Oregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard Reaches 2025 Milestone for Smaller Utilities
Many states, including Oregon, have adopted what’s known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS. An RPS typically establishes requirements for electric utilities to procure a certain percentage of the electricity they sell to customers from renewable resources by a specific date. The standard incentivizes the use of renewable resources like wind and solar over fossil fuel resources like coal or natural gas.
Oregon first adopted an RPS in 2007 through Senate Bill 838. SB 838 required “large” utilities to get at least 5 percent of their electricity from qualifying renewable resources starting in 2011. SB 838 set an increasing requirement over time that reached at least 25 percent by 2025. In 2016, Senate Bill 1547 strengthened Oregon’s RPS to at least 27 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2040 for large investor-owned utilities Pacific Power and Portland General Electric. Large consumer-owned utilities like the Eugene Water & Electric Board were kept to the 25 percent by 2025 standard.
Almost 20 years after Oregon’s initial RPS adoption, the state has reached a new RPS milestone in 2025: “small” electric utilities must also now demonstrate that they get at least 5 percent of their electricity from qualifying resources. The actual percentage will depend on utility sales for the year; if sales are high enough, a small utility’s RPS standard can be at least 10 percent. A small utility can even grow into a large utility over time.
Oregon’s investor-owned utilities report on their RPS plans and compliance to the Public Utility Commission. Consumer-owned utilities report on compliance to their governing board and their members. The Oregon Department of Energy shares these reports on its website — reports for 2025 will likely be available by mid-2026.
Policies like the Renewable Portfolio Standard support Oregon’s equitable transition to a clean energy future. The Oregon Department of Energy is leading an effort to develop a new Oregon Energy Strategy, which will identify potential pathways to achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions and recommend policy changes to help the state reach those goals. Learn more about this effort, including how to get involved and how to share your ideas for potential policy recommendations, on ODOE’s website.
What About Hydropower?
Hydropower facilities make up a large and important part of Oregon’s electricity resource mix. In some Oregon utility territories, hydropower provides more than 90 percent of consumers’ electricity. But much of this hydropower, which is produced from dams built decades ago, is not eligible for credit toward Oregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. The RPS was created to encourage development of new renewable electricity resources. But the RPS can still include some hydropower from these older facilities in two ways: generation that’s attributable to efficiency upgrades made to existing facilities after 1995, and generation from an existing facility if it became certified as a low-impact hydro facility after 1995. Low-impact hydropower projects are designed and operated to minimize effects on the environment, such as fish migration and ecosystems. The RPS also includes exemptions to avoid requiring utilities to buy new renewables instead of lower-cost hydropower. For instance, in most years, the Eugene Water & Electric Board has reported zero RPS obligation after taking these exemptions into account.