By: Rodriguez S.B. No. 1239
(In the Senate - Filed March 6, 2013; March 13, 2013, read
first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
May 2, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 2, 2013, sent
to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1239 By: Watson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to distributed renewable generation and compensation for
excess electricity generated by distributed renewable generation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.002, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.002. APPLICABILITY. Except as provided by this
section, this [This] chapter, other than Sections 39.155,
39.157(e), 39.203, 39.903, 39.904, 39.9051, 39.9052, and
39.914(e), does not apply to a municipally owned utility or to an
electric cooperative. Sections 39.157(e), 39.203, and 39.904[,
however,] apply only to a municipally owned utility or an electric
cooperative that is offering customer choice. Section 39.9161
applies to a municipally owned utility. Section 39.9162 applies to
an electric cooperative. If there is a conflict between the
specific provisions of this chapter and any other provisions of
this title, except for Chapters 40 and 41, the provisions of this
chapter control.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 39.916, Utilities Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39.916. [INTERCONNECTION OF] DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE
GENERATION.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 39.916, Utilities Code,
is amended by adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows:
(4) "Surplus electricity" means electricity generated
by distributed renewable generation that is not consumed at the
place the distributed renewable generation is installed and that
flows onto the electric distribution system.
SECTION 4. Section 39.916, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c), (f), and (j) and adding Subsections
(k-1), (l), (m), (n), (o), and (p) to read as follows:
(c) A distributed renewable generation owner [customer] may
request interconnection by filing an application for
interconnection with the transmission and distribution utility or
electric utility. Procedures of a transmission and distribution
utility or electric utility for the submission and processing of a
distributed renewable generation owner's [customer's] application
for interconnection shall be consistent with rules adopted by the
commission regarding interconnection.
(f) On request of a distributed renewable generation owner,
a [A] transmission and distribution utility or electric utility
shall make available to the [a] distributed renewable generation
owner for purposes of this section metering required for services
provided under this section, including separate meters that measure
the load and generator output or a single meter capable of measuring
in-flow and out-flow at the point of common coupling meter point.
The distributed renewable generation owner must pay the
differential cost of the metering unless the meters are provided at
no additional cost. Except as provided by this section, Section
39.107 applies to metering under this section.
(j) A [For] distributed renewable generation owner who
chooses to sell the owner's surplus electricity in an area [owners
in areas] in which customer choice has been introduced[, the
distributed renewable generation owner] must sell the owner's
surplus electricity produced to the retail electric provider that
serves the retail electric customer's [distributed renewable
generation owner's] load. A distributed renewable generation owner
who chooses to sell the owner's surplus electricity in an area in
which customer choice has not been introduced must sell the owner's
surplus electricity to the electric utility that serves the retail
electric customer's load [at a value agreed to between the
distributed renewable generation owner and the provider that serves
the owner's load which may include, but is not limited to, an agreed
value based on the clearing price of energy at the time of day that
the electricity is made available to the grid or it may be a credit
applied to an account during a billing period that may be carried
over to subsequent billing periods until the credit has been
redeemed]. The independent organization identified in Section
39.151 shall develop procedures so that the amount of electricity
purchased from a distributed renewable generation owner under this
section is accounted for in settling the total load served by the
retail electric provider that serves that retail electric
customer's [owner's] load [by January 1, 2009]. A distributed
renewable generation owner requesting [net] metering services for
purposes of this section must have metering devices capable of
providing measurements consistent with the independent
organization's settlement requirements.
(k-1) In areas in which customer choice has been introduced,
a retail electric provider shall purchase surplus electricity at a
fair market value determined using a price that provides a periodic
proxy, using a period of a month or longer, for the load zone
real-time market clearing price, unless the provider chooses to use
a fair market value determined by a reasonable alternative method,
including the load zone real-time market clearing price at the time
of day the surplus electricity is made available to the grid or by
the simple average, during the period for which the surplus
electricity being purchased was generated, of the load zone
real-time market clearing price for energy at the time of day
specified in the ERCOT protocols for the applicable type of
distributed renewable generation for load reduction at locations
without interval data meters. A retail electric provider may
compensate a distributed renewable generation owner for purchased
surplus electricity at a value greater than the fair market value.
A distributed renewable generation owner may file a written
complaint with the commission for a violation of this subsection or
Subsection (l). This section does not apply to a retail electric
provider providing service under Section 39.106.
