88R14721 KBB-D
By: Kacal H.B. No. 3070
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the recognition of priority transmission areas in the
ERCOT power region.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.056, Utilities Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (j), (k), (l), and (m) to read as follows:
(j) The independent organization certified under Section
39.151 for the ERCOT power region shall recognize in its planning
procedures priority transmission areas in the ERCOT power region
for transmission expansion to ensure continuous service and
accommodate economic development in those areas.
(k) In this section, a priority transmission area is a
metropolitan statistical area:
(1) that has a population of more than 250,000;
(2) that has no direct or looped interconnection at
345 kilovolts with the ERCOT power region transmission network or
only a limited interconnection of that type;
(3) that is served by an electric cooperative,
municipally owned utility, or transmission and distribution
utility that does not own a 345 kilovolt transmission facility or a
345-to-138 kilovolt autotransformer; and
(4) the growth and economic development of which is
constrained as a consequence of the conditions described by
Subdivisions (2) and (3).
(l) Recognition by the independent organization certified
under Section 39.151 for the ERCOT power region of an area as a
priority transmission area creates a presumption that the area
needs additional service under Subsection (c)(2).
(m) The commission shall approve or deny an application to
serve a priority transmission area not later than the 185th day
after the date the application is filed. If the commission does not
approve or deny the application on or before that date, a party may
seek a writ of mandamus in a district court of Travis County to
compel the commission to decide on the application.
SECTION 2. (a) The Public Utility Commission of Texas, with
the assistance of the independent organization certified under
Section 39.151, Utilities Code, for the ERCOT power region, shall
identify and conduct a study of the transmission capacity and
transmission needs of priority transmission areas, as defined by
Section 37.056, Utilities Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall report to
the legislature the results of the study not later than December 31,
2023.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.