What is the Renewable Portfolio Standard?
Oregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a state law that was passed in 2007. It requires all electric utilities in Oregon to get a certain share of the electricity they sell from renewable energy sources — like wind, solar, and some types of water power.
The goal is to help Oregon use less fossil fuel (like natural gas and coal) and more clean energy over time. Think of it as Oregon setting a minimum bar for how “green” a utility’s energy supply needs to be.
At Hood River Co-op, our energy supply is already very green – about 95% of the energy we sell to members comes from carbon-free resources, and about 85% is renewable energy!
Who oversees this law?
As a consumer-owned cooperative, we are not regulated by the PUC. Instead, Oregon law (ORS 469A.170) says we must report our results directly to our members — that’s you! This page is that report.
What does this mean for our co-op?
Because Hood River Electric & Internet Co-op serves a relatively small number of customers, we are classified as a “Smallest Utility” under Oregon’s RPS law. This means we supply less than 1.5% of Oregon’s total retail electricity.
Under this classification, our renewable energy requirement is 5% of qualifying energy sales, and it stays at 5% all the way through 2040.
We can meet our RPS obligation by purchasing and retiring Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) each year.
How is our compliance obligation calculated?
Our annual obligation is calculated in three steps:
- Identify our BPA Tier 2 purchases. Not all power we buy from BPA is treated the same way. Tier 1 power (standard federal hydropower) is fully exempt from the RPS — we are not required to replace it with new renewables. Tier 2 power is above that baseline, and it is subject to the RPS obligation.
- Subtract net metering generation. The energy delivered to us by solar net metering members is subtracted from our Tier 2 purchases before we do the RPS calculation.
- Run the RPS Calculation. Multiply the adjusted Tier 2 MWh by the 5% RPS target rate. The result is our net RPS obligation — the number of RECs we must retire that year.
2025 RPS Compliance Report – HR Co-op
2025 BPA Tier 2 Purchases: 21,637 MWh
2025 Net Metering Adjustment: 338 MWh
2025 Net RPS Energy Sales: 21,299 MWh
RPS Target Rate: 5%
2025 RPS Obligation (Energy Sales x Target Rate): 1,065 RECs