By: King of Parker, Harless, Slawson, H.B. No. 2483
Hernandez, Darby, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to utility facilities for restoring electric service after
a widespread power outage.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.918 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.918. UTILITY FACILITIES FOR POWER RESTORATION AFTER
WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGE. (a) In this section, "widespread power
outage" means an event that results in:
(1) a loss of electric power that:
(A) affects a significant number of distribution
customers of a transmission and distribution utility; and
(B) has lasted or is expected to last for at least
eight hours; and
(2) a risk to public safety.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, a
transmission and distribution utility may:
(1) lease and operate facilities that provide
temporary emergency electric energy to aid in restoring power to
the utility's distribution customers during a widespread power
outage in which:
(A) the independent system operator has ordered
the utility to shed load; or
(B) the utility's distribution facilities are
not being fully served by the bulk power system under normal
operations; and
(2) procure, own, and operate, or enter into a
cooperative agreement with other transmission and distribution
utilities to procure, own, and operate jointly, transmission and
distribution facilities that have a lead time of at least six months
and would aid in restoring power to the utility's distribution
customers following a widespread power outage. In this section,
long lead time facilities may not be electric energy storage
equipment or facilities under Chapter 35, Utilities Code.
(c) A transmission and distribution utility that leases and
operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) may not sell electric
energy or ancillary services from those facilities.
(d) Facilities described by Subsection (b)(1):
(1) must be operated in isolation from the bulk power
system; and
(2) may not be included in independent system
operator:
(A) locational marginal pricing calculations;
(B) pricing; or
(C) reliability models.
(e) A transmission and distribution utility that leases and
operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) shall ensure, to the
extent reasonably practicable, that retail customer usage during
operation of those facilities is adjusted out of the usage reported
for billing purposes by the retail customer's retail electric
provider.
(f) A transmission and distribution utility shall, when
reasonably practicable, use a competitive bidding process to lease
facilities under Subsection (b)(1).
(g) A transmission and distribution utility that leases and
operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) or that procures, owns,
and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(2) shall include in
the utility's emergency operations plan filed with the commission,
as described by Section 186.007, a detailed plan on the utility's
use of those facilities.
(h) The commission shall permit:
(1) a transmission and distribution utility that
leases and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) to recover
the reasonable and necessary costs of leasing and operating the
facilities, including the present value of future payments required
under the lease, using the rate of return on investment established
in the commission's final order in the utility's most recent base
rate proceeding; and
(2) a transmission and distribution utility that
procures, owns, and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(2) to
recover the reasonable and necessary costs of procuring, owning,
and operating the facilities, using the rate of return on
investment established in the commission's final order in the
utility's most recent base rate proceeding.
(i) The commission shall authorize a transmission and
distribution utility to defer for recovery in a future ratemaking
proceeding the incremental operations and maintenance expenses and
the return, not otherwise recovered in a rate proceeding,
associated with the leasing or procurement, ownership, and
operation of the facilities.
(j) A transmission and distribution utility may request
recovery of the reasonable and necessary costs of leasing or
procuring, owning, and operating facilities under this section,
including any deferred expenses, through a proceeding under Section
36.210 or in another ratemaking proceeding. A lease under
Subsection (b)(1) must be treated as a capital lease or finance
lease for ratemaking purposes.
(k) This section expires September 1, 2029.
SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2029, the Public
Utility Commission of Texas shall:
(1) analyze the effects of authorizing transmission
and distribution utilities to lease, operate, procure, or own the
facilities described by Section 39.918(b), Utilities Code, as added
by this Act; and
(2) submit a report to the legislature that includes
the analysis produced under Subdivision (1) of this section and a
recommendation of whether the legislature should allow Section
39.918, Utilities Code, as added by this Act, to expire.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.