By: Rodriguez, Uresti S.B. No. 1910
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the delay of the transition to competition for an
electric utility located in the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council service area and net metering requirements and energy
efficiency goals and programs for such utility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter L to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. TRANSITION TO COMPETITION FOR CERTAIN
AREAS OUTSIDE ERCOT
Sec. 39.551. APPLICABILITY. (a) This subchapter applies
only to an investor-owned electric utility:
(1) that is operating solely outside of ERCOT in areas
of this state that were included in the Western Electricity
Coordinating Council on January 1, 2011;
(2) that was not affiliated with ERCOT on January 1,
2011; and
(3) to which Subchapters I, J, and K do not apply.
(b) The legislature finds that an electric utility subject
to this subchapter is unable at this time to offer fair competition
and reliable service to all retail customer classes in the area
served by the utility. As a result, the introduction of retail
competition for such electric utility is delayed until fair
competition and reliable service are available to all retail
customer classes as determined under this subchapter.
Sec. 39.552. COST-OF-SERVICE REGULATION. (a) Until the
date on which an electric utility subject to this subchapter is
authorized by the commission under Section 39.553(f) to implement
retail customer choice, the rates of the utility are subject to
regulation under Chapter 36.
(b) Until the date on which an electric utility subject to
this subchapter implements customer choice, the provisions of this
chapter, other than this subchapter and Sections 39.904 and 39.905,
do not apply to that utility.
Sec. 39.553. TRANSITION TO COMPETITION. (a) The events
prescribed by Subsections (b)-(f) shall be followed to introduce
retail competition in the service area of an electric utility
subject to this subchapter. The commission shall ensure that the
listed items in each stage are completed before the next stage is
initiated. Unless stated otherwise, the commission shall conduct
each activity with the electric utility and other interested
parties. The commission may modify the sequence of events required
by Subsections (b)-(e), but not the substance of the requirements,
if the commission finds good cause to do so. Full retail
competition may not begin in the service area of an electric utility
subject to this subchapter until all actions prescribed by those
subsections are completed.
(b) The first stage for the transition to competition
consists of the following activities:
(1) approval of a regional transmission organization
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the power region
that includes the electric utility's service area and commencement
of independent operation of the transmission network under the
approved regional transmission organization;
(2) development of retail market protocols to
facilitate retail competition; and
(3) completion of an expedited proceeding to develop
nonbypassable delivery rates for the customer choice pilot project
to be implemented under Subsection (c)(1).
(c) The second stage for the transition to competition
consists of the following activities:
(1) initiation of the customer choice pilot project in
accordance with Section 39.104;
(2) development of a balancing energy market, a market
for ancillary services, and a market-based congestion management
system for the wholesale market in the power region in which the
regional transmission organization operates; and
(3) implementation of a seams agreement with adjacent
power regions to reduce barriers to entry and facilitate
competition.
(d) The third stage for the transition to competition
consists of the following activities:
(1) the electric utility filing with the commission:
(A) an application for business separation in
accordance with Section 39.051;
(B) an application for unbundled transmission
and distribution rates in accordance with Section 39.201;
(C) an application for certification of a
qualified power region in accordance with Section 39.152; and
(D) an application for price-to-beat rates in
accordance with Section 39.202;
(2) the commission:
(A) approving a business separation plan for the
utility;
(B) setting unbundled transmission and
distribution rates for the utility;
(C) certifying a qualified power region, which
includes conducting a formal evaluation of wholesale market power
in the region, in accordance with Section 39.152;
(D) setting price-to-beat rates for the utility;
and
(E) determining which competitive energy
services must be separated from regulated utility activities in
accordance with Section 39.051; and
(3) completion of the testing of retail and wholesale
systems, including those systems necessary for switching customers
to the retail electric provider of their choice and for settlement
of wholesale market transactions, by the regional transmission
organization, the registration agent, and market participants.
(e) The fourth stage for the transition to competition
consists of the following activities:
(1) commission evaluation of the results of the pilot
project;
(2) initiation by the electric utility of a capacity
auction in accordance with Section 39.153 at a time to be determined
by the commission; and
(3) separation by the utility of competitive energy
services from its regulated utility activities, in accordance with
the commission order approving the separation of competitive energy
services.
