By: King of Parker, Harless, Slawson, H.B. No. 2483
      Hernandez, Darby, et al.
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to utility facilities for restoring electric service after
  a widespread power outage.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
  amended by adding Section 39.918 to read as follows:
         Sec. 39.918.  UTILITY FACILITIES FOR POWER RESTORATION AFTER
  WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGE. (a) In this section, "widespread power
  outage" means an event that results in:
               (1)  a loss of electric power that:
                     (A)  affects a significant number of distribution
  customers of a transmission and distribution utility; and
                     (B)  has lasted or is expected to last for at least
  eight hours; and
               (2)  a risk to public safety.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, a
  transmission and distribution utility may:
               (1)  lease and operate facilities that provide
  temporary emergency electric energy to aid in restoring power to
  the utility's distribution customers during a widespread power
  outage in which:
                     (A)  the independent system operator has ordered
  the utility to shed load; or
                     (B)  the utility's distribution facilities are
  not being fully served by the bulk power system under normal
  operations; and
               (2)  procure, own, and operate, or enter into a
  cooperative agreement with other transmission and distribution
  utilities to procure, own, and operate jointly, transmission and
  distribution facilities that have a lead time of at least six months
  and would aid in restoring power to the utility's distribution
  customers following a widespread power outage.  In this section,
  long lead time facilities may not be electric energy storage
  equipment or facilities under Chapter 35, Utilities Code.
         (c)  A transmission and distribution utility that leases and
  operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) may not sell electric
  energy or ancillary services from those facilities.
         (d)  Facilities described by Subsection (b)(1):
               (1)  must be operated in isolation from the bulk power
  system; and
               (2)  may not be included in independent system
  operator:
                     (A)  locational marginal pricing calculations;
                     (B)  pricing; or
                     (C)  reliability models.
         (e)  A transmission and distribution utility that leases and
  operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) shall ensure, to the
  extent reasonably practicable, that retail customer usage during
  operation of those facilities is adjusted out of the usage reported
  for billing purposes by the retail customer's retail electric
  provider.
         (f)  A transmission and distribution utility shall, when
  reasonably practicable, use a competitive bidding process to lease
  facilities under Subsection (b)(1).
         (g)  A transmission and distribution utility that leases and
  operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) or that procures, owns,
  and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(2) shall include in
  the utility's emergency operations plan filed with the commission,
  as described by Section 186.007, a detailed plan on the utility's
  use of those facilities.
         (h)  The commission shall permit:
               (1)  a transmission and distribution utility that
  leases and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) to recover
  the reasonable and necessary costs of leasing and operating the
  facilities, including the present value of future payments required
  under the lease, using the rate of return on investment established
  in the commission's final order in the utility's most recent base
  rate proceeding; and
               (2)  a transmission and distribution utility that
  procures, owns, and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(2) to
  recover the reasonable and necessary costs of procuring, owning,
  and operating the facilities, using the rate of return on
  investment established in the commission's final order in the
  utility's most recent base rate proceeding.
         (i)  The commission shall authorize a transmission and
  distribution utility to defer for recovery in a future ratemaking
  proceeding the incremental operations and maintenance expenses and
  the return, not otherwise recovered in a rate proceeding,
  associated with the leasing or procurement, ownership, and
  operation of the facilities.
         (j)  A transmission and distribution utility may request
  recovery of the reasonable and necessary costs of leasing or
  procuring, owning, and operating facilities under this section,
  including any deferred expenses, through a proceeding under Section
  36.210 or in another ratemaking proceeding. A lease under
  Subsection (b)(1) must be treated as a capital lease or finance
  lease for ratemaking purposes.
         (k)  This section expires September 1, 2029.
         SECTION 2.  Not later than January 1, 2029, the Public
  Utility Commission of Texas shall:
               (1)  analyze the effects of authorizing transmission
  and distribution utilities to lease, operate, procure, or own the
  facilities described by Section 39.918(b), Utilities Code, as added
  by this Act; and
               (2)  submit a report to the legislature that includes
  the analysis produced under Subdivision (1) of this section and a
  recommendation of whether the legislature should allow Section
  39.918, Utilities Code, as added by this Act, to expire.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.