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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0402 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC000349 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- AFFORDABLE CLEAN ENERGY |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECURITY ACT |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senators de la Cruz, and Rogers |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 26, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Sections 39-31-2, 39-31-3, 39-31-4, 39-31-5 and 39-31-7 of the General 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Laws in Chapter 39-31 entitled "Affordable Clean Energy Security Act" are hereby amended to 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | read as follows: 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 39-31-2. Purpose. 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | The purpose of this chapter is to: 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) Secure the future of the Rhode Island and New England economies, and their shared 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | environment, by making state and/or coordinated, cost-effective, strategic investments in energy 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | resources and infrastructure such that the New England states improve energy system reliability 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | and security; enhance economic competitiveness by reducing energy costs to attract new 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | investment and job growth opportunities; and protect the quality of life and environment for all 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | residents and businesses; 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) Utilize state and/or coordinated competitive processes, in collaboration with other New 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | England states and their instrumentalities, to advance strategic investment in energy infrastructure 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | and energy resources, provided that the total energy security, reliability, environmental, and 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | economic benefits to the state of Rhode Island and its ratepayers exceed the costs of the projects, 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | and ensure that the benefits and costs of the energy infrastructure investments are shared 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | appropriately among the New England States; and 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (3) Encourage an a balanced approach to energy policy that advances the objectives of 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC000349 - Page 2 of 10 |
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| 44 | 44 | | achieving a reliable, clean-energy future that is consistent with meeting greenhouse gas reduction 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | goals as established by chapter 6.2 of title 42 (the “2021 act on climate”) at reasonable cost 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | affordable to ratepayers. If any provision of this chapter conflicts with the provisions of chapter 6.2 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | of title 42 ("2021 act on climate") the provisions of this chapter shall prevail. 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | 39-31-3. Commercially reasonable defined. Definitions. 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | When used in this chapter, “commercially reasonable” (a) "Commercially reasonable" 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | means terms and pricing that are reasonably consistent with what an experienced power market 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | analyst would expect to see in transactions involving regional energy resources and regional energy 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | infrastructure. Commercially reasonable shall include having a credible project operation date, as 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | determined by the commission, but a project need not have completed the requisite permitting 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | process to be considered commercially reasonable. Commercially reasonable shall require a 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | determination by the commission that the benefits to Rhode Island exceed the cost of the project. 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | The commission shall determine, based on the preponderance of the evidence, that the total energy 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | security, reliability, environmental, and economic benefits to the state of Rhode Island and its 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | ratepayers exceed the costs of such projects. If there is a dispute about whether any terms or pricing 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | are commercially reasonable, the commission shall make the final determination after evidentiary 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | hearings. 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (b) "Emission reduction mitigation" means a technology, process, or method of carbon 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | sequestration, that is recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or as identified by 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | the office of energy resources that results in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from natural 20 |
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| 64 | 64 | | gas transmission or electric generation. 21 |
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| 65 | 65 | | 39-31-4. Regional energy planning. 22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (a) Consistent with the purposes of this chapter, and utilizing regional stakeholder 23 |
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| 67 | 67 | | processes where appropriate, the office of energy resources, in consultation and coordination with 24 |
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| 68 | 68 | | the division of public utilities and carriers and the public utility company that provides electric 25 |
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| 69 | 69 | | distribution as defined in § 39-1-2(a)(12) as well as natural gas as defined in § 39-1-2(a)(17), is 26 |
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| 70 | 70 | | authorized to: 27 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (1) Participate in the development and issuance of state, regional, or multistate competitive 28 |
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| 72 | 72 | | solicitation(s) for the development and construction of regional electric-transmission projects that 29 |
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| 73 | 73 | | would allow for the reliable transmission of large- or small-scale domestic or international 30 |
