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24LSO-0594
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0594
Numbered
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0189
Generation facility closure requirements-natural gas.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Burkhart and Senator(s) Driskill
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to public utilities; subjecting electric generation facilities fueled by natural gas to closure and electricity sale requirements; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; 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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133(a), (b)(intro), (i), (d) through (f), (g)(intro), (ii) and (h) and 37
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3
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117(a)(i), (ii), (b)(intro), (c)(intro), (d), (e)(intro), (iv) and (f) are amended to read:
37
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2
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133.
Exemption for purchase of coal fired and natural gas generation facilities that would otherwise have been retired; public utility purchase requirements; conditions for exemption.
(a)
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of this chapter and chapters 1 and 3 of this title shall not apply to a person who operates a coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility purchased under an agreement approved by the commission under W.S. 37
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3
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117.
(b)
Electric public utilities, other than cooperative electric utilities, shall be obligated to purchase electricity generated from a coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility purchased under agreement approved by the commission under W.S. 37
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3
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117
,
provided that:
(i)
The person purchasing the otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility offers to sell some or all of the electricity from the facility to an electric public utility;
(d)
The commission may elect to set the avoided cost price and other terms and conditions for the purchase of electricity from an otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility in advance of the facility's proposed retirement date to permit potential purchasers to know the avoided cost price and other terms and conditions for sales from that facility prior to entering into an agreement to purchase the facility.
(e)
As used in this section, "avoided cost" means the incremental costs to an electric utility of electric energy or capacity or both which, but for the purchase from the otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility, the utility would generate itself or incur in a purchase from another source.
As may be determined by the commission, avoided costs may change over the course of an approved power purchase agreement at specified intervals set forth in the power purchase agreement.
(f)
A person purchasing an otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility may sell electricity generated by the facility to the electric public utility selling the otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility, except for a cooperative or municipal public utility, for the benefit of a retail customer located in the existing service territory of that electric public utility provided that the customer has more than one (1) megawatt average demand and takes service at a primary or transmission voltage level.
(g)
If an electric utility purchases electricity from the owner of an otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility for the benefit of an eligible retail customer, the utility serving that eligible retail customer shall purchase the electricity at a cost and under terms and conditions that are acceptable to and negotiated between the customer and the owner of the otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility. The electric public utility shall pass that cost through to the customer without markup or modification except:
(ii)
To ensure other Wyoming customers are not negatively impacted by the arrangement provided for in this subsection and subsection (f) of this section, the commission shall also authorize the utility to impose additional charges on participating retail customers to the extent the commission determines that a sale of electricity under this subsection and subsection (f) of this section will result in the utility experiencing incremental stranded generation capacity costs or other incremental costs except for the cost of any undepreciated investments associated with the otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility.
(h)
An eligible retail customer under subsection (g) of this section shall only receive electricity as provided in subsection (g) of this section from the owner of an otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility if the customer also purchases partial requirements or equivalent service from the electric public utility under rates, terms and conditions set by the commission to compensate the public utility for its costs.
37
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3
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117.
Limitation for recovery of costs associated with electric generation built to replace retiring coal
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fired or natural gas generation facility; exemption.
(a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter:
(i)
Any electric public utility seeking to retire a coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility shall first make a good faith effort to sell the facility for continued use as a coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility;
(ii)
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
or natural gas
electric generating facilities located in Wyoming and retired on or after January 1, 2022, unless the commission has determined that the public utility that owned the retired coal fired
or natural gas
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.
(b)
In determining whether the public utility made a good faith effort to sell the retired coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility under this section the commission shall consider:
(c)
In determining whether an offer to purchase a coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility under this section was reasonable
,
the commission shall consider:
(d)
Upon application by a public utility, the commission may approve procedures for the solicitation and review of offers to purchase an otherwise retiring electric generation facility in advance of a proposed retirement. If the public utility follows the procedures approved by the commission to solicit and review offers to purchase an otherwise retiring electric generation facility under this subsection, there shall be no limitation under this section for recovery of costs or earnings associated with electric generation built to replace a retired coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility.
(e)
Any agreement between a public utility and another person for the sale of an otherwise retiring coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility shall not be effective until approved by the commission. In reviewing the agreement the commission shall consider:
(iv)
If the coal fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility is comprised of one (1) or more generation units at a larger power plant where the public utility will continue to own and operate one (1) or more generation units, whether the proposed purchaser and the public utility have made reasonable contractual arrangements for the sharing of the costs associated with any joint or common facilities at the plant;
(f)
The requirements of this section shall not apply to an electric public utility that replaces a coal
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fired
or natural gas
electric generation facility with an advanced nuclear reactor that is operated in the state of Wyoming in accordance with W.S. 35
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2101.
Section 2.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to impair or alter any agreement, contract or obligation entered into before the effective date of this act.
Section 3.
The public service commission shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.
Section 4
.
This act is effective July 1, 2024
.
(END)
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HB0189