Bill Text: MS HB1198 | 2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Microgrid and Grid Resiliency Act; create.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2023-01-31 - Died In Committee [HB1198 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2023-HB1198-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Energy
By: Representative Steverson
House Bill 1198
AN ACT TO CREATE "THE MICROGRID AND GRID RESILIENCY ACT"; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS RELATING TO MICROGRIDS; TO PROVIDE THAT EITHER THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IN EACH COUNTY MAY PETITION THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO DESIGNATE NO MORE THAN THREE AREAS OF UNINCORPORATED STATE LAND WITHIN THE COUNTY CONSTITUTING NOT LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED CONTINUOUS ACRES AS A MICROGRID ZONE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION SHALL OVERSEE INDIVIDUAL MICROGRIDS BUILT WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE MICROGRID ZONE; TO PROVIDE FOR NOTICE AND HEARING ON SUCH PETITION; TO REQUIRE MICROGRID OPERATORS WITHIN THE MICROGRID ZONE UPON THE POINT OF GRID CONNECTION TO PROVIDE UP TO TWENTY PERCENT OF ITS GENERATION IN A DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM IN ORDER TO ENSURE GRID STABILITY; TO REQUIRE MICROGRID OPERATORS WITHIN THE MICROGRID ZONE UPON THE POINT OF GRID CONNECTION TO PARTICIPATE IN AN SECONDARY FREQUENCY RESPONSE IN ORDER TO ENSURE GRID STABILITY; TO REQUIRE MICROGRID OPERATORS WITHIN THE MICROGRID ZONE UPON THE POINT OF GRID CONNECTION TO PARTICIPATE IN A PRIMARY FREQUENCY RESPONSE IN ORDER TO ENSURE GRID STABILITY; TO PROVIDE THAT PROVISIONS OF THIS TITLE, WITH RESPECT TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RATE REGULATION, SHALL NOT APPLY TO RATES CHARGED FOR THE SALE OF ELECTRICITY TO CERTAIN CUSTOMERS; TO PROVIDE THAT NOTHING IN THIS ACT SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO REDUCE, MODIFY, ELIMINATE OR OTHERWISE ALTER ANY APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL LAW OR ANY LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL TAX THAT MAY BE IMPOSED; TO REQUIRE MICROGRID DEVELOPERS TO APPLY FOR A GRID INTERCONNECTION BEFORE IT BEGINS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MICROGRID; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH MICROGRID DEVELOPERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO WAIT FOR APPROVAL BEFORE BUILDING OUT THEIR OPERATIONS; TO REQUIRE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO IMPLEMENT AND PROVIDE PROGRAMS THAT ENABLE COMMUNITIES TO APPLY FOR AND OPERATE A COMMUNITY LEVEL MICROGRID; TO PROVIDE THAT THIS ACT SHALL NOT APPLY TO CONTRACTS FOR UTILITY SERVICES EXISTING PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT, EXCEPT FOR COMMUNITY LEVEL MICROGRIDS, UNLESS OTHERWISE DETERMINED BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION; TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO PROMULGATE ANY RULES AND REGULATIONS NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known as "The Microgrid and Grid Resiliency Act."
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following words shall have the meanings as defined in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Microgrid" means a local energy grid with control capability, energy generation, the full ability to distribute power to its customers, has a specific service boundary, can be connected or disconnected from the traditional grid and operate in tandem with or autonomously from the grid, can be operated with or without the coordination of the local utility power provider.
(b) "Microgrid zone" means an area of designated land for which the minimum size will be set at one hundred (100) acres. Each microgrid zone shall reside within a single county and within which some statutory and regulatory exemptions from public utilities and service commissions are available.
(c) "Community level microgrid" means an area of residential zoning which wishes to secure their energy through local generation for which the minimum size shall be set by the Public Service Commission.
(d) "Demand response" and "(DR)" means a change in the power consumption of a microgrid to help ensure the demand for power is met on the grid during peak demand.
(e) "Secondary frequency response" and "(SFR)" means to respond to a signal from the grid operators in order to help protect the grid during unplanned changes in frequency that are attributed to sudden and unpredictable decreases in supply. SFR can also apply when there are sudden decreases in supply or increases in supply such as when a power asset goes offline or when demand spikes due to unpredictable weather patterns.
(f) "Primary frequency response" and "(PFR)" means to respond automatically or instantaneously to help protect the grid during unplanned changes in frequency that are attributed to sudden and unpredictable decreases in supply. PFR can also apply when there are sudden decreases in supply or increases in supply such as when a power asset goes offline or when demand spikes due to unpredictable weather patterns.
(g) "Microgrid operator" means any individual, business, co-opt, utility, or firm who manages the operations of the microgrid.
(h) "Grid operator" means a utility, public service commission, midcontinent independent system operator, independent transmission system operator, or any entity that is responsible for managing the stability of the grid in a given area or region.
SECTION 3. (1) Either the board of county commissioners or the board of supervisors in each county may petition the Secretary of State to designate no more than three (3) areas of unincorporated state land within the county constituting not less than one hundred (100) continuous acres as a microgrid zone. The designated land shall not include any part of a municipality or land outside the boundaries of the county. A petition may be filed under this subsection (1) to modify and create a microgrid zone.
Either the county board of commissioners or the board of supervisors may also petition the Secretary of State to lower the minimum size of the area to ensure that each county has the ability to participate in the creation of a microgrid zone.
(2) Prior to petitioning the Secretary of State as provided in subsection (1) of this section, either the board of county commissioners or the board of supervisors shall hold at least one (1) public hearing, with notice of the time and place of the hearing being given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, not less than one (1) time, and for not less than fourteen (14) days before the date of the hearing.
