2013 Oregon Revised Statutes
Volume : 11 - Public Health, Housing, Environment
Chapter 470 - Small Scale Local Energy Projects
Section 470.720 - Consumer-owned utilities; investor-owned utilities; information to State Department of Energy; rules.

All investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned utilities that have customers enrolled in energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan programs shall, at the request of the Director of the State Department of Energy, provide the director with the following information in aggregated form regarding the loans:

(1) Repayment performance;

(2) Default rates;

(3) Energy savings data; and

(4) Any other information specified by rule adopted by the director pursuant to ORS 470.140. [2010 c.92 §10]

Note: Sections 42 to 45 and 49, chapter 753, Oregon Laws 2009, provide:

Sec. 42. (1) The Director of the State Department of Energy shall initiate the energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program described in ORS 470.500 to 470.710 in phases through a series of pilot programs, limiting the geographic availability and other features of the program as the director considers necessary to facilitate an orderly and successful implementation of the program. The director shall initiate the program on a statewide basis as quickly as the director considers practicable, but in no event later than June 30, 2011, to achieve the benefits of the program while ensuring high participant satisfaction and program integrity.

(2) The director shall endeavor to establish pilot programs initially in sustainable energy territories that reflect a variety of population densities. The director may give preference to territories that request to participate in the pilot program. [2009 c.753 §42; 2010 c.92 §11]

Sec. 43. (1) The Public Purpose Fund Administrator shall initiate pilot programs in investor-owned utility service territories to demonstrate the feasibility of innovative approaches to financing and installing energy efficiency and sustainable technology measures as described in sections 2 to 41 of this 2009 Act [470.500 to 470.710] in residences and commercial buildings in urban and rural communities. The pilot programs shall test:

(a) The effectiveness of direct contact, door-to-door, media outlet and other community-focused outreach and solicitation strategies designed to provide potential energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program participants with information about energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities under the program and under similar local, state and federal incentive programs;

(b) The costs and benefits of taking alternative approaches to energy audits, including but not limited to, the identification of measures that are cost-effective and time-effective, take advantage of economies of scale and produce results that are accurate and are replicable for equivalent base efficiency packages;

(c) Ways to assist program participants in understanding and accessing small scale local energy project funding and making informed decisions in selecting appropriate energy efficiency and renewable energy projects;

(d) The effectiveness of various levels of loan offset grants as an incentive to program participation;

(e) The effectiveness of on-billing financing as a means of loan repayment and the effectiveness of fixture filings, liens or other forms of security for loans;

(f) The feasibility and effectiveness of coordinated installations of residential and commercial structure energy packages overseen by a single project manager;

(g) The manner in which the program interacts or conflicts with existing consumer-owned utility loan programs and other utility and regional energy efficiency programs;

(h) The relative demand for loan program services among residential and commercial properties and between low-income and other households, and factors that influence that relative demand;

(i) The administrative costs and participation rates associated with various forms of loan security; and

(j) Other strategies and measures identified by the State Department of Energy or the Public Utility Commission.

(2) The Public Purpose Fund Administrator shall report to the commission no later than October 1, 2010. The administrator shall provide a copy of the report to the State Department of Energy. The report shall evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot programs, and shall include an evaluation of the extent to which various strategies and measures:

(a) Help to produce significantly higher rates of energy savings or renewable energy production;

(b) Increase participation in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs;

(c) Increase the number of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures installed per building; and

(d) Reduce the administrative cost per building of providing energy efficiency and renewable energy services.

(3) The commission shall review the report and:

(a) Order full implementation of the successful energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program measures and strategies in investor-owned utility service territories; or

(b) Order the partial implementation of energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program measures and strategies and make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly for appropriate statutory modification of the program.

