This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.


                                                                                

79R9466 MTB-F

By:  West                                                         H.B. No. 3096


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the energy efficiency goal of electric utilities. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 39.905, Utilities Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 39.905. GOAL FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY. (a) It is the goal of the legislature that: (1) electric utilities will administer energy savings incentive programs in a market-neutral, nondiscriminatory manner but will not offer underlying competitive services; (2) all customers, in all customer classes, have a choice of and access to energy efficiency alternatives and other choices from the market that allow each customer to reduce energy consumption and reduce energy costs; [and] (3) electric utilities will support transmission and distribution research, development, and demonstration initiatives by universities in this state and by others in order to ensure that all customers, in all customer classes, receive the benefits of emerging technologies that may result in: (A) the modernization of the transmission and distribution grid; and (B) increased security, safety, reliability, and efficiency; and (4) each electric utility will use the amount approved for energy efficiency programs in the utility's most recent full rate proceeding before the commission as follows: (A) 90 percent of the money to provide[, through] market-based standard offer programs or limited, targeted, market-transformation programs designed to encourage[, incentives sufficient for] retail electric providers and competitive energy service providers to acquire additional cost-effective energy efficiency savings; and (B) [equivalent to at least] 10 percent of the money for the purpose described by Subdivision (3) [the electric utility's annual growth in demand]. (b) The commission shall provide oversight and adopt rules and procedures, as necessary, to ensure that the goal of this section is achieved by January 1, 2006 [2004]. 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, 2005.