81R8679 TRH-F
By: Martinez H.B. No. 1697
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a solar energy technology generation incentive program
to be administered by electric utilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.905, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (b-4), (d), and (e) and adding
Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a) It is the goal of the legislature that:
(1) electric utilities will administer in a
market-neutral, nondiscriminatory manner energy efficiency
incentive programs and incentive programs for generation capacity
from solar energy technologies [in a market-neutral,
nondiscriminatory manner] but will not offer underlying
competitive services;
(2) all customers, in all customer classes, will have
a choice of and access to energy efficiency alternatives, solar
energy technology systems, and other choices from the market that
allow each customer to reduce energy consumption, peak demand, or
energy costs;
(3) subject to Subsection (a-1), by December 31, 2011,
each electric utility will provide, through market-based standard
offer programs or limited, targeted, market-transformation
programs, incentives sufficient for retail electric providers and
competitive energy service providers to acquire additional
cost-effective energy efficiency for residential and commercial
customers equivalent to at least one[:
[(A) 10] percent of the electric utility's annual
gross receipts from retail sales to [growth in demand of
residential and commercial customers by December 31, 2007;
[(B) 15 percent of the electric utility's annual
growth in demand of residential and commercial customers by
December 31, 2008, provided that the electric utility's program
expenditures for 2008 funding may not be greater than 75 percent
above the utility's program budget for 2007 for] residential and
commercial customers, [as included in the April 1, 2006, filing;
and
[(C) 20 percent of the electric utility's annual
growth in demand of residential and commercial customers by
December 31, 2009,] provided that the electric utility's program
expenditures for each subsequent year [2009 funding] may not be
greater than 150 percent of the [above the] utility's program
budget for [2007 for] residential and commercial customers, as
filed with the commission in the electric utility's most recent
[included in the April 1, 2006,] filing under this section;
(4) each electric utility in the ERCOT region shall
use its best efforts to encourage and facilitate the involvement of
the region's retail electric providers in the delivery of
efficiency programs, solar energy technologies, and demand
response programs under this section;
(5) retail electric providers in the ERCOT region, and
electric utilities outside of the ERCOT region, shall provide
customers with energy efficiency educational materials and
information on available solar energy technologies; and
(6) notwithstanding Subsection (a)(3), electric
utilities shall continue to make available, at 2007 funding and
participation levels, any load management standard offer programs
developed for industrial customers and implemented prior to May 1,
2007.
(a-1) In addition to market-neutral standard offer
programs, it is the intent of the legislature that additional
generating capacity from solar energy technologies be installed in
this state by the expenditure of at least 60 percent of the yearly
balance of the money administered under the program on solar energy
technologies for residential and commercial customers. It is the
intent of the legislature that the total cumulative amount of
additional generating capacity from solar energy technologies be
installed as follows:
(1) at least 200 megawatts by January 1, 2011;
(2) at least 500 megawatts by January 1, 2013;
(3) at least 1,500 megawatts by January 1, 2015; and
(4) at least 3,000 megawatts by January 1, 2019.
(b) The commission shall provide oversight and adopt rules
and procedures to ensure that the utilities can achieve the goals
[goal] of this section, including:
(1) establishing an energy efficiency cost recovery
factor for ensuring timely and reasonable cost recovery for utility
expenditures made to satisfy the goals [goal] of this section;
(2) establishing an incentive under Section 36.204 to
reward utilities administering programs under this section that
exceed the minimum goals established by this section;
(3) providing a utility that is unable to establish an
energy efficiency cost recovery factor in a timely manner due to a
rate freeze with a mechanism to enable the utility to:
(A) defer the costs of complying with this
section; and
(B) recover the deferred costs through an energy
efficiency cost recovery factor on the expiration of the rate
freeze period;
(4) ensuring that the costs associated with programs
provided under this section are borne by the customer classes that
receive the services under the programs; [and]
(5) ensuring the program rules encourage the value of
the incentives to be passed on to the end-use customer; and
(6) encouraging the deployment of solar energy
technologies.
(b-4) The commission and ERCOT shall develop a method to
account for the projected efficiency impacts under Subsection
(b-3), including any efficiencies that may be achieved through the
deployment of solar energy technologies as provided by Subsection
(a-1), in ERCOT's annual forecasts of future capacity, demand, and
reserves.
(d) The commission shall establish a procedure for
reviewing and evaluating market-transformation program options
described by this subsection and other options. In evaluating
program options, the commission may consider the ability of a
program option to reduce costs to customers through reduced demand,
energy savings, and relief of congestion. Utilities may choose to
implement any program option approved by the commission after its
evaluation in order to satisfy the goal in Subsection (a),
including:
(1) energy-smart schools;
(2) appliance retirement and recycling;
(3) air conditioning system tune-ups;
(4) the use of trees or other landscaping for energy
efficiency;
(5) customer energy management and demand response
programs;
(6) high performance residential and commercial
buildings that will achieve the levels of energy efficiency
sufficient to qualify those buildings for federal tax incentives;
(7) programs for customers who rent or lease their
residence or commercial space;
(8) programs providing energy monitoring equipment to
customers that enable a customer to better understand the amount,
price, and time of the customer's energy use;
(9) energy audit programs for owners and other
residents of single-family or multifamily residences and for small
commercial customers;
(10) net-zero energy new home programs;
(11) solar thermal programs, [or] solar electric
programs, or solar energy technologies as provided by Subsection
(a-1); and
(12) programs for using windows and other glazing
systems, glass doors, and skylights in residential and commercial
buildings that reduce solar gain by at least 30 percent from the
level established for the federal Energy Star windows program.
(e) An electric utility may use money approved by the
commission for energy efficiency programs to perform necessary
energy efficiency research and development to foster continuous
improvement and innovation in the application of energy efficiency
technology and energy efficiency program design and
implementation, including the deployment of solar energy
technologies in the grid. Money the utility uses under this
subsection may not exceed 10 percent of the greater of:
(1) the amount the commission approved for energy
efficiency programs in the utility's most recent full rate
proceeding; or
(2) the commission-approved expenditures by the
utility for energy efficiency in the previous year.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.