WSR 13-15-076
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
[Filed July 16, 2013, 2:47 p.m.]
NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION
WASHINGTON ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Washington attorney general issues formal published opinions in response to requests by the heads of state agencies, state legislators, and county prosecuting attorneys. When it appears that individuals outside the attorney general's office have information or expertise that will assist in the preparation of a particular opinion, a summary of that opinion request will be published in the state register. If you are interested in commenting on a request listed in this volume of the register, you should notify the attorney general's office of your interest by August 14, 2013. This is not the due date by which comments must be received. However, if you do not notify the attorney general's office of your interest in commenting on an opinion request by this date, the opinion may be issued before your comments have been received. You may notify the attorney general's office of your intention to comment by calling (360) 586-0728, or by writing to the Office of the Attorney General, Solicitor General Division, Attention Jeffrey T. Even, Deputy Solicitor General, P.O. Box 40100, Olympia, WA 98504-0100. When you notify the office of your intention to comment, you may be provided with a copy of the opinion request in which you are interested; information about the attorney general's opinion process; information on how to submit your comments; and a due date by which your comments must be received to ensure that they are fully considered.
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The attorney general's office seeks public input on the following opinion request(s):
Opinion Docket No. 13-07-04
Request by Troy Kelley, State Auditor
QUESTIONS
1. Does the phrase "most recently published regional power plan" in RCW 19.285.040(1)(a) mean the power plan that was in place when the law was enacted, i.e., the 5th Power Plan, or does it refer to subsequent power plans as they are adopted by the NWPCC?
2. In RCW 19.285.040(1)(a), is the term "methodologies" in the phrase "methodologies consistent with those used by the Pacific Northwest electric power and conservation planning council in its most recently published regional power plan" limited to the analytical steps used to calculate a conservation target? Or, alternatively, does the term include both the application of such analytical steps as well as a unique combination of conservation measures, savings values, and assumptions, i.e., does the term "methodology" refer to a calculation that results in a specific target?
3. Does the phrase "conservation calculator" in subsections (4) and (5) of WAC 194-37-070 mean only the 5th Power Plan calculator, or does it also refer to calculators based on the most recently issued power plan, for time periods subsequent to the effective date of the 6th Power Plan in February 2010? For example, for targets required to be set by January 1, 2012, does the phrase refer to the 5th or 6th Power Plan calculator?
4. Based on RCW 19.285.040 and WAC 194-37-070, the statement in RCW 19.285.040(1) that utilities shall pursue all available conservation that is cost-effective, reliable, and feasible, is a utility authorized to set its biennial targets by January 1, 2012, and every two years thereafter based solely on the conservation measures, values and assumptions used in the 5th Power Plan?