By: Solomons H.B. No. 1866
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to distributed renewable generation of electric power.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 17.002, Utilities Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (4-a) to read as follows:
(4-a) "Distributed renewable generation" has the
meaning assigned by Section 39.916.
SECTION 2. Section 17.004, Utilities Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) All buyers of retail electric services are entitled to
the opportunity to interconnect distributed renewable generation
according to conditions established by commission rule.
SECTION 3. Section 17.006, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 17.006. PROTECTIONS FOR CUSTOMERS OF ELECTRIC
COOPERATIVES. (a) An electric cooperative shall not be deemed
to be a "service provider" or "billing agent" for purposes of
Sections 17.156(b) and (e), except that, for purposes of enforcing
Section 17.004(a-1), an electric cooperative is a "service
provider" under Section 17.156(b).
(b) An [The] electric cooperative shall adopt, implement,
and enforce rules that shall have the effect of accomplishing the
objectives set out in Sections 17.004(a), (a-1), and (b) and
Section 17.102. The board of directors of an [the] electric
cooperative or its designee shall perform the dispute resolution
function provided for by Section 17.157 for electric customers
served by the electric cooperative within its certificated service
area. With respect to electric customers served by an electric
cooperative outside its certificated service area or otherwise
served through others' distribution facilities, after the
legislature authorizes retail competition, the provisions of this
chapter as administered by the commission shall apply. Nothing in
this chapter shall be deemed to apply to a wholesale customer of an
electric cooperative.
SECTION 4. Section 31.002(6), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(6) "Electric utility" means a person or river
authority that owns or operates for compensation in this state
equipment or facilities to produce, generate, transmit,
distribute, sell, or furnish electricity in this state. The term
includes a lessee, trustee, or receiver of an electric utility and a
recreational vehicle park owner who does not comply with Subchapter
C, Chapter 184, with regard to the metered sale of electricity at
the recreational vehicle park. The term does not include:
(A) a municipal corporation;
(B) a qualifying facility;
(C) a power generation company;
(D) an exempt wholesale generator;
(E) a power marketer;
(F) a corporation described by Section 32.053 to
the extent the corporation sells electricity exclusively at
wholesale and not to the ultimate consumer;
(G) an electric cooperative;
(H) a retail electric provider;
(I) this state or an agency of this state; [or]
(J) a person not otherwise an electric utility
who:
(i) furnishes an electric service or
commodity only to itself, its employees, or its tenants as an
incident of employment or tenancy, if that service or commodity is
not resold to or used by others;
(ii) owns or operates in this state
equipment or facilities to produce, generate, transmit,
distribute, sell, or furnish electric energy to an electric
utility, if the equipment or facilities are used primarily to
produce and generate electric energy for consumption by that
person; or
(iii) owns or operates in this state a
recreational vehicle park that provides metered electric service in
accordance with Subchapter C, Chapter 184; or
(K) a distributed renewable generation owner, as
defined by Section 39.916, or a person with whom a retail electric
customer contracts to install or maintain distributed renewable
generation on the customer's side of the meter.
SECTION 5. Section 39.916(d), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The commission by rule shall establish safety,
technical, and performance standards for distributed renewable
generation that may be interconnected. In adopting the rules, the
commission shall consider standards published by the Underwriters
Laboratories, the National Electric Code, the National Electric
Safety Code, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers. The commission may not require a distributed renewable
generation owner or a person who contracts with a customer to
install or maintain distributed renewable generation on the
customer's side of the meter to register as a power generation
company.
SECTION 6. Section 41.004, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 41.004. JURISDICTION OF COMMISSION. Except as
specifically provided otherwise in this chapter, the commission has
jurisdiction over electric cooperatives only as follows:
(1) to regulate wholesale transmission rates and
service, including terms of access, to the extent provided in
Subchapter A, Chapter 35;
(2) to regulate certification to the extent provided
in Chapter 37;
(3) to establish a code of conduct as provided in
Section 39.157(e) subject to Section 41.054;
(4) to establish terms and conditions, but not rates,
for open access to distribution facilities for electric
cooperatives providing customer choice, as provided in Section
39.203; [and]
(5) to require reports of electric cooperative
operations only to the extent necessary to:
(A) ensure the public safety;
(B) enable the commission to satisfy its
responsibilities relating to electric cooperatives under this
chapter;
(C) enable the commission to determine the
aggregate electric load and energy requirements in the state and
the resources available to serve that load; or
(D) enable the commission to determine
information relating to market power as provided in Section 39.155;
and
(6) to establish conditions under which customers may
interconnect distributed renewable generation, as defined by
Section 39.916.
SECTION 7. Section 41.055, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 41.055. JURISDICTION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. A board
of directors has exclusive jurisdiction to:
(1) set all terms of access, conditions, and rates
applicable to services provided by the electric cooperative, except
as provided by Sections 41.004, 41.054, and 41.056, including
nondiscriminatory and comparable rates for distribution but
excluding wholesale transmission rates, terms of access, and
conditions for wholesale transmission service set by the commission
under Subchapter A, Chapter 35, provided that the rates for
distribution established by the electric cooperative shall be
comparable to the distribution rates that apply to the electric
cooperative and its subsidiaries;
(2) determine whether to unbundle any energy-related
activities and, if the board of directors chooses to unbundle,
whether to do so structurally or functionally;
(3) reasonably determine the amount of the electric
cooperative's stranded investment;
(4) establish nondiscriminatory transition charges
reasonably designed to recover the stranded investment over an
appropriate period of time;
(5) determine the extent to which the electric
cooperative will provide various customer services, including
nonelectric services, or accept the services from other providers;
(6) manage and operate the electric cooperative's
utility systems, including exercise of control over resource
acquisition and any related expansion programs;
(7) establish and enforce service quality standards,
reliability standards, and consumer safeguards designed to protect
retail electric customers;
(8) determine whether a base rate reduction is
appropriate for the electric cooperative;
(9) determine any other utility matters that the board
of directors believes should be included;
(10) sell electric energy and capacity at wholesale,
regardless of whether the electric cooperative participates in
customer choice;
(11) determine the extent to which the electric
cooperative offers energy efficiency programs and how the programs
are administered by the electric cooperative; and
(12) make any other decisions affecting the electric
cooperative's method of conducting business that are not
inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.