Oregon Statutes 261.253 – Restriction on public contract imposing unconditional or unlimited financial obligation on electric utility
(1) A public contract entered into by a noninvestor-owned electric utility may not contain a clause or condition that imposes an unconditional and unlimited financial obligation on the electric utility that is party to the contract unless the terms and conditions of the contract are subject to approval and are approved by the electors of the people’s utility district or city that owns the electric utility.
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 261.253
- City: includes any incorporated village or town. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- district: means an incorporated people's utility district, created under the provisions of this chapter. See Oregon Statutes 261.010
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Utility: means a plant, works or other property used for development, generation, storage, distribution or transmission of electricity, or development or transmission of water for domestic or municipal purposes, but transmission of water shall not include water for irrigation or reclamation purposes, except as secondary to and when used in conjunction with a hydroelectric plant. See Oregon Statutes 261.010
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section is intended to affect provisions of law requiring approval of electors for any particular type of public contract that are in effect on October 15, 1983, or that are later enacted.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section is intended to conflict with ORS § 279C.650 to 279C.670.
(4) This section does not apply to a public contract executed in connection with:
(a) The acquisition of renewable energy certificates;
(b) The acquisition, construction, improvement or equipping of, or the financing of any interest in, a renewable energy facility; or
(c) The acquisition or financing of any interest in electrical capacity needed to shape, firm or integrate electricity from a renewable energy facility.
(5) As used in this section:
(a) ‘Public contract’ includes a contract, note, general obligation bond or revenue bond by which the people’s utility district or city or any subdivision of any of them is obligated to pay for or finance the acquisition of goods, services, materials, real property or any interest therein, improvement, betterments or additions from any funds, including receipts from rates or charges assessed to or collected from its customers.
(b) ‘Unconditional and unlimited financial obligation’ means a public contract containing a provision that the people’s utility district or city that is party to the contract is obligated to make payments required by the contract whether or not the project to be undertaken thereunder is undertaken, completed, operable or operating notwithstanding the suspension, interruption, interference, reduction or curtailment of the output or product of the project. [1983 c.811 § 1; 2003 c.794 § 221; 2003 c.802 § 75; 2007 c.301 § 37]
261.253 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS Chapter 261 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.