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| 74 | 74 | | hydroelectric power to New England load centers that will benefit the state of Rhode Island and its 31 |
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| 75 | 75 | | ratepayers, and such solicitations may be issued by the New England States Committee on 32 |
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| 76 | 76 | | Electricity or the electric or natural gas distribution company to further the purposes of this chapter; 33 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (2) Participate in the development and issuance of state, regional, or multistate competitive 34 |
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| 78 | 78 | | |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | LC000349 - Page 3 of 10 |
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| 81 | 81 | | solicitation(s) for the development and construction of regional electric-transmission projects that 1 |
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| 82 | 82 | | would allow for the reliable transmission of eligible renewable energy resources, including offshore 2 |
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| 83 | 83 | | wind, as defined by § 39-26-5(a), to New England load centers that will benefit the state of Rhode 3 |
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| 84 | 84 | | Island and its ratepayers, and the solicitations may be issued by the New England States Committee 4 |
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| 85 | 85 | | on Electricity or the electric or natural gas distribution company to further the purposes of this 5 |
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| 86 | 86 | | chapter; and 6 |
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| 87 | 87 | | (3) Participate in the development and issuance of regional or multistate competitive 7 |
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| 88 | 88 | | solicitation(s) for the development and construction of regional natural-gas-pipeline infrastructure 8 |
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| 89 | 89 | | and capacity that will benefit the state of Rhode Island and its ratepayers by strengthening energy 9 |
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| 90 | 90 | | system reliability and security and, in doing so, potentially mitigate energy price volatility that 10 |
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| 91 | 91 | | threatens the economic vitality and competitiveness of Rhode Island residents and businesses. The 11 |
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| 92 | 92 | | solicitations may be issued by the New England States Committee on Electricity or the electric or 12 |
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| 93 | 93 | | natural gas distribution company to further the purposes of this chapter; and the solicitations may 13 |
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| 94 | 94 | | request proposals that are priced in increments to allow for the evaluation of project costs and 14 |
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| 95 | 95 | | benefits associated with adding various levels of additional, natural gas pipeline capacity into New 15 |
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| 96 | 96 | | England and assist with the optimization of energy system reliability, economic, and other benefits 16 |
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| 97 | 97 | | consistent with the purposes of this chapter. 17 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (4) As part of any such state, regional, or multistate competitive solicitation processes 18 |
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| 99 | 99 | | conducted pursuant to this chapter, the office of energy resources shall work jointly with the 19 |
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| 100 | 100 | | division of public utilities and carriers, and with the electric distribution company as appropriate, 20 |
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| 101 | 101 | | to identify incremental, natural-gas-pipeline infrastructure and capacity and/or electric-21 |
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| 102 | 102 | | transmission projects that optimize energy reliability, economic, environmental, and ratepayer 22 |
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| 103 | 103 | | impacts for Rhode Island, consistent with the legislative findings and purpose of this chapter. The 23 |
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| 104 | 104 | | office of energy resources and division of public utilities and carriers shall be authorized to utilize 24 |
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| 105 | 105 | | expert consultants, as needed, to assist in any state, regional, multistate, or state-level determination 25 |
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| 106 | 106 | | related to the procurement activities identified in § 39-31-5. 26 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (5) Identify and participate in the development of regional or multistate emissions 27 |
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| 108 | 108 | | reduction mitigation strategies to reduce emissions from natural gas transmission and generated 28 |
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| 109 | 109 | | electricity. The office of energy resources shall participate in the identification, development, and 29 |
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| 110 | 110 | | promote the use of emission mitigations for natural gas transmission and electric generation with 30 |
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| 111 | 111 | | the New England States Committee on Electricity or the electric or natural gas distribution 31 |
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| 112 | 112 | | company. 32 |
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| 113 | 113 | | (b) Prior to any binding commitments being made by any agencies of the state, the electric 33 |
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| 114 | 114 | | distribution company, or any other entity that would result in costs being incurred directly, or 34 |
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| 115 | 115 | | |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | LC000349 - Page 4 of 10 |
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| 118 | 118 | | indirectly, by Rhode Island electric and/or gas consumers through distribution or commodity rates, 1 |
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| 119 | 119 | | the office of energy resources and division of public utilities and carriers shall jointly file any 2 |
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| 120 | 120 | | energy infrastructure project recommendation(s) with the public utilities commission and may 3 |
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| 121 | 121 | | make such filing jointly with the electric or natural gas distribution company as appropriate. The 4 |
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| 122 | 122 | | public utilities commission shall consider any such recommendation(s) as specified under § 39-31-5 |
