Advocates press legislature to raise standard PURPA contract cap for solar to 10 MW; utilities oppose codification

House Bill 3863 would require the Oregon Public Utility Commission to set an eligibility cap of no less than 10 megawatts for the use of standard avoided-cost rates and standard contracts under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), effectively extending the 10‑MW parity currently used for some resource types to solar.

Supporters said raising the statutory cap to 10 MW for solar would help small, local developers and farmers secure long-term contracts and financing. James Williams of the Community Renewable Energy Association and Angela Crowley Cook of the Oregon Solar and Storage Industries Association urged the committee to restore parity between solar and other small-scale renewables; they said promised PUC rulemaking (a docket referred to as “February”) has been open for years and has not delivered the parity they seek.

Opposing testimony from Portland General Electric and Pacific Power said the PUC already has authority to set thresholds and adjust them in response to market conditions; they warned that statutorily locking a 10‑MW cap would remove regulatory flexibility and could cause a surge of standard‑price PURPA projects that would be costly for ratepayers. PGE described a prior episode when the cap was at 10 MW and the state experienced a rush of more than 1,100 MW of proposed QFs, leading the PUC to later lower the cap. Pacific Power said standard contracts lock utilities into long-term prices and, if extended to more and larger projects without negotiation, could increase customer costs by preventing consideration of project-specific attributes like dispatchability, proximity and required system upgrades.

Ending: The committee closed the hearing on HB 3863 after extensive testimony from small‑scale project advocates and investor‑owned utilities; no committee vote on the bill was recorded during the meeting.