BILL REQ. #:  H-3770.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/05/14.   

     AN ACT Relating to the voluntary purchase of eligible renewable resources by customers of electric utilities; and adding new sections to chapter 19.29A RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 19.29A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Upon request of a nonresidential electric customer, an investor-owned utility shall create a tariff that includes a standard contract to allow the customer and other interested nonresidential customers to purchase voluntarily renewable resources in one megawatt-hour units.      
     (2) The commission may approve a tariff and standard contract that ensures that:
     (a) The costs of procuring, administering, and delivering the renewable resource is paid for by the requesting customer and not passed onto other customers of the investor-owned utility;
     (b) The investor-owned utility provides an integrated service that includes the electricity generated by the dedicated renewable resource facility and a supplemental shaping service, if needed;
     (c) The requesting customer has the authority to designate and approve the renewable resource that they wish to procure;
     (d) Nonpower attributes associated with the renewable resource are transferred to the requesting customer bundled with the power; and
     (e) Except for the price, cost, or fees associated with interconnecting the renewable resource to the grid, the price of procuring and delivering the eligible renewable resource is transparent to the requesting customer and any additional costs or fees, including those required by federal energy regulatory commission rules, are specified before the requesting customer enters into an agreement for the renewable resource.
     (3) The renewable resources procured under this section are in addition to the eligible renewable resources requirements under RCW 19.285.040.
     (4) The renewable resources procured under this section must be procured under a separate process other than the process used by the utility to procure energy resources to meet customer load.
     (5) For the purposes of this section, "renewable resource" means an eligible renewable resource as defined in RCW 19.285.030 or any other energy resource recognized as a renewable resource or a low-carbon energy resource by any government recognized by the United States government.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 19.29A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Upon request by an electric customer of a consumer-owned utility, the governing board of a consumer-owned utility shall create a tariff schedule or contract that allows the customer to purchase voluntarily renewable resources in one megawatt-hour units.
     (2) A tariff or standard contract approved by the governing board must ensure that:
     (a) The costs of procuring, administering, and delivering the renewable resource is paid for by the requesting customer and not passed onto other customers of the consumer-owned utility;
     (b) The consumer-owned utility provides an integrated service that includes the electricity generated by the dedicated renewable resource facility and supplemental shaping services, if needed;
     (c) The requesting customer has the authority to designate and approve the renewable resource that they wish to procure;
     (d) Nonpower attributes associated with the renewable resource are transferred to the requesting customer bundled with the power; and
     (e) Except for the price, cost, or fees associated with interconnecting the renewable resource to the grid, the price of procuring and delivering the renewable resource is transparent to the requesting customer and any additional costs or fees, including those required by federal energy regulatory commission rules, are specified before the requesting customer enters into an agreement for the renewable resource.
     (3) The renewable resources procured under this section are in addition to the eligible renewable resources requirements under RCW 19.285.040.
     (4) The renewable resources procured under this section must be procured under a separate process other than the process used by the utility to procure energy resources to meet customer load.
     (5) For the purposes of this section, "renewable resource" means an eligible renewable resource as defined in RCW 19.285.030 or any other energy resource recognized as a renewable resource or a low-carbon energy resource by any government recognized by the United States government.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 19.29A RCW to read as follows:
     A customer requesting to purchase voluntarily renewable resources under section 1 or 2 of the act must make a deposit with the utility to cover the cost of work hours at the electric utility to develop the tariff. If the customer accepts the proposed tariff, the deposit shall be made to cover the costs of severing the tariff agreement.