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| 123 | 123 | | 7. 6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (c) A copy of the filing made under subsection (b) of this section shall be provided to the 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house, the department of environmental 8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | management, and the commerce corporation. 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (d) The electric distribution company shall be provided with a copy of any filing made 10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | under this section at least ten (10) business days in advance of its filing with the public utilities 11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | commission and the electric or gas distribution utility may file separate comments when the filing 12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | is made. 13 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (e) As part of any office of energy resources and division of public utilities and carriers 14 |
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| 132 | 132 | | filing made pursuant to this chapter, the agencies shall identify the expected energy reliability, 15 |
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| 133 | 133 | | energy security, and ratepayer impacts that are expected to result from commitments being made 16 |
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| 134 | 134 | | in connection with the proposed project(s). 17 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (f) The office of energy resources and division of public utilities and carriers reserve the 18 |
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| 136 | 136 | | right to determine that energy infrastructure projects submitted in any state, regional, or multistate 19 |
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| 137 | 137 | | competitive solicitation process are not in Rhode Island’s energy reliability, energy security, and/or 20 |
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| 138 | 138 | | ratepayer interests, and shall make such findings available to the governor, the president of the 21 |
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| 139 | 139 | | senate, and the speaker of the house. The electric or gas distribution utility may attach a separate 22 |
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| 140 | 140 | | opinion to those findings, at its election. 23 |
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| 141 | 141 | | 39-31-5. State and regional energy procurement. 24 |
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| 142 | 142 | | (a) Consistent with the purposes of this chapter, the public utility company that provides 25 |
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| 143 | 143 | | electric distribution as defined in § 39-1-2(a)(12), as well as natural gas as defined in § 39-1-26 |
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| 144 | 144 | | 2(a)(17), in consultation with the office of energy resources and the division of public utilities and 27 |
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| 145 | 145 | | carriers is authorized to voluntarily and encouraged to participate in state, multistate, or regional 28 |
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| 146 | 146 | | efforts to: 29 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (1) Procure domestic or international large- or small-scale hydroelectric power and eligible 30 |
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| 148 | 148 | | renewable energy resources, including wind, as defined by § 39-26-5(a), that seek to meet the 31 |
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| 149 | 149 | | renewable energy standard goals of chapter 26 of this title but shall not be mandatory if such 32 |
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| 150 | 150 | | renewable sources are not found to be commercially reasonable and affordable to ratepayers under 33 |
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| 151 | 151 | | this chapter on behalf of electric ratepayers; provided, however, that large-scale hydroelectric 34 |
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| 152 | 152 | | |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | LC000349 - Page 5 of 10 |
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| 155 | 155 | | power shall not be eligible under the renewable energy standard established by chapter 26 of this 1 |
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| 156 | 156 | | title. If the provisions of this section conflict with the provisions of chapter 26 of this title, the 2 |
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| 157 | 157 | | provisions of this section shall prevail; 3 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (2) Procure incremental, natural-gas-pipeline infrastructure and capacity into New England 4 |
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| 159 | 159 | | to help strengthen energy system reliability and facilitate the economic interests of the state and its 5 |
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| 160 | 160 | | ratepayers. Provided that, any natural gas infrastructure or capacity procured that utilizes emissions 6 |
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| 161 | 161 | | reduction mitigation shall be counted towards the statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction 7 |
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| 162 | 162 | | mandate goals as defined by § 42-6.2-9. The office of energy resources shall determine the amount 8 |
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| 163 | 163 | | of emissions reduction to attribute to each emission reduction mitigation identified; 9 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (3) Support the development and filing of necessary tariffs and other appropriate cost-10 |
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| 165 | 165 | | recovery mechanisms, as proposed by the office of energy resources or the division of public 11 |
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| 166 | 166 | | utilities and carriers, that allocate the costs of new, electric-transmission and natural-gas-pipeline 12 |
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| 167 | 167 | | infrastructure and capacity projects selected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter to ratepayers, 13 |
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| 168 | 168 | | such that costs are shared among participating states in an equitable manner; and 14 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (4) To the extent that the public utility company that provides electric distribution as 15 |
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| 170 | 170 | | defined in § 39-1-2(a)(12), as well as natural gas as defined in § 39-1-2(a)(17), pursues the 16 |
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| 171 | 171 | | objectives identified above, the public utility company shall utilize all appropriate, competitive 17 |
