Oregon Students Return to More Comfortable, Energy Efficient Classrooms

Many students, educators, and staff are returning to Oregon classrooms this month, following a challenging year like no other. When trading Zoom classes for in-person desks once again, students and educators in some districts are also returning to more comfortable classrooms thanks to energy improvement projects funded by the Public Purpose Charge Schools Program.

Senate Bill 1149, originally passed in 1999, directed Oregon’s two largest electric utilities – Portland General Electric and Pacific Power – to collect a “Public Purpose Charge” from their customers. The charge collected is equal to 3 percent of the total revenues from electricity services. PGE and Pacific Power customers can see the charge appear on their bills each month (check out our Energy Bills 101 from the 2020 Biennial Energy Report for more).

Some PPC funds collected are distributed to school districts in the utilities’ territories for energy projects. The funds support new windows, upgraded heating and cooling systems, building envelope improvements, energy efficient lighting, domestic hot water systems, and more – and, as of January 2020, funds can also support fleet audits or the purchase of zero-emission vehicles or buses and charging stations.

When the COVID-19 pandemic left classrooms empty last year, some school districts made the best of a bad situation and took the opportunity to complete energy projects. For example, the Grants Pass School District in Southern Oregon took advantage and upgraded lighting at many of their facilities in the district, nine of which were schools eligible to use PPC funds. The $1.3 million project among the eligible schools was supported by nearly $1 million in PCC funds, and is projected to save nearly 800,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That’s enough to power about 75 homes for a year.

The good news? This year, the Oregon Legislature extended and modernized the Public Purpose Charge program through House Bill 3141, so schools will have additional funding for energy upgrades through the year 2036!

The Oregon Department of Energy’s Schools Team is available to help school districts navigate the PPC program and connect with qualified commissioning firms to implement projects. Learn more about the Public Purpose Charge and the programs it supports on our website.