By: Rodriguez S.B. No. 1478
(In the Senate - Filed February 11, 2013; March 18, 2013,
read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
May 1, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 1, 2013,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1478 By: Watson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the satisfaction of annual renewable energy
requirements by certain utilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.904, Utilities Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission by rule
shall require an investor-owned electric utility that was not
affiliated with ERCOT and was operating solely outside of ERCOT in
areas of this state that were included in the Western Electricity
Coordinating Council on January 1, 2013, to satisfy, not later than
December 31, 2015, at least 15 percent of the annual renewable
energy requirement under Subsection (c) through capacity or
purchases of renewable energy credits that are physically metered
and verified in the utility's Texas or New Mexico service area. The
electric utility must satisfy at least 20 percent of that energy
requirement in that manner by December 31, 2018, and at least 35
percent by December 31, 2021. These requirements are subject to the
following conditions:
(1) the electric utility may not be required to
satisfy more than the specified percentages through capacity or
purchases of renewable energy credits that are physically metered
and verified in the utility's Texas or New Mexico service area;
(2) the maximum amount per renewable energy credit
that the electric utility is required to incur in satisfaction of
this subsection is the lesser of $50 or five times the average
amount the electric utility paid for the purchase of a renewable
energy credit for compliance in the previous year, and to the extent
renewable energy credits cannot be obtained for that price, the
electric utility is relieved of any further obligations under this
subsection for that year; and
(3) the commission shall count toward the satisfaction
of the obligations of this section any capacity or purchases of
renewable energy credits that:
(A) are physically metered and verified in the
utility's New Mexico service area; and
(B) are registered with a renewable energy
generation information system that is designed to create and track
ownership of renewable energy credits and that, through the use of
independently audited generation data, verifies the generation and
delivery of electricity associated with each renewable energy
credit and protects against counting the same renewable energy
credit more than once.
SECTION 2. The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall
adopt rules to implement Subsection (c-1), Section 39.904,
Utilities Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable
following the effective date of this Act, but not later than August
31, 2014.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.
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