wa-law.org > bill > 2023-24 > SB 5168 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that it would be beneficial to harmonize the 2006 energy independence act with the 2019 clean energy transformation act. Both laws govern the types of generation resources that utilities may use to provide electricity to Washington residents. As a result of this overlap, utilities are subject to multiple standards for the same activity. The legislature intends to address this unnecessary duplication by retaining the conservation elements of the energy independence act while ending the generation requirements. This will not create a gap in Washington's energy laws because the requirements of the clean energy transformation act continue to set the policy direction for the state. The legislature intends for this act to create efficiencies and cost savings for utilities, which will provide affordable power to consumers.
This chapter requires large utilities to undertake cost-effective energy conservation.
Increasing energy conservation builds on the strong foundation of low-cost renewable hydroelectric generation in Washington state and will promote energy independence in the state and the Pacific Northwest region. Making the most of our plentiful local resources will stabilize electricity prices for Washington residents, provide economic benefits for Washington counties and farmers, create high quality jobs in Washington, provide opportunities for training apprentice workers in the renewable energy field, protect clean air and water, and position Washington state as a national leader in clean energy technologies.
(1) Each qualifying utility shall pursue all available conservation that is cost-effective, reliable, and feasible.
When requested by a consumer-owned qualifying utility or by a person proposing a conservation resource, the department is authorized to and shall provide analysis and an advisory opinion on whether a proposed conservation resource qualifies to meet a target under RCW 19.285.040. The advisory opinion must include a legal analysis. When forming its advisory opinion, the department must: (a) Consider, and may rely on, previous opinions issued by the I-937 technical working group established by the commission and the department; and (b) solicit and consider comments from interested parties, including staff of the requesting utility. The department must give priority to any application regarding a conservation resource that previously received an affirmative advisory opinion from the I-937 technical working group.
Consumer-owned qualifying utilities and persons proposing conservation resources may apply for an advisory opinion from the department. The application must be in writing and must include information that accurately describes the proposed resource. Within 90 days of receiving an application, the director of the department must issue a signed advisory opinion on whether the proposed resource qualifies to meet a target under RCW 19.285.040. The governing board of the consumer-owned utility that will use the resource must either adopt or reject the advisory opinion after public notice and hearing. Under its responsibilities in RCW 19.285.060, the auditor shall consider any resource reviewed and adopted under the process in this section as being in compliance with RCW 19.285.040 and 19.285.060, but only if: (a) The advisory opinion affirmatively qualifies the resource; (b) the governing board of the consumer-owned utility that will use the resource adopts the advisory opinion after public notice and hearing; and (c) the resource is built or acquired as proposed.
The department may require an applicant to pay an application fee to cover the cost of reviewing the resource and preparing an advisory opinion.
4.
The department may adopt rules to implement this section.
An investor-owned utility is entitled to recover all prudently incurred costs associated with compliance with this chapter. The commission shall address cost recovery issues of qualifying utilities that are investor‑owned utilities that serve both in Washington and in other states in complying with this chapter.
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a qualifying utility that fails to comply with the energy conservation targets established in RCW 19.285.040 shall pay an administrative penalty to the state of Washington in the amount of $50 for each megawatt-hour of shortfall. Beginning in 2007, this penalty shall be adjusted annually according to the rate of change of the inflation indicator, gross domestic product-implicit price deflator, as published by the bureau of economic analysis of the United States department of commerce or its successor.
A qualifying utility that does not meet a biennial acquisition target for cost-effective conservation in RCW 19.285.040(1) is exempt from the administrative penalty in subsection (1) of this section for that year if the commission for investor-owned utilities or the auditor for all other qualifying utilities determines that the utility complied with RCW 19.285.040 (1)(e) .
A qualifying utility must notify its retail electric customers in published form within three months of incurring a penalty regarding the size of the penalty and the reason it was incurred.
The commission shall determine if an investor-owned utility may recover the cost of this administrative penalty in electric rates, and may consider providing positive incentives for an investor-owned utility to exceed the targets established in RCW 19.285.040.
