The Oregon Public Utility Commission has resolved questions on Oregon law and OPUC regulations on solar facilities. The commission issued an order in response to a joint petition from Honeywell International, Inc., Honeywell Global Finance, LLC, and PacificCorp for clarification on how regulations would apply to solar facilities installed on a utility customer's property but owned by a third-party developer.

According to the OPUC's order, both solar and wind facilities owned or leased by a third party qualify for net metering. The order also established that neither solar nor wind facilities owned or leased by a third party will be considered public utilities or electricity service suppliers under Oregon law. This ruling is in line with Oregon law, which specifically describes solar and wind facilities as exempt from the definition of a public utility. This ruling also makes clear that electricity sales from net-metered solar and wind facilities are exempt from regulation by the OPUC.

The OPUC did decline to decide whether there is any federal jurisdiction over third-party sales to utility customers. The commission noted that such a jursidiction was unlikely, however, given that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already ruled that net-metering is not a sale under the Federal Power Act.

This order makes it easier for developers of both solar and wind installations to move forward and to begin providing power to customers, at least in Oregon.

Photo — Aaron Schmidt