(1) "Avoided cost" means the incremental cost to an electric utility of electric energy or energy and capacity that the utility would generate itself or purchase from another source but for the purchase from a qualifying facility.

(2) "Cogeneration facility" means a facility that:

(a) Produces, through the sequential use of energy, electric energy and useful thermal energy including but not limited to heat or steam, used for industrial, commercial, heating or cooling purposes; and

(b) Is more than 50 percent owned by a person who is not an electric utility, an electric holding company, an affiliated interest or any combination thereof.

(3) "Commission" means the Public Utility Commission.

(4) "Electric utility" means a nonregulated utility or a public utility.

(5) "Index rate" means the lowest avoided cost approved by the commission for a generating utility for the purchase of energy or energy and capacity of similar characteristics including online date, duration of obligation and quality and degree of reliability.

(6) "Nonregulated utility" means an entity providing retail electric utility service to Oregon consumers that is a people’s utility district organized under ORS chapter 261, a municipal utility operating under ORS chapter 225 or an electric cooperative organized under ORS chapter 62.

(7) "Public utility" means a utility regulated by the commission under ORS chapter 757, that provides electric power to consumers.

(8) "Qualifying facility" means a cogeneration facility or a small power production facility.

(9) "Small power production facility" means a facility that:

(a) Produces energy primarily by the use of biomass, waste, solar energy, wind power, water power, geothermal energy or any combination thereof;

(b) Is more than 50 percent owned by a person who is not an electric utility, an electric utility holding company, an affiliated interest or any combination thereof; and

(c) Has a power production capacity that, together with any other small power production facility located at the same site and owned by the same person, is not greater than 80 megawatts. [1983 c.799 §1]