Maryland 2022 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB902 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	sb0902
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 902
8	8	C5, M3 2lr2882
9	9
10	10	By: Senator Hershey
11	11	Introduced and read first time: February 7, 2022
12	12	Assigned to: Finance
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Dams With Hydroelectric Power Plants – Annual Compensation Fee 2
19	19
20	20	FOR the purpose of requiring the owner of a dam associated with a certain hydroelectric 3
21	21	power plant to pay an annual compensation fee to the Department of the 4
22	22	Environment for the use of State land and waterways beginning on a certain date; 5
23	23	requiring the Public Service Commission to determine the average price of a Tier 2 6
24	24	renewable energy credit for certain renewable energy portfolio standard compliance 7
25	25	years; prohibiting the owner of the dam from applying to or petitioning the 8
26	26	Commission to increase the hydroelectric power plant’s rates as a means of offsetting 9
27	27	the cost of the compensation fee; requiring the Department to transfer revenue 10
28	28	generated from the compensation fee to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for certain 11
29	29	purposes; and generally relating to an annual compensation fee for dams associated 12
30	30	with hydroelectric power plants. 13
31	31
32	32	BY adding to 14
33	33	Article – Public Utilities 15
34	34	Section 7–217 16
35	35	Annotated Code of Maryland 17
36	36	(2020 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 18
37	37
38	38	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 19
39	39	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 20
40	40
41	41	Article – Public Utilities 21
42	42
43	43	7–217. 22
44	44
45	45	(A) (1) IN THIS SECTION THE F OLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS 23
46	46	INDICATED. 24
47	47	2 SENATE BILL 902
48	48
49	49
50	50	(2) “RENEWABLE ENERGY CRED IT” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 1
51	51	7–701 OF THIS TITLE. 2
52	52
53	53	(3) “RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD ” HAS THE 3
54	54	MEANING STATED IN § 7–701 OF THIS TITLE. 4
55	55
56	56	(4) “TIER 2” MEANS A TIER 2 RENEWABLE SOURCE AS DEFINED IN § 5
57	57	7–701 OF THIS TITLE. 6
58	58
59	59	(B) BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2023, THE OWNER OF A DAM ASSOC IATED WITH 7
60	60	A HYDROELECTRIC POWE R PLANT THAT HAS A GENERATIN G CAPACITY OF AT LEA ST 8
61	61	30 MEGAWATTS AND IS CONNECTED WIT H THE ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION GRID 9
62	62	SERVING MARYLAND SHALL PAY AN ANNUAL COMPENSATION FEE TO THE 10
63	63	DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE USE OF STATE LAND AND 11
64	64	WATERWAYS . 12
65	65
66	66	(C) (1) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (3) OF THIS SUBSECTION , 13
67	67	THE COMPENSATION FEE SHA LL BE: 14
68	68
69	69	(I) CALCULATED ON AN ANNU AL BASIS; AND 15
70	70
71	71	(II) COMPUTED BY MULTIPLYI NG: 16
72	72
73	73	1. THE MEGAWATT –HOURS OF ELECTRICITY 17
74	74	GENERATED BY THE HYD ROELECTRIC POWER PLA NT DURING THE PREVIOUS YEAR ; 18
75	75
76	76	2. THE AVERAGE PRICE OF A TIER 2 RENEWABLE 19
77	77	ENERGY CREDIT FOR THE PREVIOUS RENEWABLE ENERGY POR TFOLIO STANDARD 20
78	78	COMPLIANCE YEAR, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION; AND 21
79	79
80	80	3. 80%. 22
81	81
82	82	(2) ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 31, 2023, AND ON OR BEFORE EACH 23
83	83	JANUARY 31 THEREAFTER , THE COMMISSION SHALL DETE RMINE THE AVERAGE 24
84	84	PRICE OF A TIER 2 RENEWABLE ENERGY CRE DIT FOR THE PREVIOUS RENEWABLE 25
85	85	ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD COMPLIANCE YEAR. 26
86	86
87	87	(3) (I) THE COMPENSATION FEE PAID IN 2023 SHALL INCLUDE A 27
88	88	FEE FOR THE USE OF STATE LAND AND WATERW AYS DURING THE 2020 AND 2021 28
89	89	CALENDAR YEARS . 29
90	90
91	91	(II) THE COMPENSATION FEE UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF 30
92	92	THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE COMPUTED BY MULTIPLY ING: 31 SENATE BILL 902 3
93	93
94	94
95	95
96	96	1. THE MEGAWATT –HOURS OF ELECTRICITY 1
97	97	GENERATED BY THE HYD ROELECTRIC POWER PLA NT DURING 2020 AND 2021, 2
98	98	RESPECTIVELY ; 3
99	99
100	100	2. THE AVERAGE PRICE OF A TIER 2 RENEWABLE 4
101	101	ENERGY CREDIT FOR TH E 2020 AND 2021 RENEWABLE ENERGY POR TFOLIO 5
102	102	STANDARD COMPLIANCE YEARS, RESPECTIVELY , AS DETERMINED BY THE 6
103	103	COMMISSION; AND 7
104	104
105	105	3. 80%. 8
106	106
107	107	(III) ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 31, 2023, THE COMMISSION 9
108	108	SHALL DETERMINE THE AVERAGE PRICE OF A TIER 2 RENEWABLE ENERGY CRE DIT 10
109	109	FOR THE 2020 AND 2021 RENEWABLE ENERGY POR TFOLIO STANDARD COMPLIANCE 11
110	110	YEARS. 12
111	111
112	112	(D) THE OWNER OF A DAM AS SOCIATED WITH A HYDR OELECTRIC POWER 13
113	113	PLANT MAY NOT APPLY TO OR PETITION THE COMMISSION TO INCREAS E THE 14
114	114	HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT’S ELECTRICITY RATES AS A MEANS OF OFFSET TING 15
115	115	THE COST OF THE COMP ENSATION FEE IMPOSED UNDER THIS SECTION . 16
116	116
117	117	(E) THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT SHALL TRANSFER REVEN UE 17
118	118	GENERATED FROM THE C OMPENSATION FEE UNDE R THIS SECTION TO TH E 18
119	119	CHESAPEAKE BAY TRUST TO BE USED AS FOLLOWS: 19
120	120
121	121	(1) 25% OF THE REVENUE FOR THE ADMINISTRATI ON OF GRANTS FOR 20
122	122	AQUATIC SPECIES REST ORATION; AND 21
123	123
124	124	(2) 75% OF THE REVENUE AS GRANTS TO COUNTY OYSTER 22
125	125	COMMITTEES FOR PURCH ASING OR OBTAINING N ATIVE CHESAPEAKE BAY OYSTER 23
126	126	SHELLS. 24
127	127
128	128	(F) THE COMMISSION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT 25
129	129	JOINTLY SHALL ADOPT REGULATI ONS TO CARRY OUT THI S SECTION. 26
130	130
131	131	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 27
132	132	October 1, 2022. 28
133	133