(1)(a) As used in this chapter, except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, ‘public utility’ means:

(A) Any corporation, company, individual, association of individuals, or its lessees, trustees or receivers, that owns, operates, manages or controls all or a part of any plant or equipment in this state for the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light, water or power, directly or indirectly to or for the public, whether or not such plant or equipment or part thereof is wholly within any town or city.

(B) Any corporation, company, individual or association of individuals, which is party to an oral or written agreement for the payment by a public utility, for service, managerial construction, engineering or financing fees, and having an affiliated interest with the public utility.

(b) As used in this chapter, ‘public utility’ does not include:

(A) Any plant owned or operated by a municipality.

(B) Any railroad, as defined in ORS § 824.020, or any industrial concern by reason of the fact that it furnishes, without profit to itself, heat, light, water or power to the inhabitants of any locality where there is no municipal or public utility plant to furnish the same.

(C) Any corporation, company, individual or association of individuals providing heat, light or power:

(i) From any energy resource to fewer than 20 customers, if it began providing service to a customer prior to July 14, 1985;

(ii) From any energy resource to fewer than 20 residential customers so long as the corporation, company, individual or association of individuals serves only residential customers;

(iii) From solar or wind resources to any number of customers; or

(iv) From biogas, waste heat or geothermal resources for nonelectric generation purposes to any number of customers.

(D) A qualifying facility on account of sales made under the provisions of ORS § 758.505 to 758.555.

(E) Any person furnishing heat, but not delivering electricity or natural gas to its customers, except:

(i) As provided in ORS § 757.007 and 757.009; or

(ii) With respect to heat furnished in municipalities which on January 1, 1989, had a municipally owned system that was furnishing steam or other thermal forms of heat to its customers.

(F) Notwithstanding subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, any corporation, company, partnership, individual or association of individuals furnishing heat to a single thermal end user from an electric generating facility, plant or equipment that is physically interconnected with the single thermal end user.

(G) Any corporation, company, partnership, individual or association of individuals that furnishes natural gas, electricity, ethanol, methanol, methane, biodiesel or other alternative fuel to any number of customers for use in motor vehicles and does not furnish any utility service described in paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(H) An electricity service supplier, as defined in ORS § 757.600.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1)(b)(C) of this section shall prohibit third party financing of acquisition or development by a utility customer of energy resources to meet the heat, light or power requirements of that customer. [Amended by 1953 c.583 § 2; 1967 c.241 § 1; 1967 c.314 § 1; 1971 c.655 § 64a; 1973 c.726 § 1; 1979 c.62 § 1; 1981 c.360 § 1; 1981 c.749 § 21; 1983 c.118 § 1; 1983 c.799 § 7; 1985 c.550 § 1; 1985 c.633 § 7; 1985 c.779 § 1; 1987 c.447 § 96; 1987 c.900 § 3; 1989 c.5 § 2; 1989 c.999 1,2; 1991 c.294 § 1; 1995 c.267 § 1; 1999 c.330 § 2; 1999 c.491 § 1; 1999 c.865 § 21; 2001 c.104 § 292; 2003 c.82 § 4]