ORDER CORRECTING TEXT OF WAC 480-109-007 (18)(j), 480-109-030(1), and 480-109-030 (3)(b) SUBMITTED FOR ADOPTION.

     1 On November 27, 2007, the Washington utilities and transportation commission (commission) filed with the code reviser an order adopting rules permanently in chapter 480-109 WAC, related to Electric companies--Acquisition of minimum quantities of conservation and renewable energy as required by the Energy Independence Act (chapter 19.285 RCW). The order is filed at WSR 07-24-012. The effective date for the adoption of the rules is December 28, 2007.

     2 Recently the commission learned that an intended addition of a phrase from subsection (18)(j) of WAC 480-109-007 as published at WSR 07-24-012, was erroneously omitted in the rule submitted for adoption. The phrase that should have been included in subsection (18)(j) of WAC 480-109-007 is set out below in italics:

     WAC 480-109-007 Definitions.

     (18)(j) Eligible renewable resources produced by biomass facilities should be based on the portion of the fuel supply that is made up of eligible biomass fuels.

     3 In addition, the commission learned that the intended term "portfolio" from subsection (1) of WAC 480-109-030 as published at WSR 07-24-012, was erroneously included in the rule submitted for adoption. The term that should have replaced "portfolio" is set out below in italics:

     WAC 480-109-030 Alternatives to the renewable resource requirement.

     (1) A utility may invest at least four percent of its total annual retail revenue requirement on the incremental costs of eligible renewable resources, renewable energy credits, or a combination of both. The incremental cost of an eligible renewable resource is the difference between the levelized delivered portfolio system cost of the eligible renewable resource and the levelized delivered cost of an equivalent amount of reasonably available nonrenewable resource. The portfolio system analysis used will be reasonably consistent with principles used in the utility's resource planning and acquisition analyses.

     4 The commission also learned that a date from subsection (3)(b) of WAC 480-109-030 as published at WSR 07-24-012, was erroneously omitted in the rule submitted for adoption. The date that should have been included is set out below in italics:

     (b) After December 7, 2006, all new or renewed ownership or purchases of electricity from nonrenewable resources other than daily spot purchases were offset by equivalent renewable energy credits.

     5 Failure to add the phrase "Eligible renewable resources produced by biomass facilities should be based on the portion of the fuel supply that is made up of eligible biomass fuels" to WAC 480-109-007 (18)(j), replace the term "portfolio" with "system" in WAC 480-109-030(1), and add the time period "After December 7, 2007" to WAC 480-109-030 (3)(b), submitted to the code reviser with the adoption order constitutes an oversight. Accordingly, the commission enters this order to correct the rules by adding the phrase to WAC 480-109-007 (18)(j), replacing the term "portfolio" with "system" in WAC 480-109-030(1), and adding the time period "After December 7, 2006" in subsection (3)(b) of WAC 480-109-030. A copy of the corrected rules is shown below to this Order as Appendix A.

     DATED at Olympia, Washington, December 10, 2007.

Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission

Mark H. Sidran, Chairman

Patrick J. Oshie, Commissioner

Philip B. Jones, Commissioner

     (2) "Commission" means the Washington utilities and transportation commission.

     (3) "Conservation" means any reduction in electric power consumption resulting from increases in the efficiency of energy use, production, or distribution.

     (4) "Conservation council" means the Pacific Northwest electric power and conservation council.

     (5) "Cost-effective" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 80.52.030.

     (6) "Customer" means a person or entity that purchases electricity for ultimate consumption and not for resale.

     (7) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development or its successor.

     (8) "Distributed generation" means an eligible renewable resource where the generation facility or any integrated cluster of such facilities has a generating capacity of not more than five megawatts.

     (9) "Eligible renewable resource" means:

     (a) Electricity from a generation facility powered by a renewable resource other than fresh water that commences operation after March 31, 1999, where:

     (i) The facility is located in the Pacific Northwest; or

     (ii) The electricity from the facility is delivered into Washington state on a real-time basis without shaping, storage, or integration services; or

     (b) Incremental electricity produced as a result of efficiency improvements completed after March 31, 1999, to hydroelectric generation projects owned by a qualifying utility and located in the Pacific Northwest or to hydroelectric generation in irrigation pipes and canals located in the Pacific Northwest, where the additional generation in either case does not result in new water diversions or impoundments.

