Nuclear reactor projects

AN ACT Relating to encouraging electric utility investments in 1
advanced nuclear reactor projects for clean energy transformation act 2
compliance; amending RCW 19.405.040, 19.405.020, and 19.405.100; and 3
creating a new section. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that nuclear energy 6
is a safe and reliable source of nonemitting energy and that all 7
electricity provided to Washington retail electric customers must be 8
from nonemitting or renewable resources by January 1, 2045. The 9
legislature finds that advanced nuclear reactors hold great promise 10
for delivering significant amounts of nonemitting energy to the grid 11
with enhanced safety and increased efficiency. Nuclear energy is a 12
clean, firm complement to renewable resources, has low land-use 13
requirements, and provides high-paying jobs and regional economic 14
benefits. Therefore, the legislature finds value in encouraging 15
electric utilities to invest now in new advanced nuclear reactor 16
projects as these utilities work to comply with clean energy 17
transformation act requirements by 2045.18
Sec. 2. RCW 19.405.040 and 2019 c 288 s 4 are each amended to 19
read as follows: 20
H-0880.1
HOUSE BILL 1679
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Barnard, Stearns, and Ley
Read first time 01/29/25. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
p. 1 HB 1679
(1) It is the policy of the state that all retail sales of 1
electricity to Washington retail electric customers be greenhouse gas 2
neutral by January 1, 2030. 3
(a) For the four-year compliance period beginning January 1, 4
2030, and for each multiyear compliance period thereafter through 5
December 31, 2044, an electric utility must demonstrate its 6
compliance with this standard using a combination of nonemitting 7
electric generation and electricity from renewable resources, or 8
alternative compliance options, as provided in this section. To 9
achieve compliance with this standard, an electric utility must: (i) 10
Pursue all cost-effective, reliable, and feasible conservation and 11
efficiency resources to reduce or manage retail electric load, using 12
the methodology established in RCW 19.285.040, if applicable; and 13
(ii) use electricity from renewable resources and nonemitting 14
electric generation in an amount equal to one hundred percent of the 15
utility's retail electric loads over each multiyear compliance 16
period. An electric utility must achieve compliance with this 17
standard for the following compliance periods: January 1, 2030, 18
through December 31, 2033; January 1, 2034, through December 31, 19
2037; January 1, 2038, through December 31, 2041; and January 1, 20
2042, through December 31, 2044. 21
(b) Through December 31, 2044, an electric utility may satisfy up 22
to twenty percent of its compliance obligation under (a) of this 23
subsection with an alternative compliance option consistent with this 24
section. An alternative compliance option may include any combination 25
of the following: 26
(i) Making an alternative compliance payment under RCW 27
19.405.090(2); 28
(ii) Using unbundled renewable energy credits, provided that 29
there is no double counting of any nonpower attributes associated 30
with renewable energy credits within Washington or programs in other 31
jurisdictions, as follows: 32
(A) Unbundled renewable energy credits produced from eligible 33
renewable resources, as defined under RCW 19.285.030, which may be 34
used by the electric utility for compliance with RCW 19.285.040 and 35
this section as provided under RCW 19.285.040(2)(e); and36
(B) Unbundled renewable energy credits, other than those included 37
in (b)(ii)(A) of this subsection, that represent electricity 38
generated within the compliance period; 39
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(iii) Investing in energy transformation projects, including 1
additional conservation and efficiency resources beyond what is 2
otherwise required under this section, provided the projects meet the 3
requirements of subsection (2) of this section and are not credited 4
as resources used to meet the standard under (a) of this subsection; 5
((or))6
(iv) Using electricity from an energy recovery facility using 7
municipal solid waste as the principal fuel source, where the 8
facility was constructed prior to 1992, and the facility is operated 9
in compliance with federal laws and regulations and meets state air 10
quality standards. An electric utility may only use electricity from 11
such an energy recovery facility if the department and the department 12
of ecology determine that electricity generation at the facility 13
provides a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to any 14