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| 172 | 172 | | processes, and maintain compliance with applicable federal and state siting laws. 18 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (b) Any procurement authorized under this section shall be commercially reasonable. 19 |
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| 174 | 174 | | (c) If any part of this chapter conflicts with chapter 26 of title 39 or chapter 6.2 of title 42 20 |
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| 175 | 175 | | ("2021 act on climate") the provisions of this chapter shall prevail. 21 |
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| 176 | 176 | | 39-31-7. Duties of the commission. 22 |
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| 177 | 177 | | (a) The commission shall approve any proposals made by the electric and gas distribution 23 |
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| 178 | 178 | | company that are commercially reasonable, affordable to ratepayers, and advance the purposes of 24 |
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| 179 | 179 | | this chapter. The commission’s authority shall include, without limitation, the authority to: 25 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (1) Approve long-term contracts entered into pursuant to the goals and provisions of this 26 |
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| 181 | 181 | | chapter for large- or small-scale hydroelectric power and renewable energy resources that are 27 |
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| 182 | 182 | | eligible under the renewable energy standard established by chapter 26 of this title; provided, 28 |
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| 183 | 183 | | however, that large-scale hydroelectric power shall not be eligible under the renewable energy 29 |
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| 184 | 184 | | standard established by chapter 26 of this title; 30 |
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| 185 | 185 | | (2) Annually determine the adequacy of renewable energy supplies to meet the increase in 31 |
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| 186 | 186 | | the percentage requirement of energy from renewable energy resources effective for the following 32 |
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| 187 | 187 | | year. The commission shall annually publish the commission’s determination of adequacy on the 33 |
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| 188 | 188 | | agency’s website; 34 |
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| 189 | 189 | | |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | LC000349 - Page 6 of 10 |
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| 192 | 192 | | (2)(3) Approve long-term contracts for natural-gas-pipeline infrastructure and capacity 1 |
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| 193 | 193 | | consistent with the purposes of this chapter; 2 |
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| 194 | 194 | | (3)(4) Approve rate-recovery mechanisms proposed by the electric and gas distribution 3 |
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| 195 | 195 | | companies relating to costs incurred under this chapter by the electric and gas distribution company 4 |
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| 196 | 196 | | that facilitate the multistate or regional sharing of costs necessary to implement electric 5 |
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| 197 | 197 | | transmission and natural-gas-pipeline infrastructure projects pursued under this chapter, including 6 |
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| 198 | 198 | | any costs incurred through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved tariffs related to 7 |
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| 199 | 199 | | such multistate or regional energy infrastructure procurements; 8 |
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| 200 | 200 | | (4)(5) Address any proposed changes to standard-offer procurements, standard-offer 9 |
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| 201 | 201 | | pricing, and retail-choice rules; 10 |
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| 202 | 202 | | (5)(6) Provide for the recovery of reasonable net costs from all distribution customers 11 |
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| 203 | 203 | | incurred by the electric and gas distribution company in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter 12 |
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| 204 | 204 | | that may include, but are not limited to, costs to solicit, evaluate, and seek approval of such 13 |
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| 205 | 205 | | contracts as well as net costs incurred under any contracts approved by the commission under this 14 |
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| 206 | 206 | | section and costs associated with the management of incremental capacity resulting from interstate 15 |
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| 207 | 207 | | gas-pipeline-expansion projects pursued pursuant to this chapter and costs associated with 16 |
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| 208 | 208 | | investments in local gas-distribution-network assets necessary to implement such interstate gas-17 |
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| 209 | 209 | | pipeline-expansion projects; 18 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (6)(7) Nothing herein is intended to prohibit the commission from allowing the electric 19 |
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| 211 | 211 | | distribution company to use the energy, capacity, and other attributes purchased for resale to 20 |
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| 212 | 212 | | customers and approve tariffs that charge those customers for the energy, capacity, and other 21 |
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| 213 | 213 | | attributes from the resale to those customers; and/or to use the NE-GIS certificates for purposes of 22 |
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| 214 | 214 | | meeting the obligations set forth in chapter 26 of this title (“renewable energy standard”); 23 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (7)(8) Approve cost allocation proposals filed by the gas distribution company and/or the 24 |
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| 216 | 216 | | electric distribution company that appropriately allocate offshore wind costs incurred under § 39-25 |
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| 217 | 217 | | 31-10, natural gas infrastructure and capacity costs incurred under § 39-31-6 between electric and 26 |
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| 218 | 218 | | gas distribution customers of the electric and gas distribution company in a manner proportional to 27 |
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| 219 | 219 | | the energy benefits accrued by Rhode Island’s gas and electric customers from making such 28 |
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| 220 | 220 | | investments. In making its determination, the commission shall consider projected reductions in 29 |
