Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4376 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R3103 BRG-F
2	2	By: Kacal H.B. No. 4376
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to regulation of ownership and control of installed
8	8	electric generation capacity.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 39.152(a) and (d), Utilities Code, are
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) The commission shall certify a power region if:
13	13	(1) a sufficient number of interconnected utilities in
14	14	the power region fall under the operational control of an
15	15	independent organization as described by Section 39.151;
16	16	(2) the power region has a generally applicable tariff
17	17	that guarantees open and nondiscriminatory access for all users to
18	18	transmission and distribution facilities in the power region as
19	19	provided by Section 39.203; and
20	20	(3) no person owns and controls more than 25 [20]
21	21	percent of the installed generation capacity located in or capable
22	22	of delivering electricity to a power region, as determined
23	23	according to Section 39.154.
24	24	(d) For a power region outside of ERCOT, a power generation
25	25	company that is affiliated with an electric utility may elect to
26	26	demonstrate that it meets the requirements of Subsection (a)(3) by
27	27	showing that it does not own and control more than 25 [20] percent
28	28	of the installed capacity in a geographic market that includes the
29	29	power region, using the guidelines, standards, and methods adopted
30	30	by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
31	31	SECTION 2. Section 39.154(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
32	32	read as follows:
33	33	(a) A [Beginning on the date of introduction of customer
34	34	choice, a] power generation company may not own and control more
35	35	than 25 [20] percent of the installed generation capacity located
36	36	in, or capable of delivering electricity to, a power region.
37	37	SECTION 3. Section 39.156(f), Utilities Code, is amended to
38	38	read as follows:
39	39	(f) The commission shall approve, modify, or reject a plan
40	40	within 180 days after the date the plan is filed [of a filing under
41	41	Subsection (b)]. The commission may not modify a plan to require
42	42	divestiture by the electric utility or the power generation
43	43	company.
44	44	SECTION 4. Section 39.407(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
45	45	read as follows:
46	46	(a) If an electric utility chooses on or after January 1,
47	47	2007, to participate in customer choice, the commission may not
48	48	authorize customer choice until the applicable power region has
49	49	been certified as a qualifying power region under Section
50	50	39.152(a). Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
51	51	commission shall certify that the requirements of Section
52	52	39.152(a)(3) are met for electric utilities subject to this
53	53	subchapter only upon a finding that the total capacity owned and
54	54	controlled by each such electric utility and its affiliates does
55	55	not exceed 25 [20] percent of the total installed generation
56	56	capacity within the constrained geographic region served by each
57	57	such electric utility plus the total available transmission
58	58	capacity capable of delivering firm power and energy to that
59	59	constrained geographic region. Not later than May 1, 2002, each
60	60	electric utility subject to this subchapter shall submit to the
61	61	electric utility restructuring legislative oversight committee an
62	62	analysis of the needed transmission facilities necessary to make
63	63	the electric utility's service area transmission capability
64	64	comparable to areas within the ERCOT power region. On or after
65	65	September 1, 2003, each electric utility subject to this subchapter
66	66	shall file the utility's plans to develop the utility's
67	67	transmission interconnections with the utility's power region or
68	68	other adjacent power regions. The commission shall review the plan
69	69	and not later than the 180th day after the date the plan is filed,
70	70	determine the additional transmission facilities necessary to
71	71	provide access to power and energy that is comparable to the access
72	72	provided in areas within the ERCOT power region; provided, however,
73	73	that if a hearing is requested by any party to the proceeding, the
74	74	180-day deadline will be extended one day for each day of hearings.
75	75	The commission shall, as a part of the commission's approval of the
76	76	plan, approve a rate rider mechanism for the recovery of the
77	77	incremental costs of those facilities after the facilities are
78	78	completed and in-service. A finding of need under this subsection
79	79	shall meet the requirements of Sections 37.056(c)(1), (2), and
80	80	(4)(E). The commission may certify that the requirements of
81	81	Section 39.152(a)(3) are met for electric utilities subject to this
82	82	subchapter if the commission finds that:
83	83	(1) each such utility has sufficient transmission
84	84	facilities to provide customers access to power and energy from
85	85	capacity controlled by suppliers not affiliated with the incumbent
86	86	utility that is comparable to the access to power and energy from
87	87	capacity controlled by suppliers not affiliated with the incumbent
88	88	utilities in areas of the ERCOT power region; and
89	89	(2) the total capacity owned and controlled by each
90	90	such electric utility and its affiliates does not exceed 25 [20]
91	91	percent of the total installed generation capacity within the power
92	92	region.
93	93	SECTION 5. Section 39.453(b), Utilities Code, is amended to
94	94	read as follows:
95	95	(b) The commission shall certify that the requirement of
96	96	Section 39.152(a)(3) is met for an electric utility subject to this
97	97	subchapter only if the commission finds that the total capacity
98	98	owned and controlled by the electric utility and the utility's
99	99	affiliates does not exceed 25 [20] percent of the total installed
100	100	generation capacity within the power region of that utility.
101	101	SECTION 6. Section 39.156(b), Utilities Code, is repealed.
102	102	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.