1. (1) An electric company may submit or allow its affiliates to submit bids in response to the electric company’s request for proposals.

   1. (a) Electric company and affiliate bids must be treated in the same manner as other bids.

   2. (b) Any individual who participates or has participated in the development of an RFP or the evaluation or scoring of bids on behalf of the electric company within the past three years may not participate in the preparation of an electric company or affiliate bid and must be screened from that process.

      1. (A) With the filing of a draft RFP for approval under OAR 860-089-0250, the electric company must disclose the current and past roles within the past five years of all company employees engaged with development or submission of a benchmark or affiliate bid and whether or not each employee had or has access to information relevant to developing an electric company or affiliate bid that is not available to potential bidders either generally or under the terms of a protective order or information that was only available to the employee because the employee is a signatory to a protective order and that protective order remains in effect. This rule does not require disclosure of access to information about the content of a benchmark or affiliate bid for the current RFP.
      2. (B) If the Commission approves the draft RFP, the electric company must file an update of the disclosure required under paragraph (A) within seven calendar days and file an additional update every three months thereafter until the completion of the RFP. “Completion of the RFP” for purposes of this requirement means either the RFP has been withdrawn or negotiations are complete.
2. (2) An electric company may propose a benchmark bid in response to its RFP to provide a potential cost-based alternative for customers.
3. (3) The electric company may make one or more elements of the benchmark resource owned or secured by the electric company (e.g., site, transmission rights, or fuel arrangements) available for use in third-party bids, and, if it does, it must include details relevant to the RFP about such elements in the draft RFP and any RFP it issues following approval by the Commission. Details about benchmark resource elements secured by the electric company that become available to third-party bidders after issuance of the RFP must be provided to potential bidders reasonably in advance of the due date to submit third-party bids. If benchmark resource elements secured by the electric company are not made available to all bidders, it must provide analysis demonstrating how that decision is in the best interest of customers when seeking approval of a draft RFP under OAR 860-089-0250. The electric company must include that same analysis when requesting acknowledgement of a final shortlist and when seeking recovery of the costs of the resource in rates, along with any relevant updates.
4. (4) The electric company must evaluate whether it is in the best interest of customers to make the use of transmission rights held by the electric company available to third-party bidders in an RFP.  If it does make such rights available, it must include details relevant to the RFP in the Draft RFP and any RFP it issues following approval by the Commission.  Details about transmission rights secured by the electric company that become available to third-party bidders after issuance of the RFP must be provided to potential bidders reasonably in advance of the due date to submit third-party bids. If the electric company does not make transmission rights available to third-party bidders, it must provide analysis demonstrating how that decision is in the best interest of customers when seeking approval of a draft RFP under OAR 860-089-0250. The electric company must include that same analysis when requesting acknowledgement of a final shortlist and when seeking recovery of the costs of the resource in rates, along with any relevant updates.
5. (5) If electric company benchmark resource elements or transmission rights are offered and made available for use in third-party bids, then the RFP may provide for appropriate compensation of electric company resources by third-party bidders.
6. (6) An electric company may consider ownership transfers within an RFP solicitation.
7. (7) The electric company issuing the RFP must allow independent power producers to submit bids with and without an option to renew and may not require that bids include an option for transferring ownership of the resource.

Statutory/Other Authority

ORS 756.060 & ORS 469A.075

Statutes/Other Implemented

ORS 469A.075 & ORS 756.040

History

PUC 2-2026, amend filed 03/23/2026, effective 03/23/2026
PUC 4-2018, adopt filed 08/30/2018, effective 08/30/2018