(1)(a) A governing board of a consumer-owned utility may not enter into a long-term financial commitment unless the baseload electricity acquired under the commitment is produced by a generating facility that complies with a greenhouse gas emissions standard established under ORS § 757.528.

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(b) A generating facility complies with the greenhouse gas emissions standard established under ORS § 757.528 if the rate of emissions of the facility does not exceed the emissions standard.

(c) In determining whether a generating facility complies with the emissions standard, the total emissions associated with producing baseload electricity at the generating facility shall be included in determining the rate of emissions of greenhouse gases. The total emissions associated with producing electricity at the generating facility do not include emissions associated with transportation, fuel extraction or other life-cycle emissions associated with obtaining the fuel for the facility.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the emissions standard does not apply to greenhouse gas emissions produced by a generating facility owned by a consumer-owned utility or contracted through a long-term financial commitment if the emissions:

(a) Come from a facility powered exclusively by renewable energy sources described in ORS § 469A.025;

(b) Come from a cogeneration facility in this state that is fueled by natural gas, synthetic gas, distillate fuels, waste gas or a combination of these fuels, and that is producing energy, in service for tax purposes, commercially operable, or in rates as of July 1, 2010, until the facility is subject to a new long-term financial commitment; or

(c) Come from a generating facility that has in place a plan to be a low-carbon emission resource, as determined by the State Department of Energy, pursuant to sufficient technical documentation, within seven years of commencing plant operations.

(3) The governing board may provide an exemption for an individual generating facility from the emissions performance standard to address:

(a) Unanticipated electricity system reliability needs;

(b) Catastrophic events or threat of significant financial harm that may arise from unforeseen circumstances; or

(c) Long-term financial commitments between members of a joint operating entity recognized under federal law or the joint operating entity’s predecessor organization, or with the joint operating entity for a baseload resource that the consumer-owned utility had an ownership interest in prior to July 1, 2010.

(4) A governing board shall report to the consumer-owned utility’s customers or members and to the State Department of Energy information on any case-by-case exemption from the emissions performance standard granted by the governing board.

(5) For purposes of ORS § 757.522 to 757.536, a long-term financial commitment for a consumer-owned utility does not include agreements to purchase electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration.

(6) The department by rule shall establish:

(a) Standards for identifying contracts for electricity for which the emissions cannot readily be determined with any specificity; and

(b) Emissions to be attributed to such contracts for purposes of determining compliance with the emissions standard established under ORS § 757.528. [2009 c.751 § 5]

See note under 757.522.

[Repealed by 1971 c.655 § 250]