Administrative penalties collected under this chapter shall be deposited into the energy independence act special account which is hereby created. All receipts from administrative penalties collected under this chapter must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for energy conservation projects at public facilities, local government facilities, community colleges, or state universities. The state shall own and retire any renewable energy credits purchased using moneys from the account. Only the director of enterprise services or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.
For a qualifying utility that is an investor-owned utility, the commission shall determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter and assess penalties for noncompliance as provided in subsection (1) of this section.
For qualifying utilities that are not investor-owned utilities, the auditor is responsible for auditing compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter that apply to those utilities and the attorney general is responsible for enforcing that compliance.
On or before June 1, 2012, and annually thereafter, each qualifying utility shall report to the department on its progress in the preceding year in meeting the targets established in RCW 19.285.040, including expected electricity savings from the biennial conservation target, expenditures on conservation, actual electricity savings results, and the utility's annual load for the prior two years‑‑. A qualifying utility may submit its report to the department in conjunction with its annual obligations in chapter 19.29A RCW.
A qualifying utility that is an investor‑owned utility shall also report all information required in subsection (1) of this section to the commission, and all other qualifying utilities shall also make all information required in subsection (1) of this section available to the auditor.
A qualifying utility shall also make reports required in this section available to its customers.
The commission may adopt rules to ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of this chapter as it applies to investor‑owned utilities.
The department shall adopt rules concerning only process, timelines, and documentation to ensure the proper implementation of this chapter as it applies to qualifying utilities that are not investor‑owned utilities. Those rules include, but are not limited to, rules associated with a qualifying utility's development of conservation targets under RCW 19.285.040(1)and the format and content of reports required in RCW 19.285.070. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to restrict the rate-making authority of the commission or a qualifying utility as otherwise provided by law.
The commission and department may coordinate in developing rules related to process, timelines, and documentation that are necessary for implementation of this chapter.
Pursuant to the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW, rules needed for the implementation of this chapter must be adopted by December 31, 2007. These rules may be revised as needed to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter.
Each retail supplier must disclose to its customers the fuel characteristics of each electricity product it offers to retail electric customers using information consistent with the retail supplier's source and disposition report.
The fuel characteristics disclosures required by this section must identify for each electricity product the percentage of the total electricity product sold by a retail supplier during the previous calendar year from each of the following categories, using a uniform format:
Coal;
Hydroelectric;
Natural gas;
Nuclear;
Petroleum;
Solar;
Wind;
Other generation, except that when a component of the other generation category meets or exceeds two percent of the total electricity product sold by a retail supplier during the previous calendar year, the retail supplier shall identify the component or components and display the fuel mix percentages for these component sources. A retail supplier may voluntarily identify any component or components within the other generation category that comprises two percent or less of annual sales; and
Unspecified sources.
If the percentage amount of unspecified sources identified in subsection (2) of this section exceeds two percent for an electricity product, the retail supplier must include on the label a general description of unspecified sources and an explanation of why some power sources are unknown to the retail supplier.
A retail supplier may not include in the electricity product content label any environmental quality or environmental impact qualifier, other than those permitted or required by this chapter, related to any of the generation categories disclosed.
For the portion of an electricity product purchased from the Bonneville power administration, a retail supplier may incorporate the Bonneville power administration system mix in its disclosure.
A retail supplier may include with the electricity product content label additional information concerning the quantity of renewable energy certificates, if not otherwise included in the retail supplier's declared resources, that are retired in a reporting year.
It is the policy of the state that all retail sales of electricity to Washington retail electric customers be greenhouse gas neutral by January 1, 2030.
