Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2112 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Johnson, Blanco, Zaffirini S.B. No. 2112
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to resources used to ensure the continuous provision of
7	7	power.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
10	10	Code, is amended by adding Section 382.069 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 382.069. TEXAS BACKUP POWER PACKAGE. (a) In this
12	12	section, "Texas backup power package" has the meaning assigned by
13	13	Section 418.401, Government Code.
14	14	(b) The commission by rule shall adopt a process to expedite
15	15	the permitting of a Texas backup power package for which a permit is
16	16	required under this chapter.
17	17	SECTION 2. Chapter 418, Government Code, is amended by
18	18	adding Subchapter K to read as follows:
19	19	SUBCHAPTER K. TEXAS POWER PROMISE
20	20	Sec. 418.401. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "Texas
21	21	backup power package" means a stand-alone, behind-the-meter,
22	22	multiday backup power source that can be used for islanding.
23	23	Sec. 418.402. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
24	24	facilitate and provide funding for:
25	25	(1) the design, procurement, installation, and use of
26	26	Texas backup power packages for facilities on which communities
27	27	rely for health, safety, and well-being; and
28	28	(2) the procurement and use of mobile sources of
29	29	backup power to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of
30	30	communities.
31	31	Sec. 418.403. DIVISION DUTIES. (a) The division shall
32	32	convene an advisory committee in the manner provided by Chapter
33	33	2110, Government Code.
34	34	(b) The advisory committee shall recommend criteria for the
35	35	division to employ in making a grant or loan under this subchapter.
36	36	(c) The division shall contract with a research entity that
37	37	has experience in microgrid design to analyze critical facility
38	38	characteristics and requirements in this state and develop for
39	39	Texas backup power packages:
40	40	(1) sets of specifications for standard backup power
41	41	packages of various sizes that can serve most critical facilities
42	42	in this state; and
43	43	(2) specifications for standard interconnection,
44	44	communications, and controls for Texas backup power packages.
45	45	Sec. 418.404. TEXAS BACKUP POWER PACKAGES. (a) A grant or
46	46	loan made under this subchapter may be provided only for the
47	47	operation of a Texas backup power package that:
48	48	(1) is engineered to minimize operation costs;
49	49	(2) uses interconnection technology and controls that
50	50	enable immediate islanding from the power grid and stand-alone
51	51	operation for the host facility;
52	52	(3) is capable of operating for at least 48 continuous
53	53	hours without refueling or connecting to a separate power source;
54	54	(4) is designed so that one or more Texas backup power
55	55	packages can be aggregated on-site to serve not more than 2.5
56	56	megawatts of load at the host facility;
57	57	(5) provides power sourced from:
58	58	(A) a combination of natural gas or propane with
59	59	photovoltaic panels and battery storage; or
60	60	(B) battery storage on an electric school bus;
61	61	and
62	62	(6) is not used by the owner or host facility for the
63	63	sale of energy or ancillary services.
64	64	(b) Texas backup power packages may be aggregated and
65	65	operated to support the power grid under emergency conditions if
66	66	the operation does not compromise a Texas backup power package's
67	67	capability to provide power to its host facility for at least 24
68	68	hours of operation without refueling or connecting to a separate
69	69	power source.
70	70	Sec. 418.405. GRANTS AND LOANS. (a) The division may
71	71	provide grants and loans under this subchapter.
72	72	(b) The division by rule may establish procedures for the
73	73	application for and award of a grant or loan under this subchapter.
74	74	(c) The amount of a grant provided under this subchapter may
75	75	not exceed $500 per kilowatt of capacity.
76	76	(d) The division may provide a loan under this subchapter
77	77	for procurement and operating costs.
78	78	(e) The division shall maintain and publish a list of
79	79	approved vendors eligible to assist with the sale, installation,
80	80	operation, and ongoing maintenance of Texas backup power packages.
81	81	(f) The division may not provide a grant or loan under this
82	82	subchapter for:
83	83	(1) a commercial energy system, a private school, or a
84	84	for-profit entity that does not directly serve public safety and
85	85	human health; or
86	86	(2) a source of backup power that does not follow the
87	87	design and use standards of a Texas backup power package.
88	88	Sec. 418.406. MOBILE BACKUP POWER FLEET. The division may
89	89	procure and deploy mobile sources of backup power to ensure the
90	90	health, safety, and well-being of communities.
91	91	SECTION 3. Section 38.076, Utilities Code, is amended by
92	92	adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
93	93	(c-1) The commission shall require transmission and
94	94	distribution utilities to use good faith efforts to ensure that no
95	95	distribution feeder is subject to load shedding for more than four
96	96	consecutive hours in a six-hour period.
97	97	SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 38, Utilities Code, is
98	98	amended by adding Section 38.078 to read as follows:
99	99	Sec. 38.078. CIRCUIT SEGMENTATION STUDY AND COST RECOVERY.
100	100	(a) Not later than September 15, 2023, the commission shall direct
101	101	each transmission and distribution utility to perform a circuit
102	102	segmentation study.
103	103	(b) A circuit segmentation study must:
104	104	(1) use an engineering analysis to examine whether and
105	105	how the transmission and distribution utility's transmission and
106	106	distribution systems can be segmented and sectionalized to manage
107	107	and rotate outages more evenly across all customers and circuits,
108	108	while maintaining the protections offered to critical facilities;
109	109	(2) include an engineering analysis of the feasibility
110	110	of using sectionalization, automated reclosers, and other
111	111	technology to break up the circuits that host significant numbers
112	112	of critical facilities into smaller segments for outage management
113	113	purposes to enable more granular and flexible outage management;
114	114	(3) identify feeders with critical facilities that, if
115	115	equipped with facility-specific backup power systems and
116	116	segmentation, can enhance the utility's outage management
117	117	flexibility; and
118	118	(4) include an estimate of the time, capital cost, and
119	119	expected improvements to load-shed management associated with the
120	120	circuit segmentation study.
121	121	(c) Each transmission and distribution utility shall submit
122	122	a report of the conclusions of the utility's study to the commission
123	123	not later than September 1, 2024.
124	124	(d) The commission shall review each circuit segmentation
125	125	study not later than March 15, 2025.
126	126	(e) If the commission determines that the implementation of
127	127	circuit segmentation engineering and investments as provided by a
128	128	transmission and distribution utility's circuit segmentation study
129	129	report would facilitate better outage management in the ERCOT power
130	130	region, investments made by the utility for such purposes shall be
131	131	presumed just, reasonable, and appropriate for rate-based cost
132	132	recovery.
133	133	SECTION 5. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
134	134	amended by adding Section 39.919 to read as follows:
135	135	Sec. 39.919. TEXAS BACKUP POWER PACKAGES. (a) In this
136	136	section, "Texas backup power package" has the meaning assigned by
137	137	Section 418.401, Government Code.
138	138	(b) The commission by rule shall adopt procedures to
139	139	expedite electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, and
140	140	electric utility interconnection requests for Texas backup power
141	141	packages.
142	142	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.