Pacific Power analysis shows storage pilot projects currently uneconomic

Utility Dive: Oregon was the first state to follow California in implementing an energy storage mandate. But, as Pacific Power’s recent filing with the Oregon Public Utility Commission shows, the economics of energy storage may take more time to become favorable, at least for some.

In 2015, Oregon’s legislature passed H.B. 2193, which requires the state’s two main investor owned utilities, Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp’s Pacific Power, to have a minimum of 5 MWh of energy storage in service by January 1, 2020. The mandate is capped at 1% of a utility’s peak load from 2014, except for a project of “statewide significance.” The law also allows the utilities to recover the costs of those energy storage systems through electric rates.

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