BILL REQ. #:  H-3918.1 

READ FIRST TIME 01/27/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to establishing an energy efficiency improvement loan fund; and reenacting and amending RCW 19.29A.090.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 19.29A.090 and 2002 c 285 s 6 and 2011 c 191 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Beginning January 1, 2002, each electric utility must provide to its retail electricity customers a voluntary option to purchase qualified alternative energy resources in accordance with this section.
     (b)(i) Beginning February 1, 2013, each electric utility may: (A) Establish an energy efficiency improvement loan fund; (B) receive voluntary contributions from its retail electricity customers that must be deposited into the energy efficiency improvement loan fund; and (C) provide retail electricity customers loans for the financing of the acquisition and installation of energy efficiency improvements.
     (ii) A utility that elects to establish an energy efficiency improvement loan fund must include with its retail electric customer's regular billing statements, at least quarterly, a voluntary option to make contributions to the loan fund.
     (iii) Repayment of an energy efficiency improvement loan must be in the form of incremental additions to the utility bill of the retail electric customer provided the loan, billed either together with use charge or separately.
     (iv) Loan payments received by a utility must be deposited in the energy efficiency improvement loan fund and used to make future energy efficiency improvement loans to the utility's retail electricity customers.
     (v) Interest charged on an energy efficiency improvement loan may not be more than market rates at the time the loan is approved.
     (vi) A utility may contract with the Washington state housing finance commission or a financial institution as defined under RCW 30.22.040 to manage at cost the loan fund on its behalf.
     (2) Each electric utility must include with its retail electric customer's regular billing statements, at least quarterly, a voluntary option to purchase qualified alternative energy resources. The option may allow customers to purchase qualified alternative energy resources at fixed or variable rates and for fixed or variable periods of time, including but not limited to monthly, quarterly, or annual purchase agreements. A utility may provide qualified alternative energy resource options through either: (a) Resources it owns or contracts for; or (b) the purchase of credits issued by a clearinghouse or other system by which the utility may secure, for trade or other consideration, verifiable evidence that a second party has a qualified alternative energy resource and that the second party agrees to transfer such evidence exclusively to the benefit of the utility.
     (3) For the purposes of this section, a "qualified alternative energy resource" means the electricity produced from generation facilities that are fueled by: (a) Wind; (b) solar energy; (c) geothermal energy; (d) landfill gas; (e) wave or tidal action; (f) gas produced during the treatment of wastewater; (g) qualified hydropower; or (h) 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.
     (4) For the purposes of this section, "qualified hydropower" means the energy produced either: (a) As a result of modernizations or upgrades made after June 1, 1998, to hydropower facilities operating on May 8, 2001, that have been demonstrated to reduce the mortality of anadromous fish; or (b) by run of the river or run of the canal hydropower facilities that are not responsible for obstructing the passage of anadromous fish.
     (5) For the purposes of the section, "energy efficiency improvement" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 43.180.020.
     (6) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section, "electric utility" does not include a cooperative formed under chapter 23.86 RCW.
     (7) The rates, terms, conditions, and customer notification of each utility's option or options offered in accordance with this section must be approved by the governing body of the consumer-owned utility or by the commission for investor-owned utilities. All costs and benefits associated with any option offered by an electric utility under this section must be allocated to the customers who voluntarily choose that option and may not be shifted to any customers who have not chosen such option. Utilities may pursue known, lawful aggregated purchasing of qualified alternative energy resources with other utilities to the extent aggregated purchasing can reduce the unit cost of qualified alternative energy resources, and are encouraged to investigate opportunities to aggregate the purchase of alternative energy resources by their customers. Aggregated purchases by investor-owned utilities must comply with any applicable rules or policies adopted by the commission related to least-cost planning or the acquisition of renewable resources.
     (((6))) (8) Each consumer-owned utility must report annually to the department and each investor-owned utility must report annually to the commission beginning October 1, 2002, until October 1, 2012, describing the option or options it is offering its customers under the requirements of this section, the rate of customer participation, the amount of qualified alternative energy resources purchased by customers, the amount of utility investments in qualified alternative energy resources, and the results of pursuing aggregated purchasing opportunities. The department and the commission together shall report annually to the legislature, beginning December 1, 2002, until December 1, 2012, with the results of the utility reports.