Introduced Version
House Bill 2176 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2176
(By Delegates Manypenny, Canterbury and Wells)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §24-2F-4 and §24-2F-8 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
interconnection and net-metering of customer-generators of
renewable energy; providing ownership of renewable energy
credits; and requiring the Public Service Commission to
propose rules regarding net-metering and interconnection
standards in this state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §24-2F-4 and §24-2F-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2F. ALTERNATIVE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD.
§24-2F-4. Awarding of alternative and renewable energy resource
credits.
(a) Credits established. -- The Public Service Commission shall establish a system of tradable credits to establish, verify
and monitor the generation and sale of electricity generated from
alternative and renewable energy resource facilities. The credits
may be traded, sold or used to meet the portfolio standards
established in section five of this article.
(b) Awarding of credits. -- Credits shall be awarded as
follows:
(1) An electric utility shall be is awarded one credit for
each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from an
alternative energy resource facility located within the
geographical boundaries of this state or located outside of the
geographical boundaries of this state but within the service
territory of a regional transmission organization, as that term is
defined in 18 C.F.R. §35.34, that manages the transmission system
in any part of this state;
(2) An electric utility shall be is awarded two credits for
each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from a
renewable energy resource facility located within the geographical
boundaries of this state or located outside of the geographical
boundaries of this state but within the service territory of a
regional transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18
C.F.R. §35.34, that manages the transmission system in any part of
this state;
(3) An electric utility shall be is awarded three credits for each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from a
renewable energy resource facility located within the geographical
boundaries of this state if the renewable energy resource facility
is sited upon a reclaimed surface mine; and
(4) A customer-generator shall be is awarded one credit for
each megawatt hour of electricity generated from an alternative
energy resource facility and shall be is awarded two credits for
each megawatt hour of electricity generated from a renewable energy
resource facility.
(5) Renewable energy credits are owned by the generator of the
energy until sold or otherwise traded.
(c) Acquiring of credits permitted. --
(1) An electric utility may meet the alternative and renewable
energy portfolio standards set forth in this article by purchasing
additional credits. Credits may be bought or sold by an electric
utility or customer-generator or banked and used to meet an
alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard requirement in
a subsequent year.
(2) Each credit transaction shall be reported by the selling
entity to the Public Service Commission on a form provided by the
commission.
(3) As soon as reasonably possible after the effective date of
this section, the commission shall establish a registry of data
that shall track credit transactions and shall list the following information for each transaction: (i) The parties to the
transaction; (ii) the number of credits sold or transferred; and
(iii) the price paid. Information contained in the registry shall
be available to the public.
(4) The commission may impose an administrative transaction
fee on a credit transaction in an amount not to exceed the actual
direct cost of processing the transaction by the commission.
(d) Credits for certain emission reduction or offset projects.
--
(1) The commission may award credits to an electric utility
for greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset projects. For each
ton of carbon dioxide equivalent reduced or offset as a result of
an approved greenhouse gas emission reduction project, the
commission shall award an electric utility one credit: Provided,
That the emissions reductions and offsets are verifiable and
certified in accordance with rules promulgated by the commission:
Provided, however, That the commission has previously approved the
greenhouse gas emission reduction and offset project for credit in
accordance with section six of this article.
(2) The commission shall consult and coordinate with the
Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection to verify
and certify greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset projects.
The Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection shall
provide assistance and information to the Public Service Commission and may enter into interagency agreements with the commission to
effectuate the purposes of this subsection.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, an
electric utility may not be awarded credits for a greenhouse gas
emission reduction or offset project undertaken pursuant to any an
obligation under any other state law, policy or regulation.
(e) Credits for certain energy efficiency and demand-side
energy initiative projects. --
(1) The commission may award credits to an electric utility
for investments in energy efficiency and demand-side energy
initiative projects. For each megawatt hour of electricity
conserved as a result of an approved energy efficiency or
demand-side energy initiative project, the commission shall award
one credit: Provided, That the amount of electricity claimed to be
conserved is verifiable and certified in accordance with rules
promulgated by the commission: Provided, however, That the
commission has approved the energy efficiency or demand-side energy
initiative project for credit in accordance with section six of
this article.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, an
electric utility may not be awarded credit for an energy efficiency
or demand-side energy initiative project undertaken pursuant to any
an obligation under any other state or federal law, policy or
regulation.
§24-2F-8. Net metering and interconnection standards.
(a) The commission shall adopt propose a legislative rule for
legislative approval, as appropriate, under the provisions of
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code requiring that
all electric utilities provide a rebate or discount at fair value,
to be determined by the commission to customer-generators for any
electricity generation that is delivered to the utility under a net
metering arrangement. The rule shall require that during any
billing cycle, electric utilities credit any excess customer-owned
renewable generation delivered to the utility's electric grid
during a billing cycle to the customer-generator's billing cycle
for the next month. The rule shall also require that at the end of
each calendar year, the electric utility shall pay the
customer-generator for any unused energy credits at an average
annual rate based on the electric utility's avoided-cost rate.
(b) The commission shall also consider adopting, by rule a
requirement proposing for legislative approval, a rule requiring
that all sellers of electricity to retail customers in the state,
including rural electric cooperatives, municipally owned electric
facilities or utilities serving less than thirty thousand
residential electric customers in this state, offer net metering
rebates or discounts to customer-generators.
(c) The commission shall institute a general investigation for
the purpose of adopting rules pertaining to net metering and the interconnection of eligible electric generating facilities intended
to operate in parallel with an electric utility's system. As part
of its investigation, the commission shall take into consideration
rules of other states within the applicable region of the regional
transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18 C.F.R.
§35.34, that manages a utility's transmission system in any part of
this state. Furthermore, the commission shall consider increasing
the allowed kilowatt capacity for commercial customer-generators to
an amount not to exceed five hundred kilowatts and for industrial
customer-generators to an amount not to exceed two megawatts. The
commission shall further consider interconnection standards for
combined heat and power.
(d) The commission shall propose a legislative rule for
legislative approval, as appropriate, under the provisions of
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, for increasing
the allowed kilowatt capacity for customer-generators as follows:
_____(1) To an amount not to exceed fifty kilowatts for residential
customer-generators or to an amount not to exceed one megawatt if
the residential property is a farm;
_____(2) To an amount not to exceed five hundred kilowatts for
commercial customer-generators; and
_____(3) To an amount not to exceed two megawatts for industrial
customer-generators.
_____(d) (e) The commission shall promulgate propose these rules within twelve months of the effective date of the amendments to
this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide certain standards
for the interconnection and net-metering of customer-generators in
this state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.