     (10) "High-efficiency cogeneration" means a cogeneration facility with a useful thermal output of no less than thirty-three percent of the total energy output, under normal operating conditions. Electrical output will be calculated as the kWh output of the facility over a period of time, converted to BTUs using the conversion factor of 3413 BTUs/kWh. Total energy output must be calculated by summing all useful energy outputs of the cogeneration facility over the same period of time expressed in BTU units.

     (11) "Integrated resource plan" or "IRP" means the filing made every two years by an electric utility in accordance with WAC 480-100-238, Integrated resource planning.

     (12) "Load" means the amount of kilowatt-hours of electricity delivered in the most recently completed year by a qualifying utility to its Washington retail customers. Load does not include off-system sales or electricity delivered to transmission-only customers.

     (13) "Nonpower attributes" means all environmentally related characteristics, exclusive of energy, capacity reliability, and other electrical power service attributes, that are associated with the generation of electricity from a renewable resource, including but not limited to the facility's fuel type, geographic location, vintage, qualification as an eligible renewable resource, and avoided emissions of pollutants to the air, soil, or water, and avoided emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

     (14) "Pro rata" means the calculation used to establish a minimum level for a conservation target based on a utility's projected ten year conservation potential.

     (15) "Pacific Northwest" has the same meaning as defined for the Bonneville power administration in section 3 of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (94 Stat. 2698; 16 U.S.C. Sec. 839a).

     (16) "Request for proposal" or "RFP" means the documents describing an electric utility's solicitation of bids for delivering electric capacity, energy, or capacity and energy, or conservation.

     (17) "Renewable energy credit" means a tradable certificate of proof of at least one megawatt-hour of an eligible renewable resource where the generation facility is not powered by fresh water, the certificate includes all of the nonpower attributes associated with that one megawatt-hour of electricity, and the certificate is verified by a renewable energy credit tracking system selected by the department.

     (18) "Renewable resource" means:

     (a) Water;

     (b) Wind;

     (c) Solar energy;

     (d) Geothermal energy;

     (e) Landfill gas;

     (f) Wave, ocean, or tidal power;

     (g) Gas from sewage treatment facilities;

     (h) Biodiesel fuel as defined in RCW 82.29A.135 that is not derived from crops raised on land cleared from old growth or first-growth forests where the clearing occurred after December 7, 2006; and

     (i) Biomass energy based on animal waste or solid organic fuels from wood, forest, or field residues, or dedicated energy crops that do not include:

     (i) Wood pieces that have been treated with chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenic;

     (ii) Black liquor by-product from paper production;

     (iii) Wood from old growth forests; or    

     (iv) Municipal solid waste.

     (j) Eligible renewable resources produced by biomass facilities should be based on the portion of the fuel supply that is made up of eligible biomass fuels.

     (19) "Utility" means an electrical company that is subject to the commission's jurisdiction under RCW 80.04.010 and chapter 80.28 RCW.

     (20) "Year" means the twelve-month period commencing January 1st and ending December 31st.

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     Reviser's note: The unnecessary underscoring in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
NEW SECTION
WAC 480-109-030   Alternatives to the renewable resource requirement.   Instead of meeting its annual renewable resource target in WAC 480-109-020, a utility may make one of three demonstrations.

     (1) A utility may invest at least four percent of its total annual retail revenue requirement on the incremental costs of eligible renewable resources, renewable energy credits, or a combination of both. The incremental cost of an eligible renewable resource is the difference between the levelized delivered portfolio system cost of the eligible renewable resource and the levelized delivered cost of an equivalent amount of reasonably available nonrenewable resource. The portfolio system analysis used will be reasonably consistent with principles used in the utility's resource planning and acquisition analyses.

     (2) A utility may demonstrate that events beyond its reasonable control that could not have been reasonably anticipated or ameliorated prevented it from meeting the renewable energy target. Such events may include weather-related damage, mechanical failure, strikes, lockouts, or actions of a governmental authority that adversely affect the generation, transmission, or distribution of an eligible renewable resource owned by or under contract to a qualifying utility.

     (3) A utility may demonstrate all of the following:

     (a) Its weather-adjusted load for the previous three years on average did not increase.

     (b) After December 7, 2006, Aall new or renewed ownership or purchases of electricity from nonrenewable resources other than daily spot purchases were offset by equivalent renewable energy credits.

     (c) It invested at least one percent of its total annual retail revenue requirement that year on eligible renewable resources, renewable energy credits, or a combination of both.

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     Reviser's note: The unnecessary underscoring and strikethrough in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

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