| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to a qualifying cogenerator that serves a large load and a |
|
|
colocated desalination facility. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 31.002, Utilities Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subdivision (13) to read as follows: |
|
|
(13) "Qualifying cogenerator" and "qualifying small |
|
|
power producer" have the meanings assigned those terms by 16 U.S.C. |
|
|
Sections 796(18)(C) and 796(17)(D). A qualifying cogenerator that |
|
|
provides electricity to a purchaser of the cogenerator's thermal |
|
|
output is not for that reason considered to be a retail electric |
|
|
provider or a power generation company. A qualifying cogenerator |
|
|
includes an owner or operator of dispatchable generation that: |
|
|
(A) provides thermal, steam or waste heat for use |
|
|
by a co-located desalination facility; and |
|
|
(B) serves a load whose primary purpose is the |
|
|
manufacture of digital products. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subsection 37.001, Utilities Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subdivision (3) to read as follows: |
|
|
(3) "Retail electric utility" means a person, |
|
|
political subdivision, electric cooperative, or agency that |
|
|
operates, maintains, or controls in this state a facility to |
|
|
provide retail electric utility service. The term does not include |
|
|
a corporation described by Section 32.053 to the extent that the |
|
|
corporation sells electricity exclusively at wholesale and not to |
|
|
the ultimate consumer. A qualifying cogenerator that sells electric |
|
|
energy at retail to the sole purchaser of the cogenerator's thermal |
|
|
output under Sections 35.061 and 36.007 is not for that reason |
|
|
considered to be a retail electric utility. The owner or operator of |
|
|
a qualifying cogeneration facility who was issued the necessary |
|
|
environmental permits from the Texas Natural Resource Conservation |
|
|
Commission after January 1, 1998, and who commenced construction of |
|
|
such qualifying facility before July 1, 1998, may provide |
|
|
electricity to the purchasers of the thermal output of that |
|
|
qualifying facility and shall not for that reason be considered an |
|
|
electric utility or a retail electric utility, provided that the |
|
|
purchasers of the thermal output are owners of manufacturing or |
|
|
process operation facilities that are located on a site entirely |
|
|
owned before September, 1987, by one owner who retained ownership |
|
|
after September, 1987, of some portion of the facilities and that |
|
|
those facilities now share some integrated operations, such as the |
|
|
provision of services and raw materials. A person who is an electric |
|
|
generation equipment lessor or operator is not for that reason |
|
|
considered to be a retail electric utility. A person who owns or |
|
|
operates equipment used solely to provide electricity charging |
|
|
service for consumption by an alternatively fueled vehicle, as |
|
|
defined by Section 502.004, Transportation Code, is not for that |
|
|
reason considered to be a retail electric utility. The owner or |
|
|
operator of a qualifying congenator as defined by Subdivision |
|
|
31.002(13) is not considered to be a retail electric utility if the |
|
|
owner or operator of a qualifying cogenerator is providing |
|
|
electricity to a manufacturer of digital products and thermal, |
|
|
steam, or waste heat to a colocated desalination facility. |
|
|
SECTION 3. 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, 2025. |