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Introduced Version House Bill 2176 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2176


          (By Delegates Manypenny, Canterbury and Wells)
          [Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
          Committee on the Judiciary.]




A BILL to amend and reenact §24-2F-4 and §24-2F-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to interconnection and net-metering of customer-generators of renewable energy; providing ownership of renewable energy credits; and requiring the Public Service Commission to propose rules regarding net-metering and interconnection standards in this state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     That §24-2F-4 and §24-2F-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2F. ALTERNATIVE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD.
§24-2F-4. Awarding of alternative and renewable energy resource credits.
     (a) Credits established. -- The Public Service Commission shall establish a system of tradable credits to establish, verify and monitor the generation and sale of electricity generated from alternative and renewable energy resource facilities. The credits may be traded, sold or used to meet the portfolio standards established in section five of this article.
     (b) Awarding of credits. -- Credits shall be awarded as follows:
     (1) An electric utility shall be is awarded one credit for each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from an alternative energy resource facility located within the geographical boundaries of this state or located outside of the geographical boundaries of this state but within the service territory of a regional transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18 C.F.R. §35.34, that manages the transmission system in any part of this state;
     (2) An electric utility shall be is awarded two credits for each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from a renewable energy resource facility located within the geographical boundaries of this state or located outside of the geographical boundaries of this state but within the service territory of a regional transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18 C.F.R. §35.34, that manages the transmission system in any part of this state;
     (3) An electric utility shall be is awarded three credits for each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from a renewable energy resource facility located within the geographical boundaries of this state if the renewable energy resource facility is sited upon a reclaimed surface mine; and
     (4) A customer-generator shall be is awarded one credit for each megawatt hour of electricity generated from an alternative energy resource facility and shall be is awarded two credits for each megawatt hour of electricity generated from a renewable energy resource facility.
     (5) Renewable energy credits are owned by the generator of the energy until sold or otherwise traded.
     (c) Acquiring of credits permitted. --
     (1) An electric utility may meet the alternative and renewable energy portfolio standards set forth in this article by purchasing additional credits. Credits may be bought or sold by an electric utility or customer-generator or banked and used to meet an alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard requirement in a subsequent year.
     (2) Each credit transaction shall be reported by the selling entity to the Public Service Commission on a form provided by the commission.
     (3) As soon as reasonably possible after the effective date of this section, the commission shall establish a registry of data that shall track credit transactions and shall list the following information for each transaction: (i) The parties to the transaction; (ii) the number of credits sold or transferred; and (iii) the price paid. Information contained in the registry shall be available to the public.
     (4) The commission may impose an administrative transaction fee on a credit transaction in an amount not to exceed the actual direct cost of processing the transaction by the commission.
     (d) Credits for certain emission reduction or offset projects. --
     (1) The commission may award credits to an electric utility for greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset projects. For each ton of carbon dioxide equivalent reduced or offset as a result of an approved greenhouse gas emission reduction project, the commission shall award an electric utility one credit: Provided, That the emissions reductions and offsets are verifiable and certified in accordance with rules promulgated by the commission: Provided, however, That the commission has previously approved the greenhouse gas emission reduction and offset project for credit in accordance with section six of this article.
     (2) The commission shall consult and coordinate with the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection to verify and certify greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset projects. The Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection shall provide assistance and information to the Public Service Commission and may enter into interagency agreements with the commission to effectuate the purposes of this subsection.
     (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, an electric utility may not be awarded credits for a greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset project undertaken pursuant to any an obligation under any other state law, policy or regulation.
     (e) Credits for certain energy efficiency and demand-side energy initiative projects. --
     (1) The commission may award credits to an electric utility for investments in energy efficiency and demand-side energy initiative projects. For each megawatt hour of electricity conserved as a result of an approved energy efficiency or demand-side energy initiative project, the commission shall award one credit: Provided, That the amount of electricity claimed to be conserved is verifiable and certified in accordance with rules promulgated by the commission: Provided, however, That the commission has approved the energy efficiency or demand-side energy initiative project for credit in accordance with section six of this article.
     (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, an electric utility may not be awarded credit for an energy efficiency or demand-side energy initiative project undertaken pursuant to any an obligation under any other state or federal law, policy or regulation.
§24-2F-8. Net metering and interconnection standards.
     (a) The commission shall adopt propose a legislative rule for legislative approval, as appropriate, under the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code requiring that all electric utilities provide a rebate or discount at fair value, to be determined by the commission to customer-generators for any electricity generation that is delivered to the utility under a net metering arrangement. The rule shall require that during any billing cycle, electric utilities credit any excess customer-owned renewable generation delivered to the utility's electric grid during a billing cycle to the customer-generator's billing cycle for the next month. The rule shall also require that at the end of each calendar year, the electric utility shall pay the customer-generator for any unused energy credits at an average annual rate based on the electric utility's avoided-cost rate.
     (b) The commission shall also consider adopting, by rule a requirement proposing for legislative approval, a rule requiring that all sellers of electricity to retail customers in the state, including rural electric cooperatives, municipally owned electric facilities or utilities serving less than thirty thousand residential electric customers in this state, offer net metering rebates or discounts to customer-generators.
     (c) The commission shall institute a general investigation for the purpose of adopting rules pertaining to net metering and the interconnection of eligible electric generating facilities intended to operate in parallel with an electric utility's system. As part of its investigation, the commission shall take into consideration rules of other states within the applicable region of the regional transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18 C.F.R. §35.34, that manages a utility's transmission system in any part of this state. Furthermore, the commission shall consider increasing the allowed kilowatt capacity for commercial customer-generators to an amount not to exceed five hundred kilowatts and for industrial customer-generators to an amount not to exceed two megawatts. The commission shall further consider interconnection standards for combined heat and power.
     (d) The commission shall propose a legislative rule for legislative approval, as appropriate, under the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, for increasing the allowed kilowatt capacity for customer-generators as follows:
_____(1) To an amount not to exceed fifty kilowatts for residential customer-generators or to an amount not to exceed one megawatt if the residential property is a farm;
_____(2) To an amount not to exceed five hundred kilowatts for commercial customer-generators; and
_____(3) To an amount not to exceed two megawatts for industrial customer-generators.
_____
(d) (e) The commission shall promulgate propose these rules within twelve months of the effective date of the amendments to this article.


          
     NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide certain standards for the interconnection and net-metering of customer-generators in this state.

     Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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