Oregon Administrative Code

860-001-0140 General (1) The Commission requires the use of its Filing Center for the filing of documents in agency proceedings. Contact information for the Filing Center is as follows: (a) Electronic mail: PUC.FilingCenter@state.or.us. (b) Phone: (503)378-6678 Fax: (503) 378-616…

860-001-0150 Filing Dates (1) Except as modified by statute or by the rules in this division, a document is filed on the date received by the Commission at Salem, Oregon, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Pacific Time. (2) The period of time for doing an act governed by the…

860-001-0160 Filing Requirements in Rulemaking Proceedings (1) Written comments on proposed rules and other documents submitted in rulemaking proceedings must be filed with the Filing Center at the address listed in OAR 860-001-0140. Filing by electronic mail is preferred, but ph…

860-001-0170 Filing Requirements in Contested Case and Declaratory Ruling Proceedings (1) Every pleading or other document submitted to the Commission in contested case or declaratory ruling proceedings must be filed electronically with the Filing Center on or before the date due…

860-001-0180 Service in Contested Case and Declaratory Ruling Proceedings (1) The Commission maintains an official service list for each contested case and declaratory ruling proceeding. The service list is posted on the Commission’s website or may be obtained by contacting the F…

860-001-0200 Public Participation The Commission may informally seek public input before giving notice of intent to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule. A person may request to be notified of informal opportunities for public input by requesting to be placed on a notification list des…

860-001-0205 Information Requests in Resource Planning and Competitive Bidding (1) This rule applies to proceedings before the Commission that concern the review of an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), an IRP Update and a Clean Energy Plan as those terms are defined in OAR 860-090-…

860-001-0210 Permanent Rulemaking Notice (1) The Commission will give notice of a proposed permanent rulemaking by: (a) Publishing notice of the rulemaking in the Secretary of State’s Oregon Bulletin; and (b) Mailing, electronically mailing, or personally delivering a copy of the…

860-001-0220 Conduct of Rulemaking Hearing (1) All persons wanting to comment during a rulemaking hearing must provide their name, address, and affiliation. The ALJ may also require that additional information be provided. Additional persons may be heard at the discretion of the …

860-001-0230 Rulemaking Record (1) The Commission must maintain a record of comments it receives in response to a notice of intent to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule filed under OAR 860-001-0210. (2) The rulemaking record is maintained by the rules coordinator. The Commission must…

860-001-0240 Rulemaking Action (1) At the conclusion of the hearing or after the last date for submitting comments, the Commission may adopt, amend, or repeal rules covered by the notice of proposed rulemaking. The Commission must fully consider all written and oral comments. (2)…

860-001-0250 Petition to Promulgate, Amend, or Repeal Rule A person may petition the Commission to promulgate, amend, or repeal a rule. A petition to promulgate, amend, or repeal a rule must comply with OAR 137-001-0070. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 183.341, 756.040 & 756.060 S…

860-001-0260 Temporary Rulemaking (1) Under ORS 183.335(5), the Commission may temporarily adopt, amend, or suspend a rule without prior notice of hearing or on abbreviated notice of hearing. If no notice is provided before adoption of a temporary rule, then the Commission must g…

860-001-0300 Practice Before the Commission Participation in Contested Case and Declaratory Ruling Proceedings; Intervention (1) Under ORS 774.180, the Citizens’ Utility Board has the right to intervene in any Commission proceedings by filing a notice of intervention that include…

860-001-0310 Representation and Ethical Conduct (1) All persons appearing in proceedings in a representative capacity must conform to the standards of ethical conduct required of attorneys appearing before the courts of Oregon. If a person does not conform to these standards, the…

860-001-0320 Appearance of Attorneys; Pro Hac Vice (1) To make legal arguments or sign legal documents in Commission proceedings, an attorney must be in good standing with the Oregon State Bar or appear pro hac vice. (2) A motion to appear pro hac vice before the Commission must …