For the four-year compliance period beginning January 1, 2030, and for each multiyear compliance period thereafter through December 31, 2044, an electric utility must demonstrate its compliance with this standard using a combination of nonemitting electric generation and electricity from renewable resources, or alternative compliance options, as provided in this section. To achieve compliance with this standard, an electric utility must: (i) Pursue all cost-effective, reliable, and feasible conservation and efficiency resources to reduce or manage retail electric load, using the methodology established in RCW 19.285.040, if applicable; and (ii) use electricity from renewable resources and nonemitting electric generation in an amount equal to 100 percent of the utility's retail electric loads over each multiyear compliance period. An electric utility must achieve compliance with this standard for the following compliance periods: January 1, 2030, through December 31, 2033; January 1, 2034, through December 31, 2037; January 1, 2038, through December 31, 2041; and January 1, 2042, through December 31, 2044.
Through December 31, 2044, an electric utility may satisfy up to 20 percent of its compliance obligation under (a) of this subsection with an alternative compliance option consistent with this section. An alternative compliance option may include any combination of the following:
Making an alternative compliance payment under RCW 19.405.090(2);
Using unbundled renewable energy credits, provided that there is no double counting of any nonpower attributes associated with renewable energy credits within Washington or programs in other jurisdictions, as follows:
(A) Unbundled renewable energy credits produced from eligible renewable resources, as defined under RCW 19.285.030; and
(B) Unbundled renewable energy credits, other than those included in (b)(ii)(A) of this subsection, that represent electricity generated within the compliance period;
iii. Investing in energy transformation projects, including additional conservation and efficiency resources beyond what is otherwise required under this section, provided the projects meet the requirements of subsection (2) of this section and are not credited as resources used to meet the standard under (a) of this subsection; or
iv. Using electricity from an energy recovery facility using municipal solid waste as the principal fuel source, where the facility was constructed prior to 1992, and the facility is operated in compliance with federal laws and regulations and meets state air quality standards. An electric utility may only use electricity from such an energy recovery facility if the department and the department of ecology determine that electricity generation at the facility provides a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to any other available waste management best practice. The determination must be based on a life-cycle analysis comparing the energy recovery facility to other technologies available in the jurisdiction in which the facility is located for the waste management best practices of waste reduction, recycling, composting, and minimizing the use of a landfill.
c. Electricity from renewable resources used to meet the standard under (a) of this subsection must be verified by the retirement of renewable energy credits. Renewable energy credits must be tracked and retired in the tracking system selected by the department.
d. Hydroelectric generation used by an electric utility in meeting the standard under (a) of this subsection may not include new diversions, new impoundments, new bypass reaches, or expansion of existing reservoirs constructed after May 7, 2019, unless the diversions, bypass reaches, or reservoir expansions are necessary for the operation of a pumped storage facility that: (i) Does not conflict with existing state or federal fish recovery plans; and (ii) complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
e. Nothing in (d) of this subsection precludes an electric utility that owns and operates hydroelectric generating facilities, or the owner of a hydroelectric generating facility whose energy output is marketed by the Bonneville power administration, from making efficiency or other improvements to its hydroelectric generating facilities existing as of May 7, 2019, or from installing hydroelectric generation in pipes, culverts, irrigation canals, and other man-made waterways, as long as those changes do not create conflicts with existing state or federal fish recovery plans and comply with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
f. Nonemitting electric generation used to meet the standard under (a) of this subsection must be generated during the compliance period and must be verified by documentation that the electric utility owns the nonpower attributes of the electricity generated by the nonemitting electric generation resource.
g. Nothing in this section prohibits an electric utility from purchasing or exchanging power from the Bonneville power administration.
Investments in energy transformation projects used to satisfy an alternative compliance option provided under subsection (1)(b) of this section must use criteria developed by the department of ecology, in consultation with the department and the commission. For the purpose of crediting an energy transformation project toward the standard in subsection (1)(a) of this section, the department of ecology must establish a conversion factor of emissions reductions resulting from energy transformation projects to megawatt-hours of electricity from nonemitting electric generation that is consistent with the emission factors for unspecified electricity, or for energy transformation projects in the transportation sector, consistent with default emissions or conversion factors established by other jurisdictions for clean alternative fuels. Emissions reductions from energy transformation projects must be:
Real, specific, identifiable, and quantifiable;
Permanent: The department of ecology must look to other jurisdictions in setting this standard and make a reasonable determination on length of time;
Enforceable by the state of Washington;
Verifiable;
Not required by another statute, rule, or other legal requirement; and
Not reasonably assumed to occur absent investment, or if an investment has already been made, not reasonably assumed to occur absent additional funding in the near future.
