BILL REQ. #:  H-2139.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/28/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy; and adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the intent of the legislature to establish a goal of encouraging the construction and development of renewable energy in the state of Washington to meet increasing demand for affordable and reliable electricity. Since electricity supply may lag behind electricity demand, the result may be a sharp increase in electricity prices. The legislature finds that it is desirable to shorten the time it takes to bring new electricity generation to market. Washington is a leader in the development of renewable energy technologies and the legislature acknowledges that encouraging the development of renewable technologies in meeting increased electricity demand will create jobs for Washington's citizens. The legislature intends that information obtained from integrated resource planning under this chapter will be used to assist in identifying and developing renewable energy to meet electricity demand.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Commission" means the Washington state utilities and transportation commission.
     (2) "Consumer-owned utility" includes a municipal electric utility formed under Title 35 RCW, a public utility district formed under Title 54 RCW, an irrigation district formed under chapter 87.03 RCW, a cooperative formed under chapter 23.86 RCW, a mutual corporation or association formed under chapter 24.06 RCW, a port district formed under Title 53 RCW, or a water-sewer district formed under Title 57 RCW, that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to one or more retail electric customers in the state.
     (3) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (4) "Electric utility" means a consumer-owned or investor-owned utility.
     (5) "Governing body" means the board of directors, city council, commissioners, or board of any consumer-owned utility.
     (6) "Integrated resource plan" or "plan" means a plan describing the mix of generating resources and improvements in the efficient generation, transmission, distribution, and use of electricity that will meet current and future needs at the lowest reasonable cost to the utility and its ratepayers.
     (7) "Investor-owned utility" means a corporation owned by investors that meets the definition in RCW 80.04.010 and is engaged in distributing electricity to more than one retail electric customer in the state.
     (8) "Renewable resources" means electricity generation facilities fueled by: (a) Water; (b) wind; (c) solar energy; (d) geothermal energy; (e) landfill gas; (f) biomass energy based on animal waste or solid organic fuels from wood, forest, or field residues, or dedicated energy crops that do not include wood pieces that have been treated with chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenic; (g) wave or tidal power; or (h) gas from sewage treatment facilities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   When an electric utility purchases, from any combination of sources, increased generation that amounts to at least one percent of its total load on July 1, 2006, that electric utility must develop an integrated resource plan consistent with the provisions of this section. Such a plan shall be updated on a regular basis including in 2009, 2014, and 2019, and, at a minimum, must include:
     (1) A range of forecasts of future customer demand using methods that examine the effect of economic forces on the consumption of electricity and that address changes in the number, type, and efficiency of electrical end-uses;
     (2) An assessment of technically feasible improvements in the efficient generation, transmission, distribution, and use of electricity, including load management and fuel switching, as well as currently employed and new policies and programs needed to obtain the efficiency improvements;
     (3) An assessment of technically feasible generating technologies including but not limited to renewable resources, cogeneration, power purchases, and thermal resources;
     (4) An evaluation comparing the cost-effectiveness of generating resources with the cost-effectiveness of improvements in the efficient use of electricity;
     (5) The integration of the demand forecasts and resource evaluations into a long-range integrated resource plan describing the mix of resources and efficiency measures that will meet current and future needs at:
     (a) The lowest reasonable cost, including but not limited to, all direct costs of a project or resource over its effective life and quantifiable environmental costs and benefits directly attributable to the project or resource; and
     (b) The lowest reasonable risk, including but not limited to, an assessment of risk associated with fuel price, fuel availability, hedging, and future environmental regulations, to the utility and its ratepayers;
     (6) A short-term plan outlining the specific actions to be taken by the utility consistent with the long-range integrated resource plan; and
     (7) For all plans subsequent to the initial integrated resource plan, a progress report that relates the new plan to the previous plan.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) Investor-owned utilities shall submit integrated resource plans to the commission. The commission shall establish by rule the requirements for preparation and submission of integrated resource plans.
     (2) The commission may adopt additional rules as necessary to clarify the requirements of section 3 of this act as they apply to investor-owned utilities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) Each consumer-owned utility shall develop and publish a work schedule for the preparation of an integrated resource plan. The work schedule shall set forth the proposed content of the integrated resource plan, the proposed schedule of preparation, and provisions for public involvement in the preparation and review of the plan. The governing body of each utility shall approve an integrated resource plan only after it has provided public notice and hearing on the proposed plan. Upon approval of its governing board, each consumer-owned utility shall publish a final integrated resource plan either as part of an annual report or as a separate document available to the public.
     (2) Each consumer-owned utility shall transmit a copy of its integrated resource plan to the department by July 31, 2006, and transmit subsequent plans to the department in 2009, 2014, and 2019.
     (3) Consumer-owned utilities may develop integrated resource plans jointly with other consumer-owned utilities. Data and assessments included in joint reports must be identifiable to each individual utility.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The department shall review the integrated resource plans of consumer-owned utilities and prepare a report to the legislature assessing the utilities' conformance with this section. The report shall include a statewide summary of utility load forecasts, load/resource balance, and utility plans for the development of thermal generation, renewable resources, and efficiency resources. The commission shall provide the department with data summarizing activities of investor-owned utilities for use in the department's statewide summary. The department shall submit the initial report by December 1, 2006, and subsequent reports on December 1, 2010, December 1, 2015, and December 1, 2020. Where appropriate, the department may include reports required by this section within the biennial report required under RCW 43.21F.045.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Integrated resource plans shall not be a basis for customers to bring legal action against electric utilities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Sections 1 through 7 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.