Oregon Statutes 470.660 – Investor-owned utilities; requirements of system; rules; waiver
(1) All investor-owned utilities, except those that have withheld consent under ORS § 470.510 (3), shall provide on-bill financing, except as described in subsection (4) of this section. After an investor-owned utility has established an on-bill financing system, an energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan shall be repaid by on-bill financing unless the loan agreement specifies that the State Department of Energy and the borrower have agreed to an alternative method for ensuring repayment of the loan.
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 470.660
- Energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan: means a loan for a small scale local energy project that is repayable by means of:
(a) A charge included with the participant's utility customer account billing; or
(b) An alternative repayment method identified by the department and the borrower and specified in the loan agreement. See Oregon Statutes 470.050
- Energy Project Supplemental Fund: means the fund established under ORS § 470. See Oregon Statutes 470.050
- Loan: includes the purchase or other acquisition of evidence of indebtedness and money used for the purchase or other acquisition of evidence of indebtedness. See Oregon Statutes 470.050
- On-bill financing: means a mechanism for collecting the repayment of an energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan through a utility customer account billing system. See Oregon Statutes 470.050
- Small scale local energy project: means any of the following:
(a) A system, mechanism or series of mechanisms located primarily in Oregon that directly or indirectly uses or enables the use of, by the applicant or another person, renewable resources including, but not limited to, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, waste heat or water resources to produce energy, including heat, electricity and substitute fuels, to meet a local community or regional energy need in this state. See Oregon Statutes 470.050
- Sustainable energy project manager: means the organization responsible for promoting the energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan program or the clean energy deployment program and related incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the neighborhood and community level. See Oregon Statutes 470.050
(2) Unless the Public Utility Commission grants an investor-owned utility a waiver under subsection (4) of this section, the on-bill financing system of the utility must:
(a) Enable a customer to make a single payment to satisfy the periodic utility charges and repayment on an energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan;
(b) Provide a clearly identifiable line item or separate statement in the utility bill that shows the energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan repayment amount; and
(c) Direct energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan repayment amounts collected by the utility to the appropriate sustainable energy project manager or to the department for deposit to the credit of the Small Scale Local Energy Project Administration and Bond Sinking Fund, Energy Project Bond Loan Fund or Energy Project Supplemental Fund.
(3) The Public Utility Commission shall adopt rules for the use of on-bill financing by investor-owned utilities. The rules may include, but need not be limited to, rules regarding nonpayment, insufficient payment, delinquency notices, repayment charge transfers, processing fees, late fees and refunds. The commission may not adopt any rule that imposes responsibility for the repayment of an energy efficiency and sustainable technology loan on the utility.
(4) The commission may waive the requirement that an investor-owned utility provide on-bill financing for one or more loans if the commission determines that providing the on-bill financing is not practicable. If the commission grants a utility a waiver under this subsection, the utility shall bill the affected customers for loan repayment separately from any utility customer meter billings. [2009 c.753 § 32; 2010 c.92 § 7; 2013 c.8 § 10]