other available waste management best practice. The determination 15
must be based on a life-cycle analysis comparing the energy recovery 16
facility to other technologies available in the jurisdiction in which 17
the facility is located for the waste management best practices of 18
waste reduction, recycling, composting, and minimizing the use of a 19
landfill; or20
(v) Investing in an advanced nuclear reactor project.21
(c) Electricity from renewable resources used to meet the 22
standard under (a) of this subsection must be verified by the 23
retirement of renewable energy credits. Renewable energy credits must 24
be tracked and retired in the tracking system selected by the 25
department. 26
(d) Hydroelectric generation used by an electric utility in 27
meeting the standard under (a) of this subsection may not include new 28
diversions, new impoundments, new bypass reaches, or expansion of 29
existing reservoirs constructed after May 7, 2019, unless the 30
diversions, bypass reaches, or reservoir expansions are necessary for 31
the operation of a pumped storage facility that: (i) Does not 32
conflict with existing state or federal fish recovery plans; and (ii) 33
complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.34
(e) Nothing in (d) of this subsection precludes an electric 35
utility that owns and operates hydroelectric generating facilities, 36
or the owner of a hydroelectric generating facility whose energy 37
output is marketed by the Bonneville power administration, from 38
making efficiency or other improvements to its hydroelectric 39
generating facilities existing as of May 7, 2019, or from installing 40
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hydroelectric generation in pipes, culverts, irrigation canals, and 1
other man-made waterways, as long as those changes do not create 2
conflicts with existing state or federal fish recovery plans and 3
comply with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.4
(f) Nonemitting electric generation used to meet the standard 5
under (a) of this subsection must be generated during the compliance 6
period and must be verified by documentation that the electric 7
utility owns the nonpower attributes of the electricity generated by 8
the nonemitting electric generation resource. 9
(g) Nothing in this section prohibits an electric utility from 10
purchasing or exchanging power from the Bonneville power 11
administration. 12
(2) Investments in energy transformation projects used to satisfy 13
an alternative compliance option provided under subsection (1)(b) of 14
this section must use criteria developed by the department of 15
ecology, in consultation with the department and the commission. For 16
the purpose of crediting an energy transformation project toward the 17
standard in subsection (1)(a) of this section, the department of 18
ecology must establish a conversion factor of emissions reductions 19
resulting from energy transformation projects to megawatt-hours of 20
electricity from nonemitting electric generation that is consistent 21
with the emission factors for unspecified electricity, or for energy 22
transformation projects in the transportation sector, consistent with 23
default emissions or conversion factors established by other 24
jurisdictions for clean alternative fuels. Emissions reductions from 25
energy transformation projects must be: 26
(a) Real, specific, identifiable, and quantifiable;27
(b) Permanent: The department of ecology must look to other 28
jurisdictions in setting this standard and make a reasonable 29
determination on length of time; 30
(c) Enforceable by the state of Washington; 31
(d) Verifiable; 32
(e) Not required by another statute, rule, or other legal 33
requirement; and 34
(f) Not reasonably assumed to occur absent investment, or if an 35
investment has already been made, not reasonably assumed to occur 36
absent additional funding in the near future. 37
(3) Energy transformation projects or advanced nuclear reactor 38
projects must be associated with the consumption of energy in 39
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Washington and must not create a new use of fossil fuels that results 1
in a net increase of fossil fuel usage. 2
(4) The compliance eligibility of energy transformation projects 3
may be scaled or prorated by an approved protocol in order to 4
distinguish effects related to reductions in electricity usage from 5
reductions in fossil fuel usage. 6
(5) Any compliance obligation fulfilled through an investment in 7
an energy transformation project or advanced nuclear reactor project 8
is eligible for use only: (a) By the electric utility that makes the 9
investment; (b) if the investment is made by the Bonneville power 10
