89R20942 JXC-D
By: Landgraf H.B. No. 1710
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1710:
By: Turner C.S.H.B. No. 1710
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of a certificate of convenience or
necessity for a facility to import or export power into or out of
the ERCOT power region.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.051, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and (c-3) and adding Subsection
(c-4) to read as follows:
(c-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title
except Section 11.009, and except as provided by Subsection (c-3)
[(c-2)], a person, including an electric utility or municipally
owned utility, may not interconnect a facility to the ERCOT
transmission grid that enables additional power to be imported into
or exported out of the ERCOT power grid unless:
(1) the interconnection is approved by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission under Section 210, 211, or 212 of the
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. Section 824i, 824j, or 824k), and not
under Section 203, 205, or 206 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.
Section 824b, 824d, or 824e); and
(2) the person obtains a certificate from the
commission stating that public convenience and necessity requires
or will require the interconnection.
(c-2) A person described by Subsection (c-1) [The person]
must apply for the certificate not later than the 180th day before
the date the person seeks any order from the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission related to the interconnection. The
commission shall apply Section 37.056 in considering an application
under this subsection. In addition, the commission must determine
that the application is consistent with the public interest before
granting the certificate. The commission may adopt rules necessary
to implement this subsection. This subsection does not apply to a
facility that is in service on December 31, 2014.
(c-3) [(c-2)] The commission, not later than the 185th day
after the date the application is filed, shall approve an
application [filed under Subsection (c-1)] for a facility that is
to be constructed under an interconnection agreement appended to an
offer of settlement approved in a final order of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission that was issued in Docket No. TX11-01-001 on
or before December 31, 2014, directing physical connection between
the ERCOT and SERC regions under Sections 210, 211, and 212 of the
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. Sections 824i, 824j, and 824k). In
approving the application, the commission may prescribe reasonable
conditions to protect the public interest that are consistent with
the final order of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(c-4) [(c-3)] Nothing in Subsection (c-1), [or] (c-2), or
(c-3) is intended to restrict the authority of the commission or the
independent organization certified under Section 39.151 for the
ERCOT power region to adopt rules or protocols of general
applicability.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.