Utility Reform Project v. Oregon Public Utility Commission

Summarized by:

  • Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
  • Area(s) of Law: Administrative Law
  • Date Filed: 04-06-2016
  • Case #: A150814
  • Judge(s)/Court Below: Garrett, J. for the Court; Ortega, P.J.; & DeVore, J.

Under ORS 757.355, recovery of administrative costs for issuing a consumer refund is not considered obtaining profit.

Petitioner challenged a Public Utility Commission (PUC) order allowing Portland General Electric to recover costs for issuing a consumer refund. Petitioner argued the recovery of costs would have amounted to a profit under ORS 757.355 (public utility may not obtain a profit from a plant not currently providing service to customers). Petitioner also argued that the record lacked the substantial evidence necessary for PUC to determine that PGE’s costs were not unreasonably incurred. The Court held that recovering costs for issuing the refund did not amount to a profit, and the PUC order therefore did not violate ORS 757.355. Furthermore, the Court held that PUC’s order contained enough discussion about its decision regarding PGE’s chosen method for issuing the refund to meet the substantial evidence requirement. Affirmed.

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