87R16686 BRG-F
 
  By: Darby, Lucio III, King of Parker, H.B. No. 1607
      Hernandez, Hunter, et al.
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certificates of public convenience and necessity for
  certain transmission projects.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that:
               (1)  this state has long been a leader in energy policy
  that has delivered economic, electricity, and environmental
  benefits to millions of electricity consumers, businesses,
  state-owned lands, and landowners;
               (2)  this state continues to experience population,
  business, industrial, and manufacturing growth that increases the
  need for reliable, low-cost electricity;
               (3)  the ERCOT electric power grid is experiencing
  congestion, constraint, and curtailment that are economically
  undesirable;
               (4)  the ERCOT electric power grid is experiencing load
  growth management challenges;
               (5)  while this state does not import large amounts of
  electricity, working to ensure that this state's electricity needs
  are met as fully as possible from in-state resources is of strategic
  interest to the legislature;
               (6)  all of the electric power industry's available
  power generation resources, including its wind and solar
  generation, natural gas-fired generation, energy storage, and
  transmission components, can play a substantial role in this
  state's economic recovery;
               (7)  this state's oil and natural gas industries
  continue to grow and prosper, and those industries require low-cost
  electricity and a reliable electric power grid to thrive; and
               (8)  to attract new capital projects to this state,
  create jobs, promote substantial new economic development, ensure a
  reliable and stable electric power grid that is powered by in-state
  resources, and keep this state as a leader on energy policy in the
  United States, a timely and targeted expansion of this state's
  electric transmission system is necessary to enhance the
  reliability of the system.
         SECTION 2.  Section 37.0541, Utilities Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 37.0541.  CONSOLIDATION OF CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS. The
  commission shall consolidate the proceeding on an application to
  obtain or amend a certificate of convenience and necessity for the
  construction of a transmission line with the proceeding on another
  application to obtain or amend a certificate of convenience and
  necessity for the construction of a transmission line if it is
  apparent from the applications or a motion to intervene in either
  proceeding that the transmission lines that are the subject of the
  separate proceedings share a common point of interconnection. [This
  section does not apply to a proceeding on an application for a
  certificate of convenience and necessity for a transmission line to
  serve a competitive renewable energy zone as part of a plan
  developed by the commission under Section 39.904(g)(2).]
         SECTION 3.  Section 37.056, Utilities Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (a-1), (d-1), (d-2), and (d-3) and amending
  Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (a-1)  In this section:
               (1)  "Interzonal" means involving more than one ERCOT
  load zone.
               (2)  "Intrazonal" means involving a single ERCOT load
  zone.
         (d)  The commission by rule shall establish criteria, in
  addition to the criteria described by Subsection (c), for granting
  a certificate for a transmission project that serves the ERCOT
  power region and[,] that is not necessary to meet state or federal
  reliability standards[, and that does not serve a competitive
  renewable energy zone].
         (d-1)  Except as provided by Subsection (d-2), an
  application for a certificate described by Subsection (d) [The
  criteria] must include a comparison of the levelized estimated cost
  of the transmission project and the levelized estimated cost
  savings and economic benefits that may result from the
  [transmission] project. The commission shall include with the
  commission's decision to grant or deny the certificate the
  commission's findings on the comparison. The comparison must
  account for:
               (1)  the probable improvement of service and reduction
  of costs for consumers that may be realized from the project;
               (2)  an estimated value of the reduction in interzonal
  and intrazonal constraint and congestion costs and interzonal and
  intrazonal curtailment costs that may be realized from the project;
               (3)  an estimation of reduced transmission losses that
  may be realized from the project;
               (4)  an assessment of whether the project will provide
  improved access to ERCOT for new generation facilities and the
  benefits that improved access could provide to generation
  facilities, industrial load, and the ERCOT market;
               (5)  an estimation of reduced future transmission
  investment costs that may be realized from the project;
               (6)  an estimation of costs of projects described by
  Subsection (d-2) that may be avoided as a result of the project; and
               (7)  an estimation of direct economic benefits that may
  be realized from the construction of the project [The commission
  shall include with its decision on an application for a certificate
  to which this subsection applies findings on the criteria].
         (d-2)  If an application does not include a comparison
  described by Subsection (d-1), the commission may not grant a
  certificate for a project described by Subsection (d) unless the
  commission finds that the project is needed to support a reliable
  and adequate transmission network, to facilitate wholesale
  competition, or to minimize curtailments due to interzonal
  constraints and intrazonal congestion.