860-001-0330 Former Employees (1) A former Commission employee may not appear on behalf of other parties in contested case or declaratory ruling proceedings in which the former employee took an active part on the Commission’s behalf. (2) Except with the Commission’s written permi…

860-001-0340 Ex Parte Communications (1) Ex parte communications are discouraged and, if made, must be disclosed to ensure an open and impartial decision-making process. (2) Except as provided in this rule, an ex parte communication is any oral or written communication that: (a) …

860-001-0350 Settlements (1) In all Commission contested case proceedings, some or all of the parties may enter into a settlement of any or all issues at any time during the proceedings. (2) A settlement discussion is any communication between two or more parties for the purpose …

860-001-0360 Case Management Conferences (1) This case management conference rule applies to complaints filed pursuant to ORS 756.500 or OAR 860-029- 0100, or OAR 860-082-0085, or a petition for declaratory ruling filed pursuant to ORS 756.450. These provisions supplement the gen…

860-001-0390 General The Commission treats pleadings and motions differently. (1) Pleadings are used to address formal requests to initiate a proceeding or for Commission authorization. There are two types of pleadings. (a) Initiating pleadings include applications, petitions, an…

860-001-0400 Pleadings Requirements (1) All pleadings must be signed by the person filing the pleading or an authorized representative. By signing a pleading, the signatory makes the certification in ORCP 17C. For electronic filings, a person may use any identifier that is adopte…

860-001-0410 Default upon Failure to Answer Complaint (1) If a party fails to answer a complaint or otherwise appear within the time periods specified in OAR 860-001-0400, then the party is deemed in default. All material allegations of the complaint are deemed admitted, and the …

860-001-0420 Motions, Responses, and Replies (1) A motion must be made in writing unless otherwise allowed by the Commission or ALJ. (2) Before filing a procedural motion, the moving party must make a good faith effort to confer with other parties to seek agreement about the subj…

860-001-0430 Petition for Declaratory Ruling (1) A petition for a declaratory ruling under ORS 756.450 must contain: (a) The rule or statute that may apply to the person, property, or facts; (b) A detailed statement of the relevant or assumed facts, including sufficient facts to …

860-001-0450 Evidence (1) Relevant evidence: (a) Means evidence tending to make the existence of any fact at issue in the proceedings more or less probable than it would be without the evidence; (b) Is admissible if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent perso…

860-001-0460 Official Notice (1) The Commission or ALJ may take official notice of the following: (a) All matters of which the courts of the State of Oregon take judicial notice; (b) Rules, regulations, administrative rulings, and reports of the Commission and other governmental …

860-001-0470 Resolutions (1) Properly authenticated resolutions of governing bodies of government, business, agricultural, or civic organizations may be received in evidence if offered at the hearing by the president, secretary, or other person authorized to offer the resolution.…

860-001-0480 Testimony and Exhibits (1) Unless otherwise directed by the ALJ, all written testimony and exhibits must be paginated in the top right corner as follows: Party Name/Exhibit Number Witness Last Name/Page Number (2) Each party must consecutively number its written test…

860-001-0490 Records in Other Proceedings If a party offers in evidence all or part of the record from another Commission proceeding, then the party must provide a copy of the offered record to the ALJ and copies to other parties upon request. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 756.0…

860-001-0500 Discovery in Contested Case Proceedings (1) Discovery must be commensurate with the needs of the case, the resources available to the parties, and the importance of the issues to which the discovery relates. (2) Discovery that is unreasonably cumulative, duplicative,…

860-001-0510 Subpoenas (1) A subpoena may be issued by an attorney of record for a party and subscribed by the signature of the attorney. (2) Parties not represented by an attorney may request the issuance of a subpoena by the ALJ. The request must be in writing and identify the …

860-001-0520 Depositions (1) The testimony of a witness may be taken by deposition at any time before the record in a docket is closed. (2) A party proposing to take a deposition must notify all other parties in writing. Unless notice is waived, a party must provide 10 days’ noti…

