BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 2049 |
By: Huberty |
State Affairs |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that the current statutory definition of a cogeneration facility as one that sells electric energy to the sole purchaser of a cogenerator's thermal output is incongruent with a regulatory ruling allowing cogeneration facilities to sell thermal energy to multiple purchasers to maximize operational efficiency. C.S.H.B. 2049 seeks to clarify related statutory provisions.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2049 amends the Utilities Code to authorize a qualifying cogenerator to sell electric energy at retail to more than one purchaser of the cogenerator's thermal output under statutory provisions relating to the encouragement of economical production and discounted wholesale or retail rates. The bill establishes that a qualifying cogenerator that sells electric energy at retail to more than one purchaser is not subject to regulation as a retail electric utility or subject to regulation as a retail electric provider or power generation company if the transmission services used to provide electricity necessary to serve the purchasers of the thermal output do not extend beyond the site of any thermal purchaser and are owned by the qualifying cogenerator, the thermal purchaser, or an affiliate of the qualifying cogenerator or thermal purchaser. The bill excepts the sale of wholesale electricity from the limitation on the sale of electricity and exempts from its provisions a municipally owned utility or electric cooperative providing service to an area where competition has not been introduced.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2049 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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