Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 20 (1st C.S.)	Senate Author:  Fraser
Effective:  9-1-05	House Sponsor:  King, Phil et al.

            In 1999 the legislature established a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for electric power generation, expressing legislative intent that an additional 2,000 megawatts of capacity from renewable energy technologies, above a baseline of 880 megawatts, be installed in Texas by January 1, 2009.  Senate Bill 20, 1st Called Session, raises that additional amount to 5,000 megawatts, for a cumulative total of 5,880 megawatts, to be installed by January 1, 2015.  It sets intermediate requirements to be met by January 1, 2007, and by each of the next four two-year anniversaries of that date.  The bill further requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to set a target of 10,000 megawatts of renewable capacity to be installed by January 1, 2025, and to set a target for at least 500 megawatts of capacity installed after September 1, 2005, to be from a source other than wind power.  The PUC must designate competitive renewable energy zones sufficient to develop the new generating capacity and must develop a plan to construct transmission capacity to deliver to customers the electric output from those zones.  The bill sets certain other implementation mandates for the commission and directs PUC to require the construction or enlargement of transmission or transmission-related facilities to meet the goal.  The bill directs the PUC to submit a report to the legislature not later than December 31 of each even-numbered year that includes an evaluation of its implementation of competitive renewable energy zones, the estimated costs of transmission service improvements needed for each zone, and an evaluation of the effects that additional renewable generation has on system reliability and on the cost of alternatives to mitigate the effects.  The PUC and officials of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas also must study the need for increased transmission and generation capacity generally throughout the state and must report to the legislature biennially on that topic by the same deadline.