(l) A retail electric provider that purchases surplus
electricity from a distributed renewable generation owner under
Subsection (k-1) must compensate the distributed renewable
generation owner by making a payment not less frequently than once
each quarter or by applying a monetary credit to an account the
monetary credit balance of which may be carried forward until the
monetary credit has been redeemed. The retail electric provider
shall inform the distributed renewable generation owner of the
amount of surplus electricity purchased, measured in kilowatt
hours, and the price paid for the surplus electricity purchased.
(m) In areas in which customer choice has not been
introduced, an electric utility shall purchase surplus electricity
at a value that is at least equal to the avoided cost of the electric
utility as determined by commission rule. A distributed renewable
generation owner may file a written complaint with the commission
for a violation of this subsection or Subsection (n).
(n) An electric utility that purchases surplus electricity
from a distributed renewable generation owner under Subsection (m)
must compensate the distributed renewable generation owner by
making a payment not less frequently than once each quarter or by
applying a monetary credit to an account the monetary credit
balance of which may be carried forward until the monetary credit
has been redeemed. The electric utility shall inform the
distributed renewable generation owner of the amount of surplus
electricity purchased, measured in kilowatt hours, and the price
paid for the surplus electricity purchased.
(o) A distributed renewable generation owner is qualified
to be compensated for surplus electricity purchased under this
section only if:
(1) the distributed renewable generation is:
(A) rated to produce an amount of electricity
annually that is less than or equal to the amount of electricity the
retail electric customer for whom the distributed renewable
generation is installed is reasonably expected to consume annually;
and
(B) installed on the customer's side of the meter
for a residential retail electric customer or a retail electric
customer that is:
(i) a public school; or
(ii) the premises of a religious
organization if those premises are exempt from ad valorem taxation
under Section 11.20, Tax Code; and
(2) the generating capacity of the distributed
renewable generation does not exceed:
(A) 10 kilowatts for a residential retail
electric customer;
(B) 150 kilowatts for a retail electric customer
that is the premises of a religious organization if those premises
are exempt from ad valorem taxation under Section 11.20, Tax Code;
or
(C) 250 kilowatts for a retail electric customer
that is a public school.
(p) Notwithstanding Subsections (k-1) and (o), in areas in
which customer choice has been introduced, a distributed renewable
generation owner that does not meet the qualifications prescribed
by Subsection (o) may be paid or credited for the owner's surplus
electricity at a value agreed on by the owner and the retail
electric provider that serves the retail electric customer's load.
SECTION 5. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Sections 39.9161 and 39.9162 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.9161. DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE GENERATION WITH
MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES. (a) In this section, "distributed
renewable generation," "distributed renewable generation owner,"
and "interconnection" have the meanings assigned by Section 39.916.
(b) A municipally owned utility shall:
(1) allow interconnection by distributed renewable
generation owners and payment for surplus electricity produced by
those owners; and
(2) provide the utility's customers access to
interconnection of distributed renewable generation and payment
for surplus electricity produced.
(c) The governing body of a municipally owned utility shall
provide oversight and adopt rates, rules, and procedures to allow
interconnection and provide payment for surplus electricity
consistent with the goals established by Section 39.916. This
subsection does not prevent the governing body of a municipally
owned utility from adopting rates, rules, and procedures for
interconnection and payment for surplus electricity that are more
favorable to a distributed renewable generation owner than those
established by any other law or rule of the commission.
(d) If a municipally owned utility implements customer
choice under Chapter 40, the commission:
(1) has jurisdiction over the municipally owned
utility's distributed renewable generation interconnection and
payment for surplus electricity; and
(2) by rule shall establish minimum standards and
procedures for interconnection and payment for surplus electricity
by the municipally owned utility.
(e) A municipally owned utility that had retail sales of
500,000 megawatt hours or more in 2012 shall:
(1) file the utility's interconnection and surplus
electricity rates, rules, and procedures with the State Energy
Conservation Office not later than January 1, 2015; and
(2) make timely updates to the utility's rates, rules,
and procedures filed under Subdivision (1).
(f) A municipally owned utility that has adopted rules and
procedures related to interconnection and payment for surplus
electricity shall make available, on a publicly accessible Internet
website or at the customary location for publicly posted notices:
(1) information on the purchase price offered per
kilowatt hour for surplus electricity produced by distributed
renewable generation; and
(2) information instructing customers with
distributed renewable generation how to request and obtain the
purchase rates offered.
(g) The governing body of a municipally owned utility that
had retail sales of less than 500,000 megawatt hours in 2012 shall
provide oversight and adopt rates, rules, and procedures related to
interconnection and payment for surplus electricity of distributed
renewable generation systems with a generating capacity considered
appropriate by the municipally owned utility on or before the 120th
day after the date the governing body receives a bona fide request
for interconnection.
Sec. 39.9162. DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE GENERATION WITH
ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES. (a) In this section, "distributed
renewable generation," "distributed renewable generation owner,"
and "interconnection" have the meanings assigned by Section 39.916.
(b) An electric cooperative shall:
(1) allow interconnection by distributed renewable
generation owners and payment for surplus electricity produced by
those owners; and
(2) provide its members access to interconnection of
distributed renewable generation and payment for surplus
electricity produced.
(c) An electric cooperative shall allow interconnection if:
(1) the distributed renewable generation to be
interconnected has a five-year warranty against breakdown or undue
degradation;
(2) the rated capacity of the distributed renewable
generation does not exceed the electric cooperative's service
capacity; and
(3) the distributed renewable generation meets other
technical requirements for interconnection that are consistent
with commission rules.
(d) The board of directors of an electric cooperative shall
provide oversight and adopt rates, rules, and procedures to allow
interconnection and provide payment for surplus electricity
consistent with the goals established by Section 39.916. This
subsection does not prevent the board of directors of an electric
cooperative from adopting rates, rules, and procedures for
interconnection and payment for surplus electricity that are more
favorable to a distributed renewable generation owner than those
established by any other law or rule of the commission.
(e) A member may request interconnection by filing an
application for interconnection with the electric cooperative. An
electric cooperative's procedures for the submission and
processing of a member's application for interconnection must be
consistent with rules adopted by the commission regarding
interconnection.
(f) An electric cooperative may not require a distributed
renewable generation owner whose distributed renewable generation
meets the standards established under Subsection (c) to purchase an
amount, type, or classification of liability insurance the
distributed renewable generation owner would not have in the
absence of the distributed renewable generation.
(g) An electric cooperative shall compensate the
distributed renewable generation owner for surplus electricity at a
value that is at least equal to the avoided cost of the cooperative.
The electric cooperative may determine the cooperative's avoided
cost as either:
(1) the sum of the average wholesale fuel and energy
costs, expressed in cents per kilowatt hour, on the wholesale power
bill for the applicable billing period; or
(2) the avoided cost of the wholesale power supplier
as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission if the electric cooperative
purchases all of its power from a wholesale power supplier
regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(h) If an electric cooperative implements customer choice
under Chapter 41, the commission:
(1) has jurisdiction over the electric cooperative's
distributed renewable generation interconnection and payment for
surplus electricity; and
(2) by rule shall establish minimum standards and
procedures for interconnection and payment for surplus electricity
by the electric cooperative.
(i) An electric cooperative that had retail sales of 500,000
megawatt hours or more in 2012 shall file the cooperative's
interconnection and surplus electricity rates, rules, and
procedures with the State Energy Conservation Office not later than
January 1, 2015, and shall make timely updates to the cooperative's
filed rates, rules, and procedures.
(j) An electric cooperative that has adopted rules and
procedures related to interconnection and payment for surplus
electricity shall make available, on the cooperative's Internet
website or at the customary location for the cooperative's posted
notices:
(1) information on the purchase price offered per
kilowatt hour for surplus electricity produced by distributed
renewable generation; and
(2) information instructing members with distributed
renewable generation how to request and obtain the purchase rates
offered.
(k) The board of directors of an electric cooperative that
had retail sales of less than 500,000 megawatt hours in 2012 shall
provide oversight and adopt rates, rules, and procedures related to
interconnection of distributed renewable generation and payment
for surplus electricity on or before the 120th day after the date
the board of directors receives a bona fide request for
interconnection.
SECTION 6. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.926 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.926. INFORMATION ON INTERNET REGARDING PURCHASE OF
SURPLUS ELECTRICITY PRODUCED BY DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE GENERATION.
The commission shall provide for access to easily comparable
information regarding retail electric providers' offers to
residential distributed renewable generation owners for their
surplus electricity, including information regarding their
contract terms, on an Internet website maintained by the
commission.
SECTION 7. Subsection (h), Section 39.916, Utilities Code,
is repealed.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.
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