administration, by electric utilities that are preference customers 11
of the Bonneville power administration; or (c) if the investment is 12
made by a joint operating agency organized under chapter 43.52 RCW, 13
((by a member of the joint operating agency )) by a utility 14
participating in the project investment . An electric utility making 15
an investment in partnership with another electric utility or entity 16
may claim credit proportional to its share invested in the total 17
project cost. 18
(6)(a) In meeting the standard under subsection (1) of this 19
section, an electric utility must, consistent with the requirements 20
of RCW 19.285.040, if applicable, pursue all cost-effective, 21
reliable, and feasible conservation and efficiency resources, and 22
demand response. In making new investments, an electric utility must, 23
to the maximum extent feasible: 24
(i) Achieve targets at the lowest reasonable cost, considering 25
risk; 26
(ii) Consider acquisition of existing renewable resources; and27
(iii) In the acquisition of new resources constructed after May 28
7, 2019, rely on renewable resources ((and)), energy storage, and 29
nuclear energy resources insofar as doing so is consistent with 30
(a)(i) of this subsection. 31
(b) Electric utilities subject to RCW 19.285.040 must demonstrate 32
pursuit of all conservation and efficiency resources through 33
compliance with the requirements in RCW 19.285.040.34
(7) An electric utility that fails to meet the requirements of 35
this section must pay the administrative penalty established under 36
RCW 19.405.090(1), except as otherwise provided in this chapter.37
(8) In complying with this section, an electric utility must, 38
consistent with the requirements of RCW 19.280.030 and 19.405.140, 39
ensure that all customers are benefiting from the transition to clean 40
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energy: Through the equitable distribution of energy and nonenergy 1
benefits and reduction of burdens to vulnerable populations and 2
highly impacted communities; long-term and short-term public health 3
and environmental benefits and reduction of costs and risks; and 4
energy security and resiliency. 5
(9) Affected market customers must comply with the standard 6
established under subsection (1) of this section. 7
(10) A market customer that purchases electricity exclusively 8
from carbon-free resources and eligible renewable resources, as 9
defined in RCW 19.285.030 as of January 1, 2019, pursuant to a 10
special contract with an investor-owned utility approved, prior to 11
May 7, 2019, by order of the commission is subject to the 12
requirements of such an order and not to the standard established in 13
this section. For purposes of interpreting any such special contract, 14
chapter 19.285 RCW, as in effect on January 1, 2019, is not, either 15
directly or indirectly, amended or supplemented. 16
(11) To reduce costs for utility customers or avoid exceeding the 17
cost impact limit in RCW 19.405.060(3)(a), a multistate electric 18
utility with fewer than two hundred fifty thousand customers in 19
Washington may apply the total amount of megawatt-hours of coal-fired 20
resources eliminated from the utility's allocation of electricity 21
before December 31, 2025, as an equivalent amount of megawatt-hours 22
of nonemitting electric generation or electricity from renewable 23
resources required to comply with subsection (1)(a) of this section. 24
The utility must demonstrate that for every megawatt-hour of early 25
action compliance credit there is a real, permanent reduction in 26
greenhouse gas emissions in the western interconnection directly 27
associated with that credit. A multistate electric utility must 28
request to use early action compliance credit in its clean energy 29
implementation plan that is submitted under RCW 19.405.060. The 30
multistate electric utility must specify in its clean energy 31
implementation plan the compliance years to which the early action 32
compliance credit will apply, but in no event may the multistate 33
electric utility use the early action compliance credits beyond 2035. 34
The commission must establish conditions for use of early action 35
compliance credits, including a determination of whether action 36
constitutes early action, before the multistate electric utility's 37
use of early action compliance credits in a clean energy 38
implementation plan. 39
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Sec. 3. RCW 19.405.020 and 2024 c 83 s 2 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 3
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 4
(1) "Advanced nuclear reactor" means a nuclear fission reactor 5
with significant improvements, including additional inherent safety 6
