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ENERGY TRUST MISSION: To change how Oregonians produce and use energy by investing in efficient technologies and renewable resources that save dollars and protect the environment.

Energy Trust of Oregon, Inc., began operation in March 2002, charged by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) with investing in cost-effective energy conservation, helping to pay the above-market costs of renewable energy resources, and encouraging energy market transformation in Oregon.

Energy Trust funds come from a 1999 energy restructuring law, which required Oregon’s two largest investor-owned utilities to collect a three percent “public purposes charge” from their customers. The law also dedicated a separate portion of the public-purpose funding to energy conservation efforts in low-income housing energy assistance and K-12 schools.

In addition to its work under the 1999 energy restructuring law, the Energy Trust administers gas conservation programs for residential and commercial customers of NW Natural (starting in 2003) and Cascade Natural Gas Corporation (starting July, 2006).

As part of its oversight of Energy Trust, the OPUC has adopted performance measures against which to benchmark Energy Trust’s performance. For 2009, these measures are:

• Save at least 31 average megawatts of electricity, computed on a three-year rolling average basis at a levelized cost of no more than 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour
• Save at least 1,800,000 therms of gas, computed on a three-year rolling average basis at a levelized cost of no more than 60 cents per therm
• Secure at least 3MWa of new renewable resources per year, computed on a three-year rolling average, from a variety of small-scale projects
• Earn an unqualified audit opinion
• Keep administrative and program support costs below 11 percent of annual revenues
• Maintain a reasonable level of customer satisfaction, as measured by surveys, and maintain statistics on complaints
• Report the benefit/cost ratio for conservation acquisition programs based on the utility system perspective and societal perspective; report any significant mid-year changes in benefit/cost performance

Download a copy of the OPUC performance measures.