OAR 330-160-0015: Definitions

For the purposes of Oregon Administrative Rules, chapter 330, division 160, the following definitions apply unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Banked Renewable Energy Certificate” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (2) “Bundled Renewable Energy Certificate” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (3) “Compliance Year” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (4) “Department” means the Oregon Department of Energy. (5) “Director” means the Director of the Oregon Department of Energy. (6) "Distribution Utility" has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (7) Electricity Service Supplier has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (7) “Electric Utility” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (8) “Electric Utility” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (9) “Federal Columbia River Power System” (FCRPS) means the transmission system constructed and operated by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the hydroelectric dams constructed and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation in Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho. (10) “Generator representative” means an electricity generating facility’s owner, operator or WREGIS account holder. (11) “High Water Mark Contract” means a power sales contract between a consumer-owned utility and BPA that contains a contract high water mark, and under which the utility purchases power from BPA at rates established by BPA in accordance with the tiered rate methodology. (12) “Joint Operating Entity” means an entity that was lawfully organized under State law as a public body or cooperative prior to September 22, 2000, and is formed by and whose members or participants are two or more public bodies or cooperatives, each of which was a customer of BPA on or before January 1, 1999. (13) “Multiple-fuel facility” means a facility that is capable of generating electricity using more than one type of fuel. A facility that uses fossil fuel for generator start-up but otherwise uses a single eligible resource and is not required to register in WREGIS as a multi-fuel generating unit, as defined by WREGIS, is not a multiple-fuel facility. (14) “Oregon’s share” as used in ORS 469A.020(3), means the portion of Federal Columbia River Power System generation attributable to the Oregon load of hydroelectric efficiency upgrades that BPA provides to: (a) Each consumer-owned utility serving load located in Oregon, pursuant to a High Water Mark Contract; (b) Each Joint Operating Entity with retail utility members serving load located in Oregon, pursuant to a High Water Mark Contract; and (c) Each investor-owned utility participating in the Residential Exchange Program that serves load located in Oregon. (15) “Qualifying Electricity” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (16) “Qualifying thermal energy” means thermal energy that meets the requirements of OAR 330-160-0080. (17) “Renewable Energy Certificate” (REC or Certificate) means a unique representation of the environmental, economic, and social benefits associated with the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources that produce Qualifying Electricity. One Certificate is created in association with the generation of one MegaWatt-hour (MWh) of Qualifying Electricity. While a Certificate is always directly associated with the generation of one MWh of electricity, transactions for Certificates may be conducted independently of transactions for the associated electricity. (18) “Renewable Energy Source” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (19) “Residential Exchange Program” means the arrangement, based on section 5(c) of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, whereby regional utilities sell BPA an amount of power equal to their residential and small-farm load at their average system cost in exchange for federal electric power, and pass on the benefits to their residential and small-farm customers in the form of a bill credit. (20) “RPS” means the Oregon renewable portfolio standard as established in ORS 469A. (21) “Secondary purpose” means an end use for thermal energy that: (a) Is for heating, cooling, humidity control, or mechanical or chemical work; and (b) For which fuel or electricity would otherwise be consumed. (22) “Station service” means the energy that is used to operate an electric or thermal generating plant. It includes energy consumed for plant lighting, power, and auxiliary facilities in support of the electricity generation system. Station service includes thermal energy used to process the facility’s fuel. (23) “Stranded electricity” means qualifying electricity that: (a) Was generated between January 1, 2007, and March 4, 2011, by a generating unit that was registered in WREGIS on or before March 4, 2011; and (b) Was reported to the Department on or before March 11, 2011. (24) “Stranded thermal energy” means qualifying thermal energy that: (a) Was generated between March 8, 2016 and December 21, 2016; (b) Was generated by a facility for which an application for certification as Oregon RPS-eligible was submitted to the Department on or before January 1, 2018; and (c) Was reported to WREGIS no later than six months after the application for certification as Oregon RPS-eligible was approved by the Department. (25) “Thermal Renewable Energy Certificate” (T-REC) means a REC created in association with the generation of 3,412,000 British thermal units of qualifying thermal energy, which is equivalent to one REC created in association with the generation of one megawatt hour of Qualifying Electricity. (26) “Unbundled Renewable Energy Certificate” has the meaning in ORS 469A.005. (27) “Vintage” means the month and year that qualifying electricity was created in accordance with WREGIS protocol. (28) “WREGIS” means the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System, which is the renewable energy certificate tracking and reporting system established by the California Energy Commission and the Western Governors’ Association and governed by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council for use by states and provinces throughout the western power interconnection.