(3) The board shall provide the Secretary of State with an analysis of the potential impact that the microgrid zone may have on retail customers outside of the zone and nonparticipating retail customers within the zone, and any other information required by the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State.
(4) The Secretary of State may consider the analysis provided under subsection (3) of this section, and any other factors it deems relevant in determining whether to approve or deny a petition submitted as provided under this section. The Secretary of State shall not approve a petition that does not meet the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, but may otherwise approve or deny a petition at its discretion.
SECTION 4. (1) The Public Service Commission shall oversee individual microgrids built within and outside the microgrid zone.
(2) When applying for approval of a microgrid, the Public Service Commission shall review the application to determine if the microgrid can meet a threshold for approval which will cover:
(a) The microgrids ability to reasonably improve the local utilities electrical efficiency, resilience, reliability, and security once it has connected to the grid;
(b) The microgrids ability to perform demand response and frequency response once connected to the grid; and
(c) Reasonable expectations to improve the clean or renewable energy mixture of the local utility.
SECTION 5. (1) Microgrid operators within the microgrid zone upon the point of grid connection must provide up to twenty percent (20%) of its generation in a demand response program in order to ensure grid stability.
(a) All electricity provided from the microgrid zone back to the grid or public utility for demand response shall be provided at a regular rate of return consistent with local power pricing set by the Public Service Commission.
(b) Grid operators shall give at least thirty (30) minutes of warning to microgrid operators within microgrid zones for usage of up to five percent (5%) of the microgrids operating capacity.
(c) Grid operators shall give at least one hundred twenty (120) minutes of warning to microgrid operators for any usage over five percent (5%), and up to twenty percent (20%) of the microgrids supply capacity.
(d) Such demand response shall be available for certain times and dates as provided by the Public Service Commission.
(2) Microgrid operators within the microgrid zone upon the point of grid connection must participate in an secondary frequency response in order to ensure grid stability.
(a) All electricity provided from the microgrid zone back to the grid or public utility for secondary frequency response shall be provided at current wholesale power pricing, and be no less than a regular rate of return set by the Public Service Commission.
(b) All power sold back to the grid for secondary frequency response shall receive fair and just compensation as provided under FERC Order 755.
(c) Grid operators shall give at least thirty (30) seconds of advanced warning to microgrid operators for usage of up to five percent (5%) of the microgrids operating capacity for the purpose of secondary frequency response and an additional thirty (30) seconds of advanced warning for each additional five percent (5%).
(d) Grid operators may give advanced warning for up to twenty percent (20%) of the microgrids capacity for the purpose of secondary frequency response if the grid operator gives the microgrid at least five (5) minutes of advanced warning.
(e) Microgrids must sustain such response for at least fifteen (15) minutes, or until the utility recalls deployment, whichever occurs first, and a resource must be reset and made available for the next event within fifteen (15) minutes after deployment is ended.
(3) Microgrid operators within the microgrid zone upon the point of grid connection may participate in a primary frequency response in order to ensure grid stability.
(a) All electricity provided from the microgrid and microgrid zone back to the grid or public utility for primary frequency response shall have its price be negotiated between the utility that is purchasing power from the microgrid and the microgrid operator.
(b) Microgrid operators are not required to enter the primary frequency response program.
(c) Primary frequency response must be deployed within fifteen (15) cycles after grid frequency reaches the trigger threshold to qualify for the program.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of this title, with respect to the Public Service Commission rate regulation, shall not apply to rates charged for the sale of electricity to a customer who:
(a) Consumes the electricity entirely within a microgrid zone;
(b) Consumes the electricity for commercial or industrial use; or
(c) Is not purchasing the electricity to replace electrical service capacity that existed prior to the establishment of the microgrid zone.
(5) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of this title that prohibit the sale of electricity outside a specified service territory shall not apply to sales to a customer within a microgrid zone who meets the requirements of subsection (4) of this section.
(6) Nothing in this act shall be construed to reduce, modify, eliminate or otherwise alter any applicable requirements of federal law or any local, state or federal tax that may be imposed.
(7) Any public utility providing service under this act shall not recover costs associated with that service through rates imposed on retail customers who are outside of, or not participating in, the exemptions provided by a microgrid zone.
(8) Service provided by a public utility under this act shall not adversely affect the service provided to other retail customers who are not participating in the microgrid zone.
(9) The Public Service Commission shall regulate rates charged for the use of transmission lines transmitting electricity generated outside of a microgrid to the deregulated industrial zone through transmission lines otherwise regulated by the Public Service Commission by setting a rate that ensures that other retail customers that are not receiving the benefits of any exemption under this act, are not disproportionately paying joint and common costs of transmission.
(10) Microgrid developers shall apply for a grid interconnection before it begins the development of the microgrid, but are not required to wait for approval before building out their operations.
(a) Microgrid operators that do not receive approval for their grid interconnect may continue operating up until the point at which it receives approval, and may continue operating if its request is denied.
(b) If utilities are unwilling or incapable of funding the grid interconnection, microgrid operators may fund the connection, at which point the microgrid operator will be exempt from any cost to maintain its connection.
(11) The Public Service Commission shall implement and provide programs that enable communities to apply for and operate a community level microgrid.
(12) Community level microgrids shall be held to the same standards as provided for microgrids, which include subsections (1) and (2), but not subsection (4) of this section.
SECTION 6. The Secretary of State shall consider petitions as provided for under the Microgrid and Grid Resiliency Act.
SECTION 7. This act shall not apply to contracts for utility services existing prior to the effective date of this act, except for community level microgrids, unless otherwise determined by the Public Service Commission.
SECTION 8. The Secretary of State and the Public Service Commission shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
SECTION 9. Sections 1 through 7 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023. Sections 8 and 9 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
