Electric Generation Facility Closures and Reliability Act
| Model Bill Info | |
|---|---|
| Bill Title | Electric Generation Facility Closures and Reliability Act |
| Date Introduced | July 28, 2022 |
| Type | Model Policy |
| Status | Final |
| Task Forces | Energy, Environment and Agriculture |
Electric Generation Facility Closures and Reliability Act
(a) As used in this section:
(i) “Dispatchable” means a source of electricity that is available for use on demand and that can be dispatched upon request of a power grid operator or that can have its power output adjusted, according to market needs;
(ii) “Reliable” means generated electricity that is not subject to intermittent availability;
(iii) “Electric generation facility” means a facility that uses coal, natural gas, or nuclear to generate reliable and dispatchable electricity for provision to customers;
(iv) “Retirement” or “retired” means the closure of or the complete and permanent cessation of operations at an electric generation facility;
(v) “Retirement” or “retired” shall not include any closure mandated by federal law or any closure resulting from federal environmental requirements to where it is no longer cost effective for the facility to continue operating;
(b) Before authorizing or approving the retirement of an electric generation facility as proposed in a rate case, integrated resource plan or other submission to the commission, the commission shall consider the effect on available reliable, dispatchable electricity to customers and the impact that any shortage of available energy nationwide may have on customers.
(c) There shall be a rebuttable presumption against the retirement of an electric generation facility. The commission shall not approve the retirement of an electric generation facility unless the presumption created by this subsection is rebutted by evidence deemed sufficient by the commission to establish that:
(i) Cost savings will result to customers as a result of the retirement of the electric generation facility;
(ii) The retirement will not result in an insufficient amount of reliable and dispatchable capacity to serve customers; and
(iii) The retirement will not adversely impact the dispatchability or reliability of electric service to customers of the public utility.
(d) The rate recovery limitations shall apply to a public utility that completes a retirement of an electric generation facility without rebutting the presumption specified in this section.
(e) Electric generation facilities subject to (v) shall be preserved for future use and are exempt from the rate of return calculation.
NOTE: The reason for (e) is to provide economic, reliability, and national security. Europe has put many coal generation facilities back online because of the fuel emergency they are experiencing.
