OAR 860-030-0050
Commercial Energy Audit Programs
(1)
Each energy utility shall be responsible, to the extent possible, for ensuring that the services required by these rules are offered to all commercial building customers within its service territory and the services are provided to the standards required herein.(2)
Each energy utility shall have available on request information about energy saving operations and maintenance measures for commercial buildings. The information may be tailored to special classes of commercial building customers.(3)
Each energy utility shall notify its commercial building customers about its energy conservation and energy audit services annually.(4)
Each energy utility shall actively promote the availability of energy audit services whenever it enters into any phase of a contingency or curtailment plan for dealing with an energy supply shortfall.(5)
Each energy utility shall be responsible for having available trained commercial energy auditors, specialists, or other engineering or architectural professionals either employed directly, or as independent consultants, so sufficient persons with appropriate education and experience are available to provide energy audits of simple and complex commercial building systems and components which may exist in its service area.(6)
When an energy utility receives a request from a commercial building customer who uses less than 4,000 kWh of electricity or 200 therms of gas per month on the average annually for a commercial energy audit, a qualified energy auditor shall perform an on-site audit to collect data and evaluate energy conservation measures including, but not limited to: operations and maintenance measures, simple automatic control systems, envelope weatherization, infiltration controls, and lighting systems improvements.(7)
When an energy utility receives a request from a commercial building customer who uses more than 4,000 kWh of electricity per month or 200 therms of natural gas per month on the average annually for a commercial energy audit, the energy utility shall use a qualified energy specialist, engineer, or architect to perform the energy audit and evaluate more complex energy conservation measures, such as sophisticated automatic control systems, furnace and boiler efficiency improvements, heat recovery devices, HVAC system modifications, lighting system improvements, and solar water heaters or water heating heat pumps, unless the energy utility can substantiate that analysis of the systems in use does not require that level of expertise.(8)
Each energy utility shall be responsible for: designing or obtaining data recording forms for an energy audit, developing procedures for analyzing energy use in a commercial building, and for calculating potential energy savings, and designing report forms for recommendations to customers. The system so designed shall have the capability of reporting simple payback periods of at least ten years.(9)
Reports to a commercial building customer shall include as a minimum: a brief description of the building’s energy using systems and overall condition; an energy use analysis; recommended operations and maintenance measures; energy conservation measures which have a simple payback period of up to three years or up to ten years upon the customer’s request, including a description of each measure, its estimated cost, and estimated net energy and dollar savings for the first year. Information about the availability of state tax credits and any low-cost financing options or other incentives available through the utility for the commercial building customer shall also be included.(10)
The Commission may review any federal or regional commercial energy audit programs to determine if they meet or exceed the requirements of these rules. Any energy utility whose commercial energy audit program meets the guidelines of the federal or regional programs, and which has executed a contract to implement the program, shall be considered to have met the requirements of this rule for training and level of audit service. Use of associated federal or regional model commercial audit formats will be considered satisfactory for data collection, analysis procedures, and reports to commercial building customers.(11)
If a commercial building customer qualifies for equal or better audit services under another subsidized program of the federal, state, or local government or utility, the energy utility may refer the commercial building customer to that program. Use of such services shall be at the customer’s option.(12)
During the course of an audit, an energy utility shall not recommend fuel switching from one source of energy to another. If it appears a change of energy sources might benefit the customer, the customer shall be advised to seek independent consulting advice. However, if in the case of a joint audit both utilities agree to recommend fuel switching, such a recommendation may be made.
Source:
Rule 860-030-0050 — Commercial Energy Audit Programs, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=860-030-0050.