S‑0429.3 _____________________________________________
SENATE BILL 5167
_____________________________________________
State of Washington 57th Legislature 2001 Regular Session
By Senators Fraser, Morton, Patterson, Hale, Regala, Prentice, T. Sheldon, Eide, Thibaudeau, Franklin, Spanel and Jacobsen
Read first time 01/12/2001. Referred to Committee on Environment, Energy & Water.
_1 AN ACT Relating to the state energy strategy; amending RCW
_2 43.21F.090 and 43.21F.025; adding a new section to chapter 43.21F
_3 RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and
_4 declaring an emergency.
_5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
_6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the state
_7 energy strategy was developed in 1993 to assist the state in
_8 meeting its goals of fostering the wise and efficient use of
_9 energy and to promote energy self-sufficiency. The legislature
10 further finds that, due to the recent energy shortages,
11 fluctuations in the price of natural gas, oil, and electricity,
12 changing energy technologies, and the increased need for
13 conservation and development of renewable sources of energy, the
14 state energy strategy is in need of review and revision.
15 Sec. 2. RCW 43.21F.090 and 1996 c 186 s 106 are each amended to
16 read as follows:
17 The department shall review and revise the state energy
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_1 strategy ((as developed under section 1, chapter 201,
Laws of
_2 1991, periodically)), with the guidance of
an advisory committee
_3 comprised of the membership identified in section 3 of this act,
_4 at least every five years after July 1, 2001. ((For
each review, an
_5 advisory committee shall be established with a
membership
_6 resembling as closely as possible the original energy
strategy
_7 advisory committee specified under section 1, chapter
201, Laws of
_8 1991.)) Each review and revision shall be
finalized within two
_9 years. Upon completion of a public hearing regarding the advisory
10 committee's advice and recommendations for revisions to the energy
11 strategy, a written report shall be conveyed by the department to
12 the governor and the appropriate legislative committees. Any
13 advisory committee established under this section shall be
14 dissolved within three months after their written report is
15 conveyed.
16 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.21F
17 RCW to read as follows:
18 (1) The department shall create an advisory committee for the
19 purpose of reviewing and revising the state energy strategy. The
20 advisory committee shall include twenty-four members and represent
21 different regions of the state, including seventeen citizens
22 appointed by the director from the following groups: One person
23 recommended by the investor-owned electric utilities, one person
24 recommended by the investor-owned natural gas utilities, one
25 person employed by or recommended by a natural gas pipeline
26 serving the state, one person recommended by the suppliers of
27 petroleum products, one person recommended by municipally owned
28 electric utilities, one person recommended by the public utility
29 districts, one person recommended by industrial energy users, one
30 person recommended by commercial energy users, one person
31 recommended by agricultural energy users, one person recommended
32 by the association of Washington cities, one person recommended by
33 the Washington state association of counties, three persons
34 recommended by organizations with expertise in consumer affairs,
35 low-income issues, and energy conservation, two persons
36 recommended by environmental organizations, and one person
37 employed by an educational or nonprofit research organization with
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_1 expertise in emerging energy technologies. In addition, the
_2 advisory committee shall include one of the representatives of the
_3 state of Washington to the Northwest power planning council
_4 selected by the director; the chair of the energy facility site
_5 evaluation council; one member of the utilities and transportation
_6 commission selected by the chair of the commission; two members of
_7 the house of representatives, one each selected by the leader of
_8 each major party; and two members of the senate, one each selected
_9 by the majority and minority leaders of the senate. The chair of
10 the advisory committee shall be appointed by the director from
11 citizen members. The director may establish technical advisory
12 groups as necessary to assist in the development of the
13 strategy. The director shall provide for extensive public
14 involvement throughout the revision of the strategy.
15 (2) The committee's review and revision of the state energy
16 strategy shall include consideration of state energy goals and all
17 forms of energy, each major sector of energy consumption, and
18 energy conservation, and shall:
19 (a) Assess future needs of the state and future resources
20 available for use in the state for each form of energy;
21 (b) Identify strategies to increase the use of renewable forms
22 of energy, increase conservation, and achieve a reliable, long-
23 term sustainable supply of energy;
24 (c) Identify strategies to increase rate predictability,
25 stability, and affordability;
26 (d) Identify and, to the extent possible, quantify the costs
27 and benefits of: (i) Energy alternatives including direct
28 economic costs and benefits, environmental costs and benefits, and
29 the costs of inadequate or unreliable energy supplies; and (ii) a
30 long-term sustainable supply of energy;
31 (e) Consider revision to the framework in which public
32 decisions and actions affecting energy supply and use can be
33 evaluated including the impact of decisions in other areas of
34 public policy on energy supply and cost and on the use of energy
35 and the establishment of goals to guide energy-related decisions;
36 (f) Evaluate the effects of regulatory actions taken by other
37 western states or Canada that may impact the supply or cost of
38 energy in Washington state;
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_1 (g) Evaluate the future role of the department and means of
_2 financing those activities determined essential to that role; and
_3 (h) Recommend energy goals and policies to the governor and the
_4 legislature.
_5 (3) In reviewing and revising the state energy strategy, the
_6 department shall:
_7 (a) Ensure that the information developed is objective and
_8 impartial and facilitates the effective and efficient operation of
_9 such energy markets as may exist and recognizes and conforms to
10 the pattern of regulation governing public service companies but
11 shall not mandate the use of one energy source over another;
12 (b) Draw upon existing public and private sector information
13 and expertise in energy matters to the fullest extent possible
14 through consultation and cooperation;
15 (c) Recognize the planning horizons required for each segment
16 of the energy industry and the need for state actions and
17 decisions to take those planning horizons into consideration; and
18 (d) Ensure that the strategy is coordinated with the energy
19 planning activities of federal, state, and private entities and
20 does not duplicate what is already available.
21 Sec. 4. RCW 43.21F.025 and 1996 c 186 s 102 are each amended to
22 read as follows:
23 (1) "Energy" means petroleum or other liquid fuels; natural or
24 synthetic fuel gas; solid carbonaceous fuels; fissionable nuclear
25 material; electricity; solar radiation; geothermal resources;
26 hydropower; organic waste products; wind; tidal activity; any
27 other substance or process used to produce heat, light, or motion;
28 or the savings from nongeneration technologies, including
29 conservation or improved efficiency in the usage of any of the
30 sources described in this subsection;
31 (2) "Person" means an individual, partnership, joint venture,
32 private or public corporation, association, firm, public service
33 company, political subdivision, municipal corporation, government
34 agency, public utility district, joint operating agency, or any
35 other entity, public or private, however organized;
36 (3) "Director" means the director of the department of
37 community, trade, and economic development;
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_1 (4) "Assistant director" means the assistant director of the
_2 department of community, trade, and economic development
_3 responsible for energy policy activities;
_4 (5) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and
_5 economic development;
_6 (6) "Distributor" means any person, private corporation,
_7 partnership, individual proprietorship, utility, including
_8 investor-owned utilities, municipal utility, public utility
_9 district, joint operating agency, or cooperative, which engages in
10 or is authorized to engage in the activity of generating,
11 transmitting, or distributing energy in this state; and
12 (7) "State energy strategy" means the document and energy
13 policy direction originally developed under section 1, chapter
14 201, Laws of 1991 including any related appendices, as revised
15 pursuant to RCW 43.21F.090.
16 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate
17 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of
18 the state government and its existing public institutions, and
19 takes effect July 1, 2001.
‑‑‑ END ‑‑‑
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