features, compared to reactors operating on December 27, 2020, in the 7
United States.8
(2) "Allocation of electricity" means, for the purposes of 9
setting electricity rates, the costs and benefits associated with the 10
resources used to provide electricity to an electric utility's retail 11
electricity consumers that are located in this state.12
(((2))) (3) "Alternative compliance payment" means the payment 13
established in RCW 19.405.090(2). 14
(((3))) (4) "Attorney general" means the Washington state office 15
of the attorney general. 16
(((4))) (5) "Auditor" means: (a) The Washington state auditor's 17
office or its designee for utilities under its jurisdiction under 18
this chapter that are consumer-owned utilities; or (b) an independent 19
auditor selected by a utility that is not under the jurisdiction of 20
the state auditor and is not an investor-owned utility.21
(((5))) (6)(a) "Biomass energy" includes: (i) Organic by-products 22
of pulping and the wood manufacturing process; (ii) animal manure; 23
(iii) solid organic fuels from wood; (iv) forest or field residues; 24
(v) untreated wooden demolition or construction debris; (vi) food 25
waste and food processing residuals; (vii) liquors derived from 26
algae; (viii) dedicated energy crops; and (ix) yard waste.27
(b) "Biomass energy" does not include: (i) Wood pieces that have 28
been treated with chemical preservatives such as creosote, 29
pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenic; (ii) wood from old 30
growth forests; or (iii) municipal solid waste. 31
(((6))) (7) "Carbon dioxide equivalent" has the same meaning as 32
defined in RCW 70A.45.010. 33
(((7))) (8)(a) "Coal-fired resource" means a facility that uses 34
coal-fired generating units, or that uses units fired in whole or in 35
part by coal as feedstock, to generate electricity.36
(b)(i) "Coal-fired resource" does not include an electric 37
generating facility that is included as part of a limited duration 38
wholesale power purchase, not to exceed one month, made by an 39
electric utility for delivery to retail electric customers that are 40
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located in this state for which the source of the power is not known 1
at the time of entry into the transaction to procure the electricity.2
(ii) "Coal-fired resource" does not include an electric 3
generating facility that is subject to an obligation to meet the 4
standards contained in RCW 80.80.040(3)(c). 5
(((8))) (9) "Commission" means the Washington utilities and 6
transportation commission. 7
(((9))) (10) "Conservation and efficiency resources" means any 8
reduction in electric power consumption that results from increases 9
in the efficiency of energy use, production, transmission, or 10
distribution. 11
(((10))) (11) "Consumer-owned utility" means a municipal electric 12
utility formed under Title 35 RCW, a public utility district formed 13
under Title 54 RCW, an irrigation district formed under chapter 87.03 14
RCW, a cooperative formed under chapter 23.86 RCW, or a mutual 15
corporation or association formed under chapter 24.06 RCW, that is 16
engaged in the business of distributing electricity to more than one 17
retail electric customer in the state. 18
(((11))) (12) "Demand response" means changes in electric usage 19
by demand-side resources from their normal consumption patterns in 20
response to changes in the price of electricity, or to incentive 21
payments designed to induce lower electricity use, at times of high 22
wholesale market prices or when system reliability is jeopardized. 23
"Demand response" may include measures to increase or decrease 24
electricity production on the customer's side of the meter in 25
response to incentive payments. 26
(((12))) (13) "Department" means the department of commerce.27
(((13))) (14) "Distributed energy resource" means a nonemitting 28
electric generation or renewable resource or program that reduces 29
electric demand, manages the level or timing of electricity 30
consumption, or provides storage, electric energy, capacity, or 31
ancillary services to an electric utility and that is located on the 32
distribution system, any subsystem of the distribution system, or 33
behind the customer meter, including conservation and energy 34
efficiency. 35
(((14))) (15) "Electric utility" or "utility" means a consumer-36
owned utility or an investor-owned utility. 37
(((15))) (16) "Energy assistance" means a program undertaken by a 38
utility to reduce the household energy burden of its customers.39
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(a) Energy assistance includes, but is not limited to, 1
weatherization, conservation and efficiency services, and monetary 2