Energy transformation projects must be associated with the consumption of energy in Washington and must not create a new use of fossil fuels that results in a net increase of fossil fuel usage.
The compliance eligibility of energy transformation projects may be scaled or prorated by an approved protocol in order to distinguish effects related to reductions in electricity usage from reductions in fossil fuel usage.
Any compliance obligation fulfilled through an investment in an energy transformation project is eligible for use only: (a) By the electric utility that makes the investment; (b) if the investment is made by the Bonneville power administration, by electric utilities that are preference customers of the Bonneville power administration; or (c) if the investment is made by a joint operating agency organized under chapter 43.52 RCW, by a member of the joint operating agency. An electric utility making an investment in partnership with another electric utility or entity may claim credit proportional to its share invested in the total project cost.
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In meeting the standard under subsection (1) of this section, an electric utility must, consistent with the requirements of RCW 19.285.040, if applicable, pursue all cost-effective, reliable, and feasible conservation and efficiency resources, and demand response. In making new investments, an electric utility must, to the maximum extent feasible:
Achieve targets at the lowest reasonable cost, considering risk;
Consider acquisition of existing renewable resources; and
In the acquisition of new resources constructed after May 7, 2019, rely on renewable resources and energy storage, insofar as doing so is consistent with (a)(i) of this subsection.
Electric utilities subject to RCW 19.285.040 must demonstrate pursuit of all conservation and efficiency resources through compliance with the requirements in RCW 19.285.040.
An electric utility that fails to meet the requirements of this section must pay the administrative penalty established under RCW 19.405.090(1), except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
In complying with this section, an electric utility must, consistent with the requirements of RCW 19.280.030 and 19.405.140, ensure that all customers are benefiting from the transition to clean energy: Through the equitable distribution of energy and nonenergy benefits and reduction of burdens to vulnerable populations and highly impacted communities; long-term and short-term public health and environmental benefits and reduction of costs and risks; and energy security and resiliency.
Affected market customers must comply with the standard established under subsection (1) of this section.
A market customer that purchases electricity exclusively from carbon-free resources and eligible renewable resources, as defined in RCW 19.285.030 as of January 1, 2019, pursuant to a special contract with an investor-owned utility approved, prior to May 7, 2019, by order of the commission is subject to the requirements of such an order and not to the standard established in this section. For purposes of interpreting any such special contract, chapter 19.285 RCW, as in effect on January 1, 2019, is not, either directly or indirectly, amended or supplemented.
To reduce costs for utility customers or avoid exceeding the cost impact limit in RCW 19.405.060(3)(a), a multistate electric utility with fewer than 250,000 customers in Washington may apply the total amount of megawatt-hours of coal-fired resources eliminated from the utility's allocation of electricity before December 31, 2025, as an equivalent amount of megawatt-hours of nonemitting electric generation or electricity from renewable resources required to comply with subsection (1)(a) of this section. The utility must demonstrate that for every megawatt-hour of early action compliance credit there is a real, permanent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the western interconnection directly associated with that credit. A multistate electric utility must request to use early action compliance credit in its clean energy implementation plan that is submitted under RCW 19.405.060. The multistate electric utility must specify in its clean energy implementation plan the compliance years to which the early action compliance credit will apply, but in no event may the multistate electric utility use the early action compliance credits beyond 2035. The commission must establish conditions for use of early action compliance credits, including a determination of whether action constitutes early action, before the multistate electric utility's use of early action compliance credits in a clean energy implementation plan.
This act takes effect January 1, 2024.