Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2349 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Ogden S.B. No. 2349
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to distributed generation of electric power by natural gas
7	7	powered generation facilities.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 31.002, Utilities Code, is amended by
10	10	adding Subdivision (4-a) and amending Subdivision (10) to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	(4-a) "Distributed natural gas generation facility"
13	13	means a facility installed on the customer's side of the meter that
14	14	is used for the generation of not more than 2,000 kilowatts of
15	15	electricity.
16	16	(10) "Power generation company" means a person,
17	17	including a person who owns or operates a distributed natural gas
18	18	generation facility, that:
19	19	(A) generates electricity that is intended to be
20	20	sold at wholesale;
21	21	(B) does not own a transmission or distribution
22	22	facility in this state other than an essential interconnecting
23	23	facility, a facility not dedicated to public use, or a facility
24	24	otherwise excluded from the definition of "electric utility" under
25	25	this section; and
26	26	(C) does not have a certificated service area,
27	27	although its affiliated electric utility or transmission and
28	28	distribution utility may have a certificated service area.
29	29	SECTION 2. The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 35,
30	30	Utilities Code, is amended to read as follows:
31	31	SUBCHAPTER B. EXEMPT WHOLESALE GENERATORS, DISTRIBUTED NATURAL GAS
32	32	GENERATION FACILITIES, AND POWER MARKETERS
33	33	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 35, Utilities Code, is
34	34	amended by adding Section 35.036 to read as follows:
35	35	Sec. 35.036. DISTRIBUTED NATURAL GAS GENERATION
36	36	FACILITIES. (a)(1) A person who owns or operates a distributed
37	37	natural gas generation facility may sell electric power generated
38	38	by the facility.
39	39	(2) The electric utility, electric cooperative, or
40	40	retail electric provider that provides retail electricity service
41	41	to the facility may purchase electric power tendered to it by the
42	42	owner or operator of the facility at a value agreed to by the
43	43	electric utility, electric cooperative, or retail electric
44	44	provider and the owner or operator of the facility, which may
45	45	include a value based on the clearing price of energy at the time of
46	46	day and location that the electricity is made available to the
47	47	electric grid.
48	48	(3) At the request of the owner or operator of the
49	49	facility, the electric utility or electric cooperative shall allow
50	50	the owner or operator of the facility to use the transmission and
51	51	distribution facilities to transmit the electric power to another
52	52	entity that is acceptable to the owner or operator in accordance
53	53	with commission rules or a tariff approved by the Federal Energy
54	54	Regulatory Commission.
55	55	(b) If the owner or operator of a distributed natural gas
56	56	generation facility requests to be interconnected to an electric
57	57	utility or electric cooperative that does not have a transmission
58	58	tariff approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the
59	59	electric utility or electric cooperative may recover from the owner
60	60	or operator of the facility the reasonable costs of interconnecting
61	61	the facility with the electric utility or electric cooperative that
62	62	are necessary for and directly attributable to the interconnection
63	63	of the facility. If the rated capacity of the distributed natural
64	64	gas generation exceeds the capacity of the electric utility or
65	65	electric cooperative and the owner or operator of the facility
66	66	requests that such an electric utility or electric cooperative make
67	67	upgrades to accommodate the distributed natural generation
68	68	capacity, the electric utility or electric cooperative may recover
69	69	from the owner or operator of the facility the reasonable cost of
70	70	electric facility upgrades and improvements that are necessary for
71	71	and directly attributable to the requested accommodation of the
72	72	distributed natural gas generation capacity.
73	73	(c) In order to recover costs under Subsection (b), an
74	74	electric utility or electric cooperative must have provided a
75	75	good-faith cost estimate in writing to the owner or operator of the
76	76	distributed natural gas generation facility and the owner or
77	77	operator must have, prior to the incurring of any cost by the
78	78	electric utility or electric cooperative, agreed in writing to pay
79	79	the reasonable and necessary cost of interconnection or capacity
80	80	accommodation requested by the owner or operator and described in
81	81	the cost estimate. If an electric utility or electric cooperative
82	82	seeks to recover from the owner or operator of the facility an
83	83	amount that exceeds the good-faith estimate by more than five
84	84	percent and the owner or operator of the facility disputes the
85	85	amount that exceeds the good-faith estimate, the commission shall
86	86	resolve the dispute at the request of the owner or operator of the
87	87	facility.
88	88	(d) A distributed natural gas generation facility must
89	89	comply with emissions limitations established by the Texas
90	90	Commission on Environmental Quality for a standard emissions permit
91	91	for an electric generation facility unit installed after January 1,
92	92	1995.
93	93	SECTION 4. Subsection (c), Section 39.351, Utilities Code,
94	94	is amended to read as follows:
95	95	(c) The commission may establish simplified filing
96	96	requirements for distributed natural gas generation facilities [A
97	97	power generation company may register any time after September 1,
98	98	2000].
99	99	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
100	100	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
101	101	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
102	102	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
103	103	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.