assistance, such as a grant program or discounts for lower income 3
households, intended to lower a household's energy burden.4
(b) Energy assistance may include direct customer ownership in 5
distributed energy resources or other strategies if such strategies 6
achieve a reduction in energy burden for the customer above other 7
available conservation and demand-side measures. 8
(((16))) (17) "Energy assistance need" means the amount of 9
assistance necessary to achieve a level of household energy burden 10
established by the department or commission. 11
(((17))) (18) "Energy burden" means the share of annual household 12
income used to pay annual home energy bills. 13
(((18))) (19)(a) "Energy transformation project" means a project 14
or program that: Provides energy-related goods or services, other 15
than the generation of electricity; results in a reduction of fossil 16
fuel consumption and in a reduction of the emission of greenhouse 17
gases attributable to that consumption; and provides benefits to the 18
customers of an electric utility. 19
(b) "Energy transformation project" may include but is not 20
limited to: 21
(i) Home weatherization or other energy efficiency measures, 22
including market transformation for energy efficiency products, in 23
excess of: The target established under RCW 19.285.040(1), if 24
applicable; other state obligations; or other obligations in effect 25
on May 7, 2019; 26
(ii) Support for electrification of the transportation sector 27
including, but not limited to: 28
(A) Equipment on an electric utility's transmission and 29
distribution system to accommodate electric vehicle connections, as 30
well as smart grid systems that enable electronic interaction between 31
the electric utility and charging systems, and facilitate the 32
utilization of vehicle batteries for system needs;33
(B) Incentives for the sale or purchase of electric vehicles, 34
both battery and fuel cell powered, as authorized under state or 35
federal law; 36
(C) Incentives for the installation of charging equipment for 37
electric vehicles; 38
(D) Incentives for the electrification of vehicle fleets 39
utilizing a battery or fuel cell for electric supply;40
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(E) Incentives to install and operate equipment to produce or 1
distribute renewable hydrogen; and 2
(F) Incentives for renewable hydrogen fueling stations;3
(iii) Investment in distributed energy resources and grid 4
modernization to facilitate distributed energy resources and improved 5
grid resilience; 6
(iv) Investments in equipment for renewable natural gas 7
processing, conditioning, and production, or equipment or 8
infrastructure used solely for the purpose of delivering renewable 9
natural gas for consumption or distribution; 10
(v) Contributions to self-directed investments in the following 11
measures to serve the sites of large industrial gas and electrical 12
customers: (A) Conservation; (B) new renewable resources; (C) behind-13
the-meter technology that facilitates demand response cooperation to 14
reduce peak loads; (D) infrastructure to support electrification of 15
transportation needs, including battery and fuel cell 16
electrification; or (E) renewable natural gas processing, 17
conditioning, or production; and 18
(vi) Projects and programs that achieve energy efficiency and 19
emission reductions in the agricultural sector, including bioenergy 20
and renewable natural gas projects. 21
(((19))) (20) "Fossil fuel" means natural gas, petroleum, coal, 22
or any form of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel derived from such a 23
material. 24
(((20))) (21) "Governing body" means: The council of a city or 25
town; the commissioners of an irrigation district, municipal electric 26
utility, or public utility district; or the board of directors of an 27
electric cooperative or mutual association that has the authority to 28
set and approve rates. 29
(((21))) (22) "Greenhouse gas" includes carbon dioxide, methane, 30
nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur 31
hexafluoride, and any other gas or gases designated by the department 32
of ecology by rule under RCW 70A.45.010. 33
(((22))) (23) "Highly impacted community" means a community 34
designated by the department of health based on cumulative impact 35
analyses in RCW 19.405.140 or a community located in census tracts 36
that are fully or partially on "Indian country" as defined in 18 37
U.S.C. Sec. 1151. 38
(((23))) (24) "Investor-owned utility" means a company owned by 39
investors that meets the definition of "corporation" in RCW 80.04.010 40
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and is engaged in distributing electricity to more than one retail 1
electric customer in the state. 2
