Oregon

Summary Oregon energy utilities were first required to offer residential weatherization assistance to their customers by the 1981 Residential Energy Conservation Act. In 1989, the Oregon Public Utility Commission’s (OPUC’s) Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) Order No. 89-507 required the utilities to consider energy efficiency as a resource when developing plans.   Oregon's 1999 restructuring law, SB1149, established a public purpose charge to support electric energy efficiency, renewable energy, and low-income programs. The public purpose charge is equal to 3% of the total revenues collected by the utilities and provides about $60 million per year for the electric programs. Oregon electric utilities spent $69.1 million on electric energy efficiency programs in 2007, saving 437,494 MWh. The Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO), a nonprofit organization established by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) in 2002, administers most of the statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Although decoupling has not been established for electric utilities, the Oregon PUC is open to considering such proposals. NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas adopted public purpose funding for natural gas energy efficiency programs and decoupling mechanisms in Order Nos. 02-634 and 06-191, respectively.  Avista Utilities’ natural gas programs are funded through deferred accounts.  Average expenditures for the natural gas programs are $10-$12 million per year.  The ETO administers the majority of the statewide natural gas energy efficiency programs.

Oregon's energy customers are served by statewide programs administered by the nonprofit Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO). The ETO was created during the electric utility restructuring to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. The state’s electric energy efficiency programs are required by legislation (SB1149). Oregon electric utilities saved 437,494 MWh through electric energy efficiency programs in 2007.

The ETO also receives funding from natural gas utilities (NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas) to administer natural gas efficiency programs. Avista Utilities funds natural gas efficiency programs through deferred accounts and administers its own programs. The natural gas energy efficiency programs in Oregon are required by legislation (ORS 469.631 to 469.645) and regulatory orders (Order Nos. 02-634 and No. 06-191). Oregon natural gas utilities contributed $11.6 million to natural gas energy efficiency programs in 2007.

Oregon's energy efficiency programs are also supported by strong regional organizations—the Bonneville Power Administration, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Some utilities also provide programs and services that supplement those of the ETO. The ETO has achieved significant success in a short time. Since its creation in 2002, the organization has rapidly developed and implemented a comprehensive menu of programs and services for customer energy efficiency.

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Oregon's public purpose charge (3% of the total revenues collected by the utilities from customer electric bills) provides roughly $60 million per year to support energy efficiency, renewable energy, and low-income programs in Oregon. This funding supports the Energy Trust of Oregon's electric programs as well as electric low-income programs provided by Oregon Housing and Community Services, a state agency. In 2007, SB 838 extended the public purpose charge through 2025. Total spending on electric energy efficiency programs in Oregon in 2007 was $69.1 million.

The ETO also receives funding from natural gas utilities (NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas) to administer natural gas efficiency programs. NW Natural residential and commercial customers are assessed charges equal to 0.25% of the customers’ monthly bills to fund low-income weatherization assistance and 0.65% of the customers’ monthly bills to fund enhanced energy efficiency programs. Residential customers also contribute an additional $.25 per bill to support low-income payment assistance programs. Cascade Natural Gas collects a 0.75% public purpose funding surcharge from its residential and commercial customers. Avista Utilities funds natural gas efficiency programs through deferred accounts and administers its own programs. Collectively, natural gas utilities contributed $11.6 million to natural gas energy efficiency programs in 2007.

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The Oregon Public Utility Commission does establish and set annual targets for the Energy Trust of Oregon. These benchmarks include electric and natural gas efficiency performance targets. For 2006, the targets for electricity were at least 20 average MW of efficiency savings at an average levelized lifecycle cost of no more than two cents per kilowatt-hour. For 2006, the targets for natural gas were savings of at least 700,000 therms at an average levelized lifecycle cost of no more than 30 cents per therm.

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Cascade Natural Gas was approved for margin-per-customer decoupling effective May 1, 2006, while Northwest Natural Gas has been implementing use-per-customer decoupling since 2003. Both make a base rate decoupling adjustment to reflect changes in use per customer over the past year on a prospective basis in the following year’s rates. Decoupling reduces the financial disincentive for utilities to support energy efficiency by separating utilities’ profits from their levels of sales.

As part of Cascade’s Settlement Agreement, it donates 0.75% of revenues to the Energy Trust of Oregon for investment in energy efficiency programs. Portland General Electric (PGE) implements revenue-per-customer decoupling (called Sales Normalization Adjustment) for residential, small business, and “other” customers. Lost Revenue Recovery is implemented for commercial and industrial consumers with loads less than 1 average megawatt. The program will operate for two years beginning January 1, 2009. The program also has a 2% rate cap on the amount recoverable by PGE through fixed costs in usage-based rate adjustments and reduces PGE’s return on equity by 10 basis points. (Cascade Natural Gas Docket No. UG 167, Order No. 06-191, April 2006; Northwest Natural Gas Docket No. UG 163, Order No. 07-426 (extending through October 2012 the prior decoupling mechanism approved in Docket No. UG 152, Order No. 03-507); Portland General Electric; Docket No. UE-197; Order Nos. 09-020 and 09-176)

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None in place or proposed.

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Oregon is part of the four-state region included in the scope of operations for the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC), which has responsibility for resource planning for the region. NPCC has identified energy efficiency and conservation as the priority resource for meeting load growth in the region and expects that this resource can address all load growth through 2012 and about 50% of all load growth through 2024.

The Energy Trust of Oregon develops estimates of savings from its programs that utilities serving the state (Pacificorp and Portland General Electric) use in their load forecasts and planning processes.

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• Energy Trust of Oregon

• Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

• Northwest Power and Conservation Council

• Oregon Public Utility Commission

• Oregon Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

• SB1149

• SB 838
  
  

Last Updated 08/19/2009

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