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| 221 | 221 | | regional, wholesale electric prices as a benefit that accrues to electric ratepayers. The allocation of 30 |
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| 222 | 222 | | costs shall include all distribution customers, regardless from whom they are purchasing their 31 |
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| 223 | 223 | | commodity service; and 32 |
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| 224 | 224 | | (8)(9) Approve any other proposed regulatory or ratemaking changes that reasonably 33 |
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| 225 | 225 | | advance the goals set forth herein. 34 |
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| 226 | 226 | | |
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| 227 | 227 | | |
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| 228 | 228 | | LC000349 - Page 7 of 10 |
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| 229 | 229 | | (b) The grant of authorizations under this chapter shall not be construed as creating a 1 |
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| 230 | 230 | | mandate or obligation on the part of the electric and gas distribution company to enter into any 2 |
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| 231 | 231 | | contracts or file any proposals pursuant to this chapter. 3 |
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| 232 | 232 | | (c) The public utilities commission shall docket any proposals made by the office of energy 4 |
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| 233 | 233 | | resources and division of public utilities and carriers pursuant to § 39-31-4. Docket materials shall 5 |
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| 234 | 234 | | be posted and maintained on the commission’s website. The commission shall conduct 6 |
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| 235 | 235 | | proceedings, as provided below, solely for the purpose of determining whether the proposed 7 |
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| 236 | 236 | | infrastructure projects, if implemented, are in the public interest and no commitments shall be valid 8 |
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| 237 | 237 | | or authorized without such finding being made by the commission. The validity and approval of 9 |
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| 238 | 238 | | any commitments made by the electric or gas distribution company in furtherance of the purposes 10 |
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| 239 | 239 | | of this chapter shall be separate and subject to § 39-31-5. The docket opened pursuant to this 11 |
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| 240 | 240 | | subsection shall proceed as follows: 12 |
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| 241 | 241 | | (1) The following state agencies shall provide advisory opinions to the commission on the 13 |
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| 242 | 242 | | topics specified below within sixty (60) days from the docketing date: 14 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (i) The department of environmental management (DEM) shall provide an advisory 15 |
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| 244 | 244 | | opinion on the expected greenhouse gas emissions and statewide environmental impacts, including 16 |
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| 245 | 245 | | on forests and the oceans, resulting from the proposed project(s), including a determination as to 17 |
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| 246 | 246 | | whether the proposed project(s) advance the goals of chapter 6.2 of title 42 (the “2021 Act on 18 |
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| 247 | 247 | | Climate”). 19 |
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| 248 | 248 | | (ii) The commerce corporation shall provide an advisory opinion on the expected statewide 20 |
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| 249 | 249 | | economic impacts resulting from the proposed project(s). 21 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (2) The commission shall notify the aforementioned agencies upon the filing of any 22 |
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| 251 | 251 | | proposal made under this section, and notify them of any related hearings and/or proceedings. 23 |
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| 252 | 252 | | (3) Advisory opinions issued by agencies designated under subsection (c)(1) of this section 24 |
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| 253 | 253 | | shall not be considered as final decisions of the agencies making the opinions and shall not be 25 |
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| 254 | 254 | | subject to judicial review under § 42-35-15 or any other provision of the general laws. 26 |
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| 255 | 255 | | (4) Upon completion of the sixty-day (60) advisory-opinion period, the commission shall 27 |
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| 256 | 256 | | provide for a thirty-day (30) public comment period on any energy infrastructure project(s) selected 28 |
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| 257 | 257 | | pursuant to this chapter and hold evidentiary hearings. In addition to evidentiary hearings, the 29 |
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| 258 | 258 | | commission shall also hold at least one public hearing to accept public comment on the proposal(s) 30 |
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| 259 | 259 | | prior to an open meeting held pursuant to this section. The commission shall also seek input from 31 |
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| 260 | 260 | | the ratepayer's advisory board established under § 39-1-37.1 before the end of the thirty (30) day 32 |
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| 261 | 261 | | public comment period. 33 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (5) The commission shall hold an open meeting no later than one hundred twenty (120) 34 |
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| 263 | 263 | | |
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| 264 | 264 | | |
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| 265 | 265 | | LC000349 - Page 8 of 10 |
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| 266 | 266 | | days from the date of filing by the office of energy resources and division of public utilities and 1 |
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| 267 | 267 | | carriers and shall certify that the proposed project(s) are in the public interest if, in the commission’s 2 |
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| 268 | 268 | | determination, and in consideration of filed advisory opinions and the opinion of the electric or gas 3 |
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| 269 | 269 | | distribution utility, the proposed infrastructure project(s): 4 |
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| 270 | 270 | | (i) Are consistent with the findings and purposes of this chapter; 5 |
