Bill Text: TX HB2483 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to utility facilities for restoring electric service after a widespread power outage.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 12-4)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/21 [HB2483 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB2483-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to utility facilities for restoring electric service after a widespread power outage.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 12-4)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/21 [HB2483 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB2483-Comm_Sub.html
By: King of Parker, et al. | H.B. No. 2483 | |
(Senate Sponsor - Hancock) | ||
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 21, 2021; | ||
May 6, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Business & | ||
Commerce; May 20, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote: | ||
Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 20, 2021, sent to printer.) | ||
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relating to utility facilities for restoring electric service after | ||
a widespread power outage. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 39.918 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 39.918. UTILITY FACILITIES FOR POWER RESTORATION AFTER | ||
WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGE. (a) In this section, "widespread power | ||
outage" means an event that results in: | ||
(1) a loss of electric power that: | ||
(A) affects a significant number of distribution | ||
customers of a transmission and distribution utility; and | ||
(B) has lasted or is expected to last for at least | ||
eight hours; and | ||
(2) a risk to public safety. | ||
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, a | ||
transmission and distribution utility may: | ||
(1) lease and operate facilities that provide | ||
temporary emergency electric energy to aid in restoring power to | ||
the utility's distribution customers during a widespread power | ||
outage in which: | ||
(A) the independent system operator has ordered | ||
the utility to shed load; or | ||
(B) the utility's distribution facilities are | ||
not being fully served by the bulk power system under normal | ||
operations; and | ||
(2) procure, own, and operate, or enter into a | ||
cooperative agreement with other transmission and distribution | ||
utilities to procure, own, and operate jointly, transmission and | ||
distribution facilities that have a lead time of at least six months | ||
and would aid in restoring power to the utility's distribution | ||
customers following a widespread power outage. In this section, | ||
long lead time facilities may not be electric energy storage | ||
equipment or facilities under Chapter 35, Utilities Code. | ||
(c) A transmission and distribution utility that leases and | ||
operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) may not sell electric | ||
energy or ancillary services from those facilities. | ||
(d) Facilities described by Subsection (b)(1): | ||
(1) must be operated in isolation from the bulk power | ||
system; and | ||
(2) may not be included in independent system | ||
operator: | ||
(A) locational marginal pricing calculations; | ||
(B) pricing; or | ||
(C) reliability models. | ||
(e) A transmission and distribution utility that leases and | ||
operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) shall ensure, to the | ||
extent reasonably practicable, that retail customer usage during | ||
operation of those facilities is adjusted out of the usage reported | ||
for billing purposes by the retail customer's retail electric | ||
provider. | ||
(f) A transmission and distribution utility shall, when | ||
reasonably practicable, use a competitive bidding process to lease | ||
facilities under Subsection (b)(1). | ||
(g) A transmission and distribution utility that leases and | ||
operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) or that procures, owns, | ||
and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(2) shall include in | ||
the utility's emergency operations plan filed with the commission, | ||
as described by Section 186.007, a detailed plan on the utility's | ||
use of those facilities. | ||
(h) The commission shall permit: | ||
(1) a transmission and distribution utility that | ||
leases and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(1) to recover | ||
the reasonable and necessary costs of leasing and operating the | ||
facilities, including the present value of future payments required | ||
under the lease, using the rate of return on investment established | ||
in the commission's final order in the utility's most recent base | ||
rate proceeding; and | ||
(2) a transmission and distribution utility that | ||
procures, owns, and operates facilities under Subsection (b)(2) to | ||
recover the reasonable and necessary costs of procuring, owning, | ||
and operating the facilities, using the rate of return on | ||
investment established in the commission's final order in the | ||
utility's most recent base rate proceeding. | ||
(i) The commission shall authorize a transmission and | ||
distribution utility to defer for recovery in a future ratemaking | ||
proceeding the incremental operations and maintenance expenses and | ||
the return, not otherwise recovered in a rate proceeding, | ||
associated with the leasing or procurement, ownership, and | ||
operation of the facilities. | ||
(j) A transmission and distribution utility may request | ||
recovery of the reasonable and necessary costs of leasing or | ||
procuring, owning, and operating facilities under this section, | ||
including any deferred expenses, through a proceeding under Section | ||
36.210 or in another ratemaking proceeding. A lease under | ||
Subsection (b)(1) must be treated as a capital lease or finance | ||
lease for ratemaking purposes. | ||
(k) This section expires September 1, 2029. | ||
SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2029, the Public | ||
Utility Commission of Texas shall: | ||
(1) analyze the effects of authorizing transmission | ||
and distribution utilities to lease, operate, procure, or own the | ||
facilities described by Section 39.918(b), Utilities Code, as added | ||
by this Act; and | ||
(2) submit a report to the legislature that includes | ||
the analysis produced under Subdivision (1) of this section and a | ||
recommendation of whether the legislature should allow Section | ||
39.918, Utilities Code, as added by this Act, to expire. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
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