HB5381 S EIM AMT 3-9

Kraus  7502

The Committee on Energy, Industry, and Mining moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:

Eng. Com. Sub. for House Bill 5381—A Bill to amend and reenact §5B-2A-1, §5B-2A-3, §5B-2A-4, §5B-2A-9, §5B-2A-12, §5B-2F-1, §5B-2F-2, §5B-2F-3, §5B-2F-4, §5B-2F-5, §5B-2H-2, §5B-2J-1, §5B-2J-2, §5B-2N-1, §5B-2N-2, §5B-2N-3, §5B-2N-4, §5B-2A-10, §5B-2A-14 §5B-2O-1, §5B-2O-2, §5B-2O-3, and §5B-2O-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend the code by adding new sections, designated §5B-2N-2b, §5B-2N-5, §5B-2N-6, §5B-2N-7, and §5B-2O-4; and to amend the code by adding four new articles designated §24-2J-1, §24-2J-2, §24-2J-3, §24-2J-4, §24-2K-1, §24-2K-2, §24-2K-3, §24-2K-4, §24-2K-5, §24-2K-6, §24-2K-7, §24-2K-8, §24-2K-9, §24-2K-10, §24-2K-11, and §24-2K-12, §24-9-1, §24-9-2, §24-9-3, §24-9-4, §24-9-5,  §24-9-6, §24-9-7, §24-9-8, §24-9-9,  §24-9-10, §24-10-1, §24-10-2, and §24-10-3, all relating to implementing a comprehensive energy policy in the state; ensuring a stable, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective system of energy production in the state; requiring comprehensive energy development policy and plan under the direction of the West Virginia Office of Energy; transferring the Office of Coalfield Community Development as a program within the Office of Energy; eliminating annual report of the Office of Coalfield Community Development; eliminating the sunset date of the Office of Coalfield Community Development; establishing the Comprehensive Energy Policy and Development Plan Act of 2026; eliminating outdated and misaligned duties of the Office of Energy; repurposing the Office of Energy with developing a long-lasting energy policy that embraces coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydropower, renewable, hydrogen, and geothermal sources of energy that emphasizes stability, efficiency, innovation, stable baseload generation, low cost, independence, and security; eliminating the Office of Energy’s responsibility to develop an energy savings contracting program; empowering the Office of Energy to hold stakeholder meetings to develop a comprehensive energy plan and policy; granting the Office of Energy rulemaking powers; including the Office of Energy in the list of agencies empowered to assist in the growth of the Marcellus gas and natural gas liquid industries; repealing Coal Fired Grid Stabilization Act of 2023 and merging its elements into the newly created Comprehensive Grid Stabilization and Energy Security Act of 2026; creating definitions for the act; directing the Office of Energy to develop strategies for developing coal, geothermal, hydrogen, hydropower, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable fueled energy; directing the Office of Energy to submit an annual report of its findings and recommendations; authorizing the Office of Energy to identify and designate suitable sites for coal, geothermal, hydrogen, hydropower, natural gas, renewable, or nuclear electric generation projects; authorizing the Office of Energy to develop and adopt criteria for energy-ready community designations for local governments; directing the Office of Energy to develop a state energy security plan and to conduct energy emergency exercises to access the state’s energy emergency readiness; providing for reporting regarding emergency readiness; and technical cleanup of amended and reenacted sections; requiring certain utilities to include in their Integrated Resource Plans a comprehensive analysis of current and potential future uses, costs, and benefits of advanced transmission technologies, and an analysis of coal and natural-gas utilization, maintenance, and life-extension; defining advanced transmission technologies; requiring the plans to include detailed economic and technological feasibility for such technologies to optimize grid performance and enhance reliability and resiliency; requiring the plans to include any other technologies which may enhance grid performance; creating the West Virginia First Energy Act; providing legislative findings, purpose, and definitions; setting certain minimum operational utilization goal for coal-fired generation and providing incentives for attainment; providing certain protections against premature termination of certain electric generating facilities and placing limitation on announcements of such termination; restricting certain recoupment of certain expenditures associated with certain intermittent-generation resources;  directing use of moneys in the Electric Grid Stabilization and Security Fund; requiring certain coordination between Public Service Commission and Public Energy Authority; expanding powers, duties, and responsibilities of Public Energy Authority; providing certain oversight of PJM market participation and resource planning; requiring certain electric utilities to perform operational analysis and maintain operational plan; providing operational plan criteria; providing certain Public Service Commission and Public Energy Authority oversight of operational plans; requiring certain electric utilities to maintain minimum supply of certain resources; providing certain reporting requirements; and requiring certain orders, directives, and requirements to implement the act; establishing the West Virginia First Energy Act; providing definitions; requiring minimum utilization of coal-fired electric generating facilities; requiring minimum on-site coal inventory and firm natural gas supply; requiring oversight of PJM Interconnection market participation and resource planning; restricting cost recovery and power-purchase agreements for new intermittent generation; conditioning rate increases on compliance; coordinating with the Electric Grid Stabilization and Security Fund; requiring reporting; granting implementation authority; providing an effective date; creating the Stable Energy Rates Protection Act; prohibiting the Public Service Commission from taking certain action on certain rate increase requests related to intermittent power sources; providing exceptions; requiring annual report to the Legislature; creating West Virginia Utility Affordability and Economic Competitiveness Act; legislative findings and declarations; stating of policy and statewide goals; imposing temporary moratorium on certain utility rate increases; requiring whole government coordination; ,making utility affordability a budgetary priority; phasing in needs assessment, statutory and regulatory reform, implementation, and oversight; and providing for energy affordability, reliability, security, and supply-chain standards.

Adopted

Rejected