(((24))) (25) "Low-income" means household incomes as defined by 3
the department or commission, provided that the definition may not 4
exceed the higher of eighty percent of area median household income 5
or two hundred percent of the federal poverty level, adjusted for 6
household size. 7
(((25))) (26)(a) "Market customer" means a nonresidential 8
customer of an electric utility that: (i) Purchases electricity from 9
an entity or entities other than the utility with which it is 10
directly interconnected; or (ii) generates electricity to meet one 11
hundred percent of its own needs. 12
(b) An "affected market customer" is a customer of a utility who 13
becomes a market customer after May 7, 2019. 14
(((26))) (27)(a) "Natural gas" means naturally occurring mixtures 15
of hydrocarbon gases and vapors consisting principally of methane, 16
whether in gaseous or liquid form, including methane clathrate.17
(b) "Natural gas" does not include renewable natural gas or the 18
portion of renewable natural gas when blended into other fuels.19
(((27))) (28)(a) "Nonemitting electric generation" means 20
electricity from a generating facility or a resource that provides 21
electric energy, capacity, or ancillary services to an electric 22
utility and that does not emit greenhouse gases as a by-product of 23
energy generation. 24
(b) "Nonemitting electric generation" does not include renewable 25
resources. 26
(((28))) (29)(a) "Nonpower attributes" means all environmentally 27
related characteristics, exclusive of energy, capacity reliability, 28
and other electrical power service attributes, that are associated 29
with the generation of electricity, including but not limited to the 30
facility's fuel type, geographic location, vintage, qualification as 31
a renewable resource, and avoided emissions of pollutants to the air, 32
soil, or water, and avoided emissions of carbon dioxide and other 33
greenhouse gases. 34
(b) "Nonpower attributes" does not include any aspects, claims, 35
characteristics, and benefits associated with the on-site capture and 36
destruction of methane or other greenhouse gases at a facility 37
through a digester system, landfill gas collection system, or other 38
mechanism, which may be separately marketable as greenhouse gas 39
emission reduction credits, offsets, or similar tradable commodities. 40
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However, these separate avoided emissions may not result in or 1
otherwise have the effect of attributing greenhouse gas emissions to 2
the electricity. 3
(((29))) (30) "Qualified transmission line" means an overhead 4
transmission line that is: (a) Designed to carry a voltage in excess 5
of one hundred thousand volts; (b) owned in whole or in part by an 6
investor-owned utility; and (c) primarily or exclusively used by such 7
an investor-owned utility as of May 7, 2019, to transmit electricity 8
generated by a coal-fired resource. 9
(((30))) (31) "Renewable energy credit" means a tradable 10
certificate of proof of one megawatt-hour of a renewable resource. 11
The certificate includes all of the nonpower attributes associated 12
with that one megawatt-hour of electricity and the certificate is 13
verified by a renewable energy credit tracking system selected by the 14
department. 15
(((31))) (32) "Renewable hydrogen" means hydrogen produced using 16
renewable resources both as the source for the hydrogen and the 17
source for the energy input into the production process.18
(((32))) (33) "Renewable natural gas" means a gas consisting 19
largely of methane and other hydrocarbons derived from the 20
decomposition of organic material in landfills, wastewater treatment 21
facilities, and anaerobic digesters. 22
(((33))) (34) "Renewable resource" means: (a) Water; (b) wind; 23
(c) solar energy; (d) geothermal energy; (e) renewable natural gas; 24
(f) renewable hydrogen; (g) wave, ocean, or tidal power; (h) 25
biodiesel fuel that is not derived from crops raised on land cleared 26
from old growth or first growth forests; or (i) biomass energy.27
(((34))) (35)(a) "Retail electric customer" means a person or 28
entity that purchases electricity from any electric utility for 29
ultimate consumption and not for resale. 30
(b) "Retail electric customer" does not include, in the case of 31
any electric utility, any person or entity that purchases electricity 32
exclusively from carbon-free and eligible renewable resources, as 33
defined in RCW 19.285.030 as of January 1, 2019, pursuant to a 34
special contract with an investor-owned utility approved by an order 35
of the commission prior to May 7, 2019. 36
(((35))) (36) "Retail electric load" means the amount of 37
megawatt-hours of electricity delivered in a given calendar year by 38
an electric utility to its Washington retail electric customers. 39
"Retail electric load" does not include: 40
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(a) Megawatt-hours delivered from qualifying facilities under the 1
federal public utility regulatory policies act of 1978, P.L. 95-617, 2
in operation prior to May 7, 2019, provided that no entity other than 3
the electric utility can make a claim on delivery of the megawatt-4
hours from those resources; or 5
(b) Megawatt-hours delivered to an electric utility's system from 6
a renewable resource through a voluntary renewable energy purchase by 7
a retail electric customer of the utility in which the renewable 8
energy credits associated with the megawatt-hours delivered are 9
retired on behalf of the retail electric customer.10
(((36))) (37) "Thermal renewable energy credit" means, with 11
respect to a facility that generates electricity using biomass energy 12
that also generates thermal energy for a secondary purpose, a 13
renewable energy credit that is equivalent to three million four 14
hundred twelve thousand British thermal units of energy used for such 15
secondary purpose. 16
(((37))) (38) "Unbundled renewable energy credit" means a 17
renewable energy credit that is sold, delivered, or purchased 18
separately from electricity. All thermal renewable energy credits are 19
considered unbundled renewable energy credits. 20
(((38))) (39) "Unspecified electricity" means an electricity 21
source for which the fuel attribute is unknown or has been separated 22
from the energy delivered to retail electric customers.23
(((39))) (40) "Vulnerable populations" means communities that 24
experience a disproportionate cumulative risk from environmental 25
burdens due to: 26
(a) Adverse socioeconomic factors, including unemployment, high 27
housing and transportation costs relative to income, access to food 28
and health care, and linguistic isolation; and 29
(b) Sensitivity factors, such as low birth weight and higher 30
rates of hospitalization. 31
Sec. 4. RCW 19.405.100 and 2019 c 288 s 10 are each amended to 32
read as follows: 33
(1) It is the intent of this chapter that the commission and 34
department adopt rules to streamline the implementation of chapter 35
288, Laws of 2019 with chapter 19.285 RCW to simplify compliance and 36
avoid duplicative processes. It is the intent of the legislature that 37
the commission and the department coordinate in developing rules 38
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related to process, timelines, and documentation that are necessary 1
for the implementation of this chapter. 2
(2) The commission may adopt rules to ensure the proper 3
implementation and enforcement of this chapter as it applies to 4
investor-owned utilities. 5
(3) The department may adopt rules to ensure the proper 6
implementation and enforcement of this chapter as it applies to 7
consumer-owned utilities. Nothing in this subsection may be construed 8
to restrict the rate-making authority of the governing body of a 9
consumer-owned utility as otherwise provided by law.10
(4) The department must adopt rules establishing reporting 11
requirements for electric utilities to demonstrate compliance with 12
this chapter. The requirements must, to the extent practicable, be 13
consistent with the disclosures required under chapter 19.29A RCW.14
(5) An investor-owned utility must also report all information 15
required in subsection (4) of this section to the commission.16
(6) An electric utility must also make reports required in this 17
section available to its retail electric customers.18
(7) The department of ecology must adopt rules, in consultation 19
with the commission and the department of commerce, to establish 20
requirements for energy transformation project investments including, 21
but not limited to, verification procedures, reporting standards, and 22
other logistical issues as necessary. 23
(8) The department must adopt rules providing for the measuring 24
and tracking of thermal renewable energy credits that may be used for 25
compliance under RCW 19.405.040. 26
(9) Pursuant to the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 27
RCW, rules needed for the implementation of this chapter must be 28
adopted by January 1, 2021, unless specified otherwise elsewhere in 29
this chapter. These rules may be revised as needed to carry out the 30
intent and purposes of this chapter. 31
(10) The department must adopt rules to verify how a project may 32
qualify as an advanced nuclear reactor project and to set the method 33
for determining how investments in advanced nuclear reactor projects 34
are measured for compliance with RCW 19.405.040(1)(b).35
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