         (d-3)  Not less than once per year, the independent
  organization certified under Section 39.151 for the ERCOT power
  region shall identify transmission projects that will meet
  commission findings under Subsection (d-2).
         SECTION 4.  Section 39.904(k), Utilities Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (k)  The commission and the independent organization
  certified for ERCOT shall study the need for increased transmission
  and generation capacity throughout this state and report to the
  legislature the results of the study and any recommendations for
  legislation. The report must be filed with the legislature not
  later than December 31 of each even-numbered year [and may be filed
  as a part of the report required by Subsection (j)].
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
  amended by adding Section 39.918 to read as follows:
         Sec. 39.918.  CRITICAL DESIGNATION TRANSMISSION
  INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Interzonal" means involving more than one ERCOT
  load zone.
               (2)  "Intrazonal" means involving a single ERCOT load
  zone.
         (b)  Not later than December 30, 2021, the independent
  organization certified under Section 39.151 for the ERCOT power
  region shall:
               (1)  identify, in consultation with the commission,
  critical designation transmission infrastructure projects and the
  electric utilities or transmission and distribution utilities that
  will construct and operate the projects in a manner consistent with
  Section 37.056; and
               (2)  submit a written description of each project to
  the commission.
         (c)  Projects identified under Subsection (b) must
  facilitate a timely and targeted expansion of the electric power
  grid in ERCOT for the purposes of:
               (1)  resolving existing interzonal and intrazonal
  transmission constraints, congestion, or curtailments, including
  generic transmission constraints; and
               (2)  ensuring the future reliability of the ERCOT
  electric power grid.
         (d)  To the extent practicable, projects identified under
  Subsection (b) should:
               (1)  be cost-effective and designed to transmit high
  volumes of electricity in and across ERCOT load zones efficiently;
               (2)  minimize the need for the acquisition of new
  rights-of-way by replacing aging infrastructure or following
  routes that align with existing rights-of-way or existing
  transmission infrastructure;
               (3)  minimize interzonal constraints and intrazonal
  congestion during construction activities;
               (4)  be designed to accommodate new solutions,
  including higher voltages, if the independent organization
  determines that new solutions are required; and
               (5)  be designed to significantly reduce present or
  expected future interzonal constraints and intrazonal congestion.
         (e)  The independent organization certified under Section
  39.151 for the ERCOT power region shall identify as a critical
  designation transmission infrastructure project under Subsection
  (b) a project addressing an interzonal constraint or intrazonal
  congestion in an area if:
               (1)  the constraint or congestion has been present for
  three years or longer; and
               (2)  the area has experienced constraint or congestion
  costs greater than or equal to $100 million per year in each of the
  previous three years.
         (f)  The independent organization certified under Section
  39.151 for the ERCOT power region may consult with the independent
  organization's market participant segments and other stakeholders
  to identify projects under Subsection (b) that could facilitate:
               (1)  the growth of the economy of this state; or
               (2)  oil and gas, commercial, and industrial
  development that could provide substantial new tax revenue,
  landowner income, or new jobs in this state.
         (g)  Not later than the 450th day after the date that the
  independent organization certified under Section 39.151 for the
  ERCOT power region submits a written description of a project to the
  commission under Subsection (b), the utility that will construct
  and operate the project shall submit to the commission an
  application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity
  for the project.
         (h)  In considering an application for a certificate of
  public convenience and necessity for a project identified under
  Subsection (b), the commission is not required to consider the
  factors provided by Sections 37.056(c)(1) and (2). The commission
  shall consider all factors provided by Section 37.056, including
  Sections 37.056(c)(1) and (2), for a project not identified under
  Subsection (b).
         (i)  If the commission issues a certificate of public
  convenience and necessity for a project identified under Subsection
  (b), the commission shall find that the project is used and useful
  to the utility in providing service for purposes of this section,
  prudent, and includable in the rate base, regardless of the extent
  of the utility's actual use of the project.
         (j)  Transmission service that is facilitated through a
  project identified under Subsection (b) must be provided in a
  manner consistent with Subchapter A, Chapter 35.
         (k)  This section expires September 1, 2030.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 39.904(g), (h), (i), and (j), Utilities
  Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 7.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a proceeding affecting a certificate of public convenience and
  necessity that commences on or after the effective date of this Act.
  A proceeding affecting a certificate of public convenience and
  necessity that commenced before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the proceeding is
  commenced, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 8.  The recovery of a transmission facility
  investment made by an electric utility to serve a competitive
  renewable energy zone is governed by the law in effect on the date
  the facility is placed in service, regardless of whether the
  facility is completed before, on, or after the effective date of
  this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.