2637-S AMS EEW S4577.2

2637-S AMS EEW S4577.2

SHB 2637 - S COMM AMD

By Committee on Environment, Energy & Water

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that passage of the energy policy act (P.L. 102-486) by congress in 1992 has had a profound impact on the electricity industry in the northwest. The electricity market in the state has transformed from transactions between utilities and seasonal exchanges among utilities in the northwest and the southwest to an active wholesale electricity market that involves independent marketers and developers of merchant power plants. Uncertainty about changes occurring in the market and the industry has discouraged investment in additional generation and transmission capacity and conservation. Recent experience with extreme price fluctuations in the wholesale markets continues to have a significant impact on the electric industry.

(2) The legislature declares that state energy strategy should be revised to consider the implications of wholesale market volatility upon the electric industry. To the extent that actions can be undertaken to encourage investment in additional generation resources, new technologies, and conservation, they should be pursued to minimize the impacts of wholesale market volatility on consumers, utilities, and independent power producers.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.21F.015 and 1994 c 207 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

It is the policy of the state of Washington that:

(1) The development and use of a diverse array of energy resources with emphasis on conservation, renewable energy resources, and new generation and energy management technologies shall be encouraged;

(2) The supply of energy shall be sufficient to insure the health and economic welfare of its citizens. Such policy shall include meeting projected demand for Washington and consideration of the impact that other states and foreign countries have on this state's energy supply;

(3) The development and use of energy resources shall be consistent with the statutory environmental policies of the state;

(4) Energy conservation and elimination of wasteful and uneconomic uses of energy and materials shall be encouraged, and this conservation should include, but is not limited to, cost-effective energy efficiency, resource recovery that achieves at least a doubling of previous resource utilization or eighty percent efficiency, and materials recycling;

(5) In energy emergency shortage situations, energy requirements to maintain ((~~the~~)) critical public health, safety, and welfare activities shall be given priority in the allocation of energy resources while curtailing noncritical government functions, and citizens and industry shall be assisted in adjusting to the limited availability of energy in order to minimize adverse impacts on their physical, social, and economic well being;

(6) State government shall provide a source of impartial and objective information in order that this energy policy may be enhanced; and

(7) The state energy strategy shall provide primary guidance for implementation of the state's energy policy.

Sec. 3. RCW 43.21F.090 and 1996 c 186 s 106 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department shall commence by the effective date of this act a review of the state energy strategy as developed under section 1, chapter 201, Laws of 1991((~~, periodically with the guidance of an advisory committee~~)). The state energy strategy shall be reviewed periodically thereafter. For each review, ((~~an advisory committee~~)) a task force shall be established ((~~with a membership resembling as closely as possible the original energy strategy advisory committee specified under section 1, chapter 201, Laws of 1991~~)) pursuant to section 4 of this act to provide advice to the department on matters relevant to the review. ((~~Upon completion of a~~)) In reviewing the state energy strategy, the department shall hold at least one public hearing regarding the ((~~advisory committee's~~)) task force's advice and recommendations for revisions to the energy strategy((,)). The department shall convey a written report ((~~shall be conveyed by the department~~)) to the governor and the appropriate legislative committees, including the joint committee on energy supply, within six months of the commencement of the review under this section. For the update commenced in 2002, the report shall be conveyed by December 31, 2002. Any ((~~advisory committee~~)) task force established under this section shall be dissolved within three months after ((~~their~~)) its written report is conveyed. A report prepared under this section shall fulfill the requirements of RCW 43.21F.045(2)(h) for the biennium during which it is prepared.

(2) Each review and update of the state's energy strategy shall include recommendations for revisions to the state's energy strategy, specific actions for implementing the strategy, and performance benchmarks for measuring progress toward meeting the identified goals of the state's energy policy and strategy. Recommendations may include specific actions to be taken by the executive branch, the legislature, and other public and private entities affected by and affecting the state's energy supply and demand situation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The task force on long‑term energy supply is established to advise the department in carrying out the requirements of RCW 43.21F.090. The task force shall consist of the following members:

(a) Up to two members from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate and including the chair of the standing committee that hears energy issues;

(b) Up to two members from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and including the chair of the standing committee that hears energy issues;

(i) Retail and wholesale electricity providers;

(ii) Environmental organizations;

(iii) Energy users including commercial and industrial customers, and the general public of residential users;

(iv) Labor organizations involved directly and indirectly with the electricity industry;

(v) Cities;

(vi) Counties;

(vii) Regional organizations involved in energy planning and distribution; and

(viii) State agencies that deal with energy issues.

(2) The task force will provide advice and recommendations to the department as part of the department's review of the state's energy strategy under RCW 43.21F.090, on issues relating to long‑term electricity supply and demand, including but not limited to:

(a) Identifying methods to ensure the creation of new capacity in the electrical supply system in advance of the critical need for energy;

(b) Identifying obstacles and incentives to building new generation and transmission, taking into account Washington state's dependence on a hydro‑based system that is subject to wide variation of output;

(c) Identifying methods to encourage demand management options and technologies, including distributed generation, energy efficiencies, and other conservation measures;

(d) Improving coordination of state planning with regional planning efforts of the northwest power planning council; and

(e) Identifying specific strategies and options to reduce or offset the contributions to global climate change attributable to the state's energy consumption, including: (i) Reducing the state's consumption of electricity through aggressive pursuit of cost‑effective energy conservation and efficiency opportunities; and (ii) increasing the proportion of electricity the state generates for its own use or purchases through an electric utility from clean energy resources.

(3) Staff from senate committee services, the house of representatives office of program research, and the governor's office shall assist the department and task force as necessary.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 43.21F RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department shall include the following information in the report required under RCW 43.21F.090 to be submitted to the governor and the legislature in 2002:

(a) An estimate of the current and potential future contributions to global climate change as a result of state government's current and projected energy consumption; and

(b) A status report on state efforts to purchase and use renewable and qualified alternative energy resources.

(2) The department may also address transportation‑related energy challenges such as improving the fuel efficiency of the state's vehicle fleet, using alternative fuels in the state's vehicle fleet, changing the ways state employees and contractors travel, and developing transportation substitutes for state employees and contractors."

SHB 2637 - S COMM AMD

By Committee on Environment, Energy & Water

On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "supply;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 43.21F.015 and 43.21F.090; adding a new section to chapter 43.21F RCW; and creating new sections."