860-001-0530 Admissions A party may serve a request for admission on any other party under ORCP 45. Responses to each request must be served within 7 days of receipt. Requests not denied within 7 days are deemed admitted. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 756.040 & 756.060 Statutes/…

860-001-0540 Data Requests (1) A party may submit data requests to any other party, subject to the discovery rules in the ORCP. Data requests are written interrogatories or requests for production of documents. Data requests must be answered within 14 days from the date of servic…

860-001-0550 Joint Hearings with other Entities (1) In proceedings in which the Commission participates jointly with a federal regulatory agency, the federal agency’s rules of practice and procedure govern. (2) In proceedings in which the Commission participates jointly with an a…

860-001-0560 Public Meetings Except in cases of emergency, all Commissioners are required to participate in a decision of the Commission at a public meeting that proposes a major rate change for an electric or natural gas utility under ORS 757.205. For purposes of this rule, a ma…

860-001-0570 Notice of Contested Case Hearing The Commission or ALJ sets the time and place for contested case hearings. Notice of a hearing must be served on all parties at least 10 days before the hearing date. For good cause, the Commission may hold a hearing on less than 10 d…

860-001-0580 Postponements and Continuances of Hearings (1) A party may request a postponement of a hearing. The party must provide the reason why postponement is necessary. The Commission or ALJ may require oral requests for postponement of a hearing to be made in writing. (2) T…

860-001-0590 Conferences (1) The ALJ may schedule conferences to facilitate the resolution of contested case and declaratory ruling proceedings. (2) The purposes of a conference may include: (a) Establishing a procedural schedule, including dates for discovery, testimony, and exh…

860-001-0600 Consolidation of Proceedings Proceedings may be consolidated for hearing at the discretion of the Commission or ALJ. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 756.040 & 756.060 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 756.040 & 756.500 – 756.575 History: PUC 5-2010, f. & cert. ef. 10-22…

860-001-0610 Failure to Appear (1) If a party fails to appear at a conference or hearing, then that party waives its right to participate in the conference or hearing. (2) Unless allowed by the Commission or ALJ, the party that failed to appear may not reopen any matter decided a…

860-001-0650 Legal Argument Parties may request the opportunity to file briefs in any proceedings. The Commission or ALJ may require a party to file a brief, or to present oral arguments instead of or in addition to briefs. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 756.040 & 756.060 Statute…

860-001-0660 Major Proceedings (1) For purposes of ORS 756.518(2), a “major proceeding” is a proceeding that has or is expected to have a full procedural schedule with written testimony or written comments and: (a) Has a substantial impact on utility rates or service quality for …

860-001-0700 Extension or Postponement of Date to Comply with Rules and Orders (1) Within 60 days of the date of service of a Commission order, any party may file a petition for extension or postponement of an effective date or of time to comply with the order. (2) The petition m…

860-001-0710 Notice of Acceptance of Terms of Orders The Commission may require any utility or person affected by any order to notify the Commission within a specified time whether the terms of the order are accepted and the time within which the utility or person will comply wit…

860-001-0720 Rehearing or Reconsideration (1) Within 60 days from the date of service of an order entered by the Commission, a party may file an application for rehearing or reconsideration of the order as provided by ORS 756.561. The application must identify all grounds for reh…

860-001-0800 Purpose Statement (1) The purpose of OAR 860-001-0800 through OAR 860-001-0900 is to provide guidance for organizations seeking Justice Funding Grants, made available through ORS 757.072, to represent the interests of low-income residential customers or the interests…

860-001-0810 Definitions As used in OAR 860-001-0800 through 860-001-0900: (1) “Agreement” means the currently effective Environmental Justice Communities Funding Agreement, as adopted by the Commission. (2) “Case-certified Organization” means an organization the Commission has d…

860-001-0820 Funding Amounts and Rollover (1) The amounts to be made available annually for the Pre-certification Fund and the Case Fund for each utility are set forth in the Agreement. (2) A balance in any of the Justice Grant Fund accounts that is unused in any year will be car…