S.B. No. 1202
AN ACT
relating to the applicability of certain utility provisions to a
vehicle charging service.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 31.002(6) and (17), Utilities Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(6) "Electric utility" means a person or river
authority that owns or operates for compensation in this state
equipment or facilities to produce, generate, transmit,
distribute, sell, or furnish electricity in this state. The term
includes a lessee, trustee, or receiver of an electric utility and a
recreational vehicle park owner who does not comply with Subchapter
C, Chapter 184, with regard to the metered sale of electricity at
the recreational vehicle park. The term does not include:
(A) a municipal corporation;
(B) a qualifying facility;
(C) a power generation company;
(D) an exempt wholesale generator;
(E) a power marketer;
(F) a corporation described by Section 32.053 to
the extent the corporation sells electricity exclusively at
wholesale and not to the ultimate consumer;
(G) an electric cooperative;
(H) a retail electric provider;
(I) this state or an agency of this state; or
(J) a person not otherwise an electric utility
who:
(i) furnishes an electric service or
commodity only to itself, its employees, or its tenants as an
incident of employment or tenancy, if that service or commodity is
not resold to or used by others;
(ii) owns or operates in this state
equipment or facilities to produce, generate, transmit,
distribute, sell, or furnish electric energy to an electric
utility, if the equipment or facilities are used primarily to
produce and generate electric energy for consumption by that
person; [or]
(iii) owns or operates in this state a
recreational vehicle park that provides metered electric service in
accordance with Subchapter C, Chapter 184; or
(iv) owns or operates equipment used solely
to provide electricity charging service for consumption by an
alternatively fueled vehicle, as defined by Section 502.004,
Transportation Code.
(17) "Retail electric provider" means a person that
sells electric energy to retail customers in this state. A retail
electric provider may not own or operate generation assets. The
term does not include a person not otherwise a retail electric
provider who owns or operates equipment used solely to provide
electricity charging service for consumption by an alternatively
fueled vehicle, as defined by Section 502.004, Transportation Code.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 31.0021 to read as follows:
Sec. 31.0021. CHARGING SERVICE. The commission by rule may
exempt from the definition of "electric utility" or "retail
electric provider" under Section 31.002 a provider who owns or
operates equipment used solely to provide electricity charging
service for a mode of transportation.
SECTION 3. Section 37.001(3), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(3) "Retail electric utility" means a person,
political subdivision, electric cooperative, or agency that
operates, maintains, or controls in this state a facility to
provide retail electric utility service. The term does not include
a corporation described by Section 32.053 to the extent that the
corporation sells electricity exclusively at wholesale and not to
the ultimate consumer. A qualifying cogenerator that sells
electric energy at retail to the sole purchaser of the
cogenerator's thermal output under Sections 35.061 and 36.007 is
not for that reason considered to be a retail electric utility. The
owner or operator of a qualifying cogeneration facility who was
issued the necessary environmental permits from the Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission after January 1, 1998, and who
commenced construction of such qualifying facility before July 1,
1998, may provide electricity to the purchasers of the thermal
output of that qualifying facility and shall not for that reason be
considered an electric utility or a retail electric utility,
provided that the purchasers of the thermal output are owners of
manufacturing or process operation facilities that are located on a
site entirely owned before September, 1987, by one owner who
retained ownership after September, 1987, of some portion of the
facilities and that those facilities now share some integrated
operations, such as the provision of services and raw materials. A
person who owns or operates equipment used solely to provide
electricity charging service for consumption by an alternatively
fueled vehicle, as defined by Section 502.004, Transportation Code,
is not for that reason considered to be a retail electric utility.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.002 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.002. CHARGING SERVICE. The commission may by rule
exempt from the definition of "retail electric utility" under
Section 37.001 a provider who owns or operates equipment used
solely to provide electricity charging service for a mode of
transportation.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1202 passed the Senate on
April 9, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1202 passed the House on
May 20, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 1, one
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor