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HB0257 • 2021

Coal fired power plant closure moratorium.

AN ACT relating to public utilities; enacting a moratorium on the retirement of coal fired electric generation facilities; amending limitations on retiring facilities; repealing an applicability provision; and providing for an effective date.

Energy
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Fortner
Last action
2021-04-07
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2021

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide details on enforcement or consequences if utilities do not comply with the moratorium.

Coal Power Plant Closure Moratorium

The bill creates a moratorium on closing coal-fired power plants in Wyoming from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2035.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a ban on electric public utilities retiring coal-fired power plants between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2035.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Electric public utilities in Wyoming

Terms To Know

Moratorium
A temporary ban on an activity or action.
Retirement
The process of ending the use of a facility, in this case, coal-fired power plants.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if utilities do not follow the moratorium.
  • It is unclear how many coal-fired power plants are currently operating and would be affected by this moratorium.

Bill History

  1. 2021-04-07 House

    H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4

  2. 2021-03-24 House

    H No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2021-03-19 House

    H09 - Minerals:Do Pass Failed 3-6-0-0-0

  4. 2021-03-05 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H09 - Minerals

  5. 2021-03-04 House

    H Received for Introduction

  6. 2021-03-03 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
21LSO-0557
2021
STATE OF WYOMING
21LSO-0557
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0257

Coal fired power plant closure moratorium.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Fortner, Baker, Bear, Burt, Gray, Hallinan, Haroldson, Jennings, Knapp, Laursen, Neiman, Ottman, Rodriguez-Williams, Styvar, Wharff and Winter and Senator(s) Driskill, McKeown and Steinmetz

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public utilities; enacting a moratorium on the retirement of coal fired electric generation facilities; amending limitations on retiring facilities;

repealing an applicability provision; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 37
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3
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117(a) by creating a new paragraph (i) and by amending and renumbering (i) and (ii) as (ii) and (iii) as amended by 2020 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 41, Section 1 and as effective July 1, 2021 is amended to read:

37
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3
‑
117.

Moratorium on closure of coal fired electric generation facilities; limitation for recovery of costs associated with electric generation built to replace retiring coal fired generation facility.

(a)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter:

(i)

No electric public utility shall seek to retire a coal fired electric generating facility during the period beginning July 1, 2021 and ending June 30, 2035;

(i)
(ii)

Any electric public utility seeking to retire a coal fired electric generation facility
on or after July 1, 2035
shall first make a good faith effort to sell the facility for continued use as a coal fired electric generation facility;

(ii)
(iii)

The rates charged by an electric public utility, other than a cooperative electric utility, shall not include any recovery of or earnings on the
capital costs associated with new electric generation facilities built, in whole or in part, to replace the electricity generated from one (1) or more coal fired electric generating facilities located in Wyoming and retired on or after January 1,
2022
2036
, unless the commission has determined that the public utility that owned the retired coal fired electric generation facility made a good faith effort to sell the facility to another person prior to its retirement and that the public utility did not refuse a reasonable offer to purchase the facility or the commission determines that, if a reasonable offer was received, the sale was not completed for a reason beyond the reasonable control of the public utility.

Section 2.

2020 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 41, Section 2 is repealed.

Section 3
.

This act is effective July 1, 2021
.

(END)

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HB0257