Bill would require third-party study to update greenhouse gas factor for unspecified electricity

House Bill 3539 would direct the Environmental Quality Commission, and the Department of Environmental Quality at the EQC's direction, to contract with a third party to study and determine a greenhouse gas reporting emissions factor for electricity purchased from unspecified sources.

Representative Bobby Levy introduced the bill and told the committee the existing emissions factor (0.428 metric tons CO2 per MWh) is nearly two decades old and was developed from Western Interconnection data from 2006–2008. Levy said an updated factor would ground emissions reporting in current data and be updated at least every five years, with rule updates required by Jan. 1, 2027.

JL Wilson, representing the Alliance of Western Energy Customers, supported the bill and explained that “unspecified electricity” — electricity purchased without attribution to a particular generation facility — currently represents about 20% of the resource mix and that updating the emissions factor would improve accuracy for compliance under House Bill 2021.

Committee members asked whether the updated factor might be higher or lower than the existing number; supporters said if the grid has cleaned since 2008, the factor could be lower, but the point of the bill is to use current, reliable data rather than an outdated proxy.

The committee did not complete paperwork for a work session and carried the matter to April 8 for further consideration.

Why it matters: the updated factor would affect emissions accounting for utilities and customers that rely on unspecified market purchases, with implications for compliance and cost under Oregon's climate laws.

Next steps: the committee carried the work session to April 8 to allow staff to prepare the necessary materials.