consumer with a load greater than one
average megawatt is not required to pay a public purpose charge
in excess of three percent of its total cost of electricity
services.
(g) The commission shall remove from the rates of each electric
company any costs for public purposes described in subsection (1)
of this section that are included in rates. A rate adjustment
under this paragraph shall be effective on the date that the
electric company begins collecting public purpose charges.
(4) An electric company that satisfies its obligations under
this section shall have no further obligation to invest in
conservation, new market transformation, new renewable energy
resources 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, 469.860 to 469.900 and 758.505
to 758.555.
(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 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 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. 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. - }
{ + (b) In calendar year 2008, electric companies shall
collect $15 million for low-income electric bill payment
assistance. The commission shall determine each electric
company's proportionate share of the annual amount for calendar
year 2008 and shall determine the amount to be collected from
retail electricity consumers of each company. The commission may
set different amounts for commercial and residential consumers.
In calendar year 2009 and subsequent calendar years, the
commission shall adjust the amount to be collected from each
consumer by multiplying the amount paid by the consumer in the
preceding year by the percentage by which the monthly averaged
U.S. City Average Consumer Price Index, as defined by ORS 308.250
(4), for the 12 consecutive months ending August 31 of the prior
calendar year exceeds the monthly averaged index for the
preceding year. In no event shall a retail electricity consumer
be 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
shall be expended in the service area of the electric company
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 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.
SECTION 2. { + The amendments to ORS 757.612 by section 1 of
this 2007 Act apply to electricity consumer billings that are
made on or after January 1, 2008. + }
SECTION 3. { + This 2007 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2007 Act takes effect on its
passage. + }
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