(f) The fifth stage for the transition to competition
consists of the following activities:
(1) evaluation by the commission of whether the
electric utility can offer fair competition and reliable service to
all retail customer classes in the area served by the utility and:
(A) if the commission concludes that the electric
utility can offer fair competition and reliable service to all
retail customer classes in the area served by the utility, issuance
by the commission of an order initiating retail competition for the
utility; and
(B) if the commission determines that the
electric utility cannot offer fair competition and reliable service
to all retail customer classes in the area served by the utility,
issuance by the commission of an order further delaying retail
competition for the utility; and
(2) on the issuance of an order by the commission
initiating retail competition for the utility, completion by the
utility of the business separation and unbundling in accordance
with the commission order approving the unbundling.
Sec. 39.554. INTERCONNECTION OF DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE
GENERATION. (a) In this section:
(1) "Distributed renewable generation" means electric
generation with a capacity of not more than 2,000 kilowatts
provided by a renewable energy technology, as defined by Section
39.904, that is installed on a retail customer's side of the meter.
(2) "Distributed renewable generation owner" has the
meaning assigned under Section 39.916(a).
(3) "Interconnection" means the right of a distributed
renewable generation owner to physically connect distributed
renewable generation to an electricity distribution system and the
technical requirements, rules, or processes for the connection.
(b) A distributed renewable generation owner may request
interconnection by filing an application for interconnection with
the electric utility. A retail customer's application for
interconnection with an electric utility in accordance with this
subsection is subject to the safety and reliability requirements of
the electric utility. Procedures of the electric utility for the
submission and processing of a distributed renewable generation
owner's application for interconnection shall be consistent with
rules adopted by the commission regarding interconnection.
(c) The electric utility shall install, own, and maintain
the meter and metering equipment. The retail customer shall
install a customer-furnished meter socket or metering cabinet, or
both, at the electric utility's designated location solely on the
retail customer's premises. The electric utility, at its own
expense, may install load research metering equipment solely on the
retail customer's premises. The retail customer shall also supply,
at no expense to the electric utility, a suitable location for
meters and associated equipment that will be used for billing and
for load research.
(d) For a retail customer (1) that is an apartment house for
occupancy by low-income elderly tenants reasonably expected to
generate not less than 50 percent of its annual energy use with
distributed renewable generation and qualifying for master
metering pursuant to Section 184.012(b), or (2) that has a
qualifying facility with a design capacity that is 50 kilowatts or
less, and such distributed renewable generation or qualifying
facility identified in this subsection is rated to produce an
amount of electricity that is less than or equal to the amount of
electricity the retail customer consumed in the 12-month period
prior to installation of the qualifying facility or, for new
facilities, the estimated annual kilowatt-hour consumption, in
addition to the metering options in Section 39.916(f), the electric
utility shall also provide such customer with the additional option
of interconnection with the electric utility through a single meter
that runs forward and backward. Any renewable generation
production for a given billing period by a retail customer choosing
this additional option shall offset consumption for the billing
period by the customer, and excess production from the renewable
generation above the retail customer's consumption for a given
billing period shall be credited to the customer in accordance with
the provisions of Subsection (e).
(e) An electric utility that purchases surplus generated
electricity from a distributed renewable generation owner in
accordance with this subsection shall purchase surplus generated
electricity generated by the distributed renewable generation
owner at the cost of the electric utility as determined by
commission rule and:
(1) the electric utility shall take reasonable steps
to inform the distributed renewable generation owner of the amount
of surplus electricity purchased as measured in kilowatt hours
during the retail customer's most recent billing cycle; and
(2) the amount of any credit balance on a monthly bill
of a retail electric customer with distributed renewable energy may
be carried forward on the retail customer's bill until the credit
exceeds $50, at which time the electric utility must provide a
refund of the credit balance to the retail customer.
Sec. 39.555. MARKETING OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE
ENERGY PROGRAMS. An electric utility subject to this subchapter
may directly market energy efficiency and renewable energy programs
to retail customers within its service territory and provide rebate
or incentive funds directly to its customers to promote or
facilitate the success of the programs subject to Section 39.905.
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, 2011.