HB713--UTILITIES
SPONSOR: Pollitt
Thebillchangesthelawrelatingtoelectricutilities.
CLOSUREOFELECTRICPOWERPLANTS(Section393.401)
Thisbillspecifiesthatpriortotheclosureofanexisting
electricgeneratingpowerplant,anelectricalcorporation,
registeredanddoingbusinessinMissouri,mustfirstcertifythat
ithassecuredandplacedontheelectricgridanamountequalor
greaterthantheamountofreplacementreliableelectricgeneration
asspecifiedinthebill.Adequatetransmissionlinesmustbein
placeandthereplacementgenerationfullyoperationalconcurrently
withtheclosureoftheexistingelectricgeneratingplant.
Ifthereplacementelectricgenerationusessomeorallofthe
interconnection facilitiesusedbytheexistinggenerationplant,
thereplacementfacilitiesmustbeoperationalwithin120daysof
theclosureoftheexistingplant.Iftheexistingplantisclosed
asaresultofanunexpectedorunplannedcauseorevent,the
electricalcorporationmustfollowtheproceduresestablishedin
thebill,includingfilinganapplicationwiththePublicService
Commissionoutliningitsplantoinstallreplacementreliable
electricgeneration. Duringanyperiodswherethereplacement
powerisnotfullyoperational,theelectricalcorporationmust
makeallreasonableeffortstocontractforadditionalfirm
generatingcapacitytomeettheplanningreservemarginrequirement
oftheregionaltransmissionoperator.
Thebillalsospecifiesthattheaverageofthesummerandwinter
accreditedcapacityofthenewgenerationmustbegreaterorequal
totheaverageofthesummerandwinteraccreditedcapacityofthe
existinggeneration. ThePublicServiceCommissionmustcertify
thattheserequirementsaremet.
Beforetheofficialdateoftheexistingelectricgeneratingpower
plantclosure,theelectricutilitycompanymustprovide
certificationtotheCommission,theGeneralAssembly,andthe
Governorthatithasmetthenecessaryrequirements.
RENEWABLEENERGYSTANDARD(Section393.1030)
Thisbillspecifiesthatelectricutilitieswithmorethan250,000
butlessthan1millionretailcustomersinMissouriasoftheend
of2024withenergythatmeetsthecriteriaoftherenewableenergy
portfoliorequirementsandiscontractedforbyanaccelerated
renewablebuyermust: (1)Haveallassociatedrenewableenergycertificatesretiredby
theacceleratedrenewablebuyerandthecertificatesmaynotbe
usedtomeettheelectricutility’sportfoliorequirements;
(2)Beexcludedfromthetotalelectricutility’ssalesusedto
determinetheportfoliorequirements;and
(3)Beusedtooffsetalloraportionofitselectricloadto
determinecompliancewiththeportfoliorequirements.
Thebillspecifiesthattheacceleratedrenewablebuyerisexempt
fromanyrenewableenergystandardcompliancecostsasestablished
bytheutilityandapprovedbythePublicServiceCommission. Each
electricutilitymustcertify,andverifyasnecessary,tothe
Commissionthattheacceleratedrenewablebuyerhassatisfiedthe
exemptionrequirementsasspecifiedinthebill.Theaccelerated
renewablebuyermayalsocertifytheexemptionrequirementstothe
Commissionindividually.
DEFERRALSBYELECTRICALCORPORATIONS(Section393.1400)
Thebillremoves"newnaturalgasunits"fromthedefinitionof
"qualifyingelectricplant"forthepurposesofcertaindeferrals
byelectricalcorporations.
Currentlyanelectricalcorporationsmustdefertoaregulatory
asset85%ofalldepreciationexpenseandreturnassociatedwith
allqualifyingelectricplantrecordedtoplant-in-serviceonthe
utility'sbooks.Thebillincreasestherequireddeferralto90%.
Thecostofinvestmentsinnewgeneratingunitsandenergystorage
systemsareexcludedfromthetotalinvestmentsreflectedineach
year'scapitalinvestmentplanforwhichrequiredinvestmentsin
gridmodernizationprojectsaredetermined.
Thebillextendsthesunsetdateofcertainprovisionsrelatingto
deferralsbyelectricalcorporationsfromDecember31,2028to
December31,2035.Thedeadlinetofileanapplicationseeking
permissionfromthePublicServiceCommissionrelatingtodeferrals
willbeextendedfromDecember31,2026toDecember31,2033.
Provisionsrelatingtoelectricalcorporationsseekingdeferrals
expiresonDecember31,2040,insteadofonDecember31,2033.
CONTRACTINGAUTHORITYOFTHEPUBLICSERVICECOMMISSION(Section
393.1700) ThebillauthorizesthePublicServiceCommissiontodirectly
contractcounsel,financialadvisors,orotherconsultants
necessarytoimplementtheprovisionsofthelawallowingforthe
Commissiontoapprovetheissuanceofsecuritizedutilitytariff
bondsbyanelectricalcorporation. TheCommissionmustestablish
aprocessforbiddingsuchcontractsandmakethepolicyandrate
case-specificcontractinformationpubliclyavailable.
ThisbillisthesameasSB6(2025).