| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the use of customer-sited distributed generation |
|
|
facilities owned by certain non-ERCOT electric utilities. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 36, Utilities Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 36.215 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 36.215. RECOVERY OF INVESTMENT IN DISTRIBUTED |
|
|
GENERATION AND RATES FOR BACKUP ELECTRIC SERVICE FOR CERTAIN |
|
|
NON-ERCOT UTILITIES. (a) In this section: |
|
|
(1) "Customer-sited distributed generation facility" |
|
|
means a dispatchable generation facility that is installed on the |
|
|
electric utility's side of the retail meter and owned and operated |
|
|
by the electric utility: |
|
|
(A) with a nameplate capacity of not more than 10 |
|
|
megawatts; |
|
|
(B) that is capable of generating and providing |
|
|
backup electric service to a customer during a power grid outage; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(C) sited at or adjacent to the customer's |
|
|
premises. |
|
|
(2) "Host customer" means a customer receiving backup |
|
|
electric service under this section. |
|
|
(b) This section applies only to an electric utility that |
|
|
operates solely outside of ERCOT in areas of this state included in |
|
|
the Southeastern Electric Reliability Council. |
|
|
(c) An electric utility may provide backup electric service |
|
|
to a nonresidential retail customer through a customer-sited |
|
|
distributed generation facility. |
|
|
(d) The commission, on the petition of an electric utility, |
|
|
shall establish just and reasonable rates for backup electric |
|
|
service supplied using a customer-sited distributed generation |
|
|
facility, consistent with this chapter, provided that costs are |
|
|
allocated as follows: |
|
|
(1) if a customer-sited distributed generation |
|
|
facility is capable of directly supplying energy to the |
|
|
distribution system or of disconnecting the host customer from the |
|
|
distribution system when not being used to supply backup electric |
|
|
service to the host customer and thereby reducing system load, the |
|
|
commission shall allocate the cost of owning and operating the |
|
|
facility between the host customer and the electric utility's |
|
|
broader customer base, including an allocation of any margins from |
|
|
off-system energy sales attributable to the facility to the host |
|
|
customer in reasonable proportion to the allocation of nonfuel |
|
|
costs as provided by Subdivision (2); and |
|
|
(2) the allocation of nonfuel costs to the host |
|
|
customer must be based on the cost to purchase, install, |
|
|
interconnect, own, operate, and maintain a customer-sited |
|
|
distributed generation facility that is above the electric |
|
|
utility's levelized avoided cost to install, own, operate, and |
|
|
maintain a single-cycle combustion turbine, on a per kilowatt |
|
|
basis, grossed up for avoided line losses based on the utility's |
|
|
transmission and distribution line loss factors last approved by |
|
|
the commission. |
|
|
(e) In a rate proceeding in which an electric utility seeks |
|
|
to recover investment in a customer-sited distributed generation |
|
|
facility that is interconnected to the utility's distribution |
|
|
system, the cost of the facility allocable to the utility's broader |
|
|
customer base must be allocated among customer classes on the same |
|
|
basis used to allocate the utility's distribution-level |
|
|
investments. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |