June 29, 2010

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) residential and business customers who want to participate in a new solar energy incentive pilot program can apply on PGE’s website beginning at 8 a.m., July 1 at http://portlandgeneral.com/solar.

The program, called the Solar Payment Option, is available to PGE customers who want to install solar energy panels on their business or residence and have PGE pay them for the power the system produces. Other investor-owned utilities in Oregon are also implementing the program in their operating areas.

The Solar Payment Option is an alternative to PGE’s existing Net Metering solar incentive program. Instead of receiving kilowatt-hour credits like Net Metering customers, Solar Payment Option customers will receive payments from PGE for the electricity generated by their qualifying solar installations.  Importantly, customers who participate in the Solar Payment Option will not qualify for Oregon solar energy tax credits or Energy Trust of Oregon incentives available through Net Metering, so they will be required to pay more of the up-front installation cost. Their solar projects would still be eligible for federal tax credits.

“This new solar incentive pilot program provides our customers another program option to develop solar energy resources for their home or business,” said Carol Dillin, vice president of customers and economic development at PGE. "We look forward to learning from our customers’ experience over the course of this pilot.”

The solar incentive project was created by the Oregon Legislature in 2009 as a way to encourage development of solar energy projects in the state.

The program will be operated under guidelines by the Oregon Public Utility Commission, which will reexamine the fixed incentive rate twice per year to determine if it needs adjusting. The initial incentive rate paid to customers differs from region to region. The incentive rate will be slightly less in sunnier regions that have more potential for solar generation, like eastern Oregon.

The application process for PGE customers:

Customers should go online to http://portlandgeneral.com/solar. They should have their e-mail address, site location, anticipated online date, the name of the solar installer they plan to use (must be an Energy Trust of Oregon-approved licensed solar contractor), the PGE account number for the site, the size of installation they are planning, the estimated annual production for the system in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and credit card information for a required deposit of $20 per kilowatt. An average residential system is about 3 kilowatts so a $60 deposit would be required. This deposit, which will be refunded upon project completion, is meant to prevent frivolous applications that lock up capacity and make it unavailable to others.

The site contains security measures that prevent someone from making these applications in an automated way that would be unfair to those waiting their turn.

Customers seeking to apply should also be aware of some of the financial details of the program:

• Additional meter. In order for customers to generate power, place it on the electrical grid and have PGE pay them for it, customers will need a second PGE meter installed.   There is no cost for the meter; however, there is a recurring $10 per month service fee for participation.
• Insurance. Per state guidelines PGE is requiring customers installing systems under this program to have $1 million in liability insurance.
• Incentive rate. Depending on the size and location of a customer’s installation, the base rate paid by PGE ranges from 55 cents to 65 cents per kilowatt hour. The rate is set by the Oregon Public Utility Commission and is meant to provide an incentive to help a customer recover the total project cost (financing, installation, insurance and maintenance); it is not meant to approximate market rates for power.
• Size of installation. For systems up to and including 100 kW, the estimated annual production of an installed system cannot exceed 90 percent of a customer’s annual use.
• Payment. Customers will receive payments per kWh generated on a monthly basis, less their retail rate.  Should generation exceed annual use, excess power will be donated to Oregon HEAT, Inc. to assist customers who need assistance paying their energy bills.
• 15-year contract. When a customer has obtained approval for an installation, PGE will sign a 15-year contract with the customer guaranteeing a single, enduring price per kilowatt-hour. That price will not change during the course of the contract. Contracts signed during other allotment periods may have a different incentive rate, but they will still be for 15 years.  Incentive rates will be changed by the PUC using a prescribed mechanism that factors in the relative speed with which the previous allotment of capacity was claimed.
• Applications for systems over 100 kW require following a different set of procedures. For more information on this competitive bid process, go to http://portlandgeneral.com/solar.