(4) When carrying out pilot programs under this section, the Public Purpose Fund Administrator and sustainable energy project managers shall cooperate and coordinate their efforts with the efforts of local utilities and encourage utilities to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy and to engage in outreach and promotional efforts to inform customers of the utility about the energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program. The Public Purpose Fund Administrator and project managers shall coordinate with gas utilities regarding any changes to a gas pipeline and with electric utilities regarding electric charging or any changes to electrical connections that are external to a structure. The Public Purpose Fund Administrator and project managers shall coordinate with a gas utility regarding the installation of appliances used for space heating, water heating and compressed natural gas refueling. [2009 c.753 §43]

Sec. 44. (1) The Director of the State Department of Energy shall consult with consumer-owned utilities and other interested parties to develop a pilot program for energy efficiency and sustainable technology as described in sections 2 to 41 of this 2009 Act [470.500 to 470.710] for use in the consumer-owned utility service territories. The director shall solicit one or more consumer-owned utilities to act as sustainable energy project managers for the pilot program. The director shall solicit utilities to act as project managers for the developed pilot program no later than 180 days after the effective date of this 2009 Act [July 22, 2009].

(2) The pilot program shall test:

(a) The effectiveness of direct contact, door-to-door, media outlet and other community-focused outreach and solicitation strategies designed to provide potential energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program participants with information about energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities under the program and under similar local, state and federal incentive programs;

(b) The costs and benefits of taking alternative approaches to energy audits, including but not limited to identifying measures that are cost-effective and time-effective, taking advantage of economies of scale and producing results that are accurate and are replicable for equivalent base efficiency packages;

(c) Ways to assist program participants in understanding and accessing small scale local energy project funding and making informed decisions in selecting appropriate energy efficiency and renewable energy projects;

(d) The effectiveness of various levels of loan offset grants as incentives to program participation;

(e) The effectiveness of on-billing financing as a means of loan repayment and the effectiveness of fixture filings, liens or other forms of security for loans;

(f) The feasibility and effectiveness of coordinated installations of residential and commercial structure energy packages overseen by a single project manager;

(g) The manner in which the program interacts or conflicts with existing consumer-owned utility loan programs and other utility and regional energy efficiency programs;

(h) The relative demand for loan program services among residential and commercial properties and between low-income and other households, and factors that influence that relative demand;

(i) The administrative costs and participation rates associated with various forms of loan security; and

(j) Other strategies and measures identified by the director.

(3) The sustainable energy project managers in the consumer-owned utility service areas shall report to the director no later than October 1, 2010. The report shall evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program and shall include an evaluation of the extent to which various program strategies and measures:

(a) Help to produce significantly higher rates of energy savings or renewable energy production;

(b) Increase participation in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs;

(c) Increase the number of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures installed per building; and

(d) Reduce the administrative cost per building of providing energy efficiency and renewable energy services.

(4) When carrying out pilot programs under this section, the director and the sustainable energy project managers shall cooperate and coordinate their efforts with the efforts of local utilities and encourage utilities to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy and to engage in outreach and promotional efforts to inform customers of the utility about the energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program. [2009 c.753 §44]

Sec. 45. A contractor may construct small scale local energy projects financed under a pilot program described in sections 42 to 44 of this 2009 Act without being certified under section 51 of this 2009 Act [701.119] if:

(1) No certified contractor is available to construct the project;

(2) The Public Purpose Fund Administrator or the sustainable energy project manager has approved allowing the contractor to implement projects financed under the energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program; and

(3) The contractor pays wages to employees used for energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program projects at a rate equal to at least 180 percent of the state minimum wage or, if the project is for a commercial structure or is subject to prevailing wage laws, the prevailing wage for each trade or occupation employed. As used in this subsection, "commercial structure" means a structure other than a residential structure as defined in ORS 701.005. [2009 c.753 §45]

Sec. 49. Sections 42, 43, 44, 45 and 47a, chapter 753, Oregon Laws 2009, are repealed January 2, 2016. [2009 c.753 §49; 2010 c.92 §15; 2013 c.8 §18]

Note: Sections 1 and 14 (1), chapter 92, Oregon Laws 2010, provide:

Sec. 1. (1) ORS 470.505 does not apply to the pilot programs described in sections 42 to 45, chapter 753, Oregon Laws 2009.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of ORS chapter 470, if the Director of the State Department of Energy determines that available financial resources in the Jobs, Energy and Schools Fund established in ORS 470.575 are insufficient to allow operation of the pilot programs described in sections 42 to 45, chapter 753, Oregon Laws 2009, the director may delay or suspend the pilot programs. [2010 c.92 §1; 2011 c.467 §19]

Sec. 14. (1) Section 1 of this 2010 Act is repealed January 2, 2016. [2010 c.92 §14(1)]