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| 271 | 271 | | (ii) Will benefit Rhode Island by improving local and regional energy system reliability 6 |
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| 272 | 272 | | and security; 7 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (iii) Will benefit Rhode Island ratepayers by offering the potential for reduced energy price 8 |
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| 274 | 274 | | volatility and reduction of energy supply costs in the context of an integrated regional energy 9 |
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| 275 | 275 | | system; 10 |
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| 276 | 276 | | (iv) Will not cause unacceptable harm to the environment and are consistent with, seeks to 11 |
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| 277 | 277 | | reasonably meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals established in chapter 6.2 of title 42 (the “2021 12 |
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| 278 | 278 | | Act on Climate”) and does not conflict with this chapter; and 13 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (v) Will enhance not harm the economic fabric growth of the state. 14 |
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| 280 | 280 | | (6) The commission shall issue a written determination of its findings within ten (10) 15 |
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| 281 | 281 | | business days of its open-meeting decision and provide copies of that determination, along with 16 |
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| 282 | 282 | | copies of all advisory opinions, public comment, and any other materials deemed relevant to the 17 |
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| 283 | 283 | | commission determination, to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house, 18 |
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| 284 | 284 | | the commissioner of the office of energy resources, and the administrator of the division of public 19 |
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| 285 | 285 | | utilities and carriers. 20 |
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| 286 | 286 | | (d) A determination issued by the commission shall constitute the sole, final, binding, and 21 |
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| 287 | 287 | | determinative regulatory decision within the state for the purpose of authorizing the state to support 22 |
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| 288 | 288 | | a proposed, regional energy-infrastructure project(s) that is funded through the Federal Energy 23 |
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| 289 | 289 | | Regulatory Commission approved tariffs on a regional and/or multistate basis pursuant to this 24 |
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| 290 | 290 | | chapter. Appeals shall be governed by § 39-5-1. 25 |
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| 291 | 291 | | (e) Upon issuance of a written determination by the commission finding that the proposed 26 |
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| 292 | 292 | | project(s) is in the public interest, the office of energy resources and division of public utilities and 27 |
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| 293 | 293 | | carriers shall, on behalf of the state, be authorized to support any state, regional, and/or multistate 28 |
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| 294 | 294 | | process necessary to implement the project(s), including, without limitation, supporting any 29 |
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| 295 | 295 | | necessary and related Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filings; provided, however, that any 30 |
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| 296 | 296 | | commitments made by the electric or gas distribution company to implement the proposals remain 31 |
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| 297 | 297 | | voluntary and subject to § 39-31-5. 32 |
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| 298 | 298 | | (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the electric or gas distribution 33 |
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| 299 | 299 | | company from making a filing under § 39-31-6, simultaneous with a filing under this section by 34 |
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| 300 | 300 | | |
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| 301 | 301 | | |
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| 302 | 302 | | LC000349 - Page 9 of 10 |
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| 303 | 303 | | the office of energy resources and the division of public utilities and carriers, in which case the 1 |
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| 304 | 304 | | filings made under §§ 39-31-6 and 39-31-7 shall be consolidated. 2 |
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| 305 | 305 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 3 |
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| 306 | 306 | | ======== |
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| 307 | 307 | | LC000349 |
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| 308 | 308 | | ======== |
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| 309 | 309 | | |
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| 310 | 310 | | |
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| 311 | 311 | | LC000349 - Page 10 of 10 |
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| 312 | 312 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 313 | 313 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 314 | 314 | | OF |
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| 315 | 315 | | A N A C T |
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| 316 | 316 | | RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- AFFORDABLE CLEAN EN ERGY |
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| 317 | 317 | | SECURITY ACT |
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| 318 | 318 | | *** |
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| 319 | 319 | | This act would make several amendments relative to the affordable clean energy security 1 |
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| 320 | 320 | | act establishing the act's priority over chapter 6.2 of title 42 ("2021 act on climate") and providing 2 |
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| 321 | 321 | | for the participation and development of regional or multistate emissions reduction mitigation 3 |
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| 322 | 322 | | strategies. 4 |
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| 323 | 323 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 324 | 324 | | ======== |
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| 325 | 325 | | LC000349 |
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| 326 | 326 | | ======== |
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| 327 | 327 | | |
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