07 LC 25
4882
House
Bill 829
By:
Representatives Thomas of the
100th,
Drenner of the
86th,
Buckner of the
130th,
and Porter of the
143rd
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to electrical service, so as to promote the development of renewable energy and
energy efficiency in this state by implementing renewable energy and energy
efficiency portfolio standards for electric suppliers; to define certain terms;
to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to electrical
service, is amended by enacting a new Article 2 to read as follows:
"ARTICLE
2
46-3-70.
It
is the policy of this state to promote the development of renewable energy and
energy efficiency through the implementation of a Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) that will do all of the
following:
(1)
Diversify the resources used to reliably supply energy to consumers in this
state;
(2)
Provide greater energy independence and security through the use of indigenous
energy resources available within this state;
(3)
Encourage private investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency;
and
(4)
Improve air quality, promote public health, protect the environment, conserve
the natural resources of this state, and provide other benefits to energy
consumers and citizens of this state."
46-3-71.
As
used in this article, the term:
(1)
'Electric supplier' means any electric light and power company subject to
regulation by the Commission, any electric membership corporation furnishing
retail service in this state, or any municipality which furnishes such service
within this state.
(2)
'Energy efficiency measure' means a physical change to a building or equipment
implemented on or after January 1, 2007, that results in a permanent reduction
in overall demand for grid-connected electric power while maintaining the same
or improved level of energy service, including but not limited to combined heat
and power (CHP) or other thermal energy or a demand response measure or load
limiting measure only to the extent that the measure results in a demonstrated,
long-term shift in the consumption of electric power by a retail customer from a
peak demand period to a nonpeak demand period.
(3)
'New renewable energy facility' means a facility that generates electric power
that was first placed into service on or after January 1, 2007, and that
delivers electric power generated by the use of a renewable energy resource to
an electric supplier.
(4)
'Renewable energy resource' means a solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, or
ocean current or wave energy resource; a biomass resource, including
agricultural waste, animal waste, wood waste, energy crop, or landfill methane;
or hydrogen, metered waste heat, or other metered thermal energy derived from a
renewable energy resource. 'Renewable energy resource' does not include a
fossil fuel, municipal solid waste, or nuclear energy resource.
46-3-72.
(a)
Each electric supplier shall be subject to a Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS), as provided by this Code
section.
(b)
For each calendar year 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, the total REPS requirement
shall increase by an amount equal to at least 1 percent of the total electric
power in kilowatt hours sold by an electric supplier to its retail electric
power customers in this state during the previous calendar year and shall be
supplied by new renewable energy facilities or saved due to the implementation
of energy efficiency measures. For each calendar year 2013, 2014, 2015, and
2016, the total REPS requirement shall increase by an amount equal to at least
1.5 percent of the total electric power in kilowatt hours sold by an electric
supplier to its retail electric power customers in this state during the
previous calendar year and shall be supplied by new renewable energy facilities
or saved due to the implementation of energy efficiency measures. For each
calendar year 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, the total REPS requirement shall
increase by an amount equal to at least 2 percent of the total electric power in
kilowatt hours sold by an electric supplier to its retail electric power
customers in this state during the previous calendar year and shall be supplied
by new renewable energy facilities or saved due to the implementation of energy
efficiency measures. The percentage shall increase on an annual basis so that
by calendar year 2021, and for each calendar year thereafter, an amount equal to
at least 20 percent of the total electric power in kilowatt hours sold by an
electric supplier to its retail electric power customers in this state during
the previous calendar year shall be supplied by new renewable energy facilities
or saved due to the implementation of energy efficiency measures.
(c)
By January 1, 2022, at least four-tenths of 1 percent of the total electric
power in kilowatt hours sold by an electric supplier to its retail electric
power customers in this state shall be supplied by a combination of new solar
electric facilities and new metered solar thermal energy facilities that use one
or more of the following applications: solar hot water, solar absorption
cooling, solar dehumidification, solar thermally driven refrigeration, and solar
industrial process heat. As used in this subsection, 'new' means a facility
that was first placed into service on or after January 1, 2007. An electric
supplier shall comply with the requirements of this subsection according to the
following schedule:
|
|
Year
|
Cumulative
Set-Aside for Solar by Year
|
|
|
|
2009
|
0.005%
|
|
|
|
2010
|
0.015%
|
|
|
|
2011
|
0.035%
|
|
|
|
2012
|
0.060%
|
|
|
|
2013
|
0.900%
|
|
|
|
2014
|
0.120%
|
|
|
|
2015
|
0.150%
|
|
|
|
2016
|
0.180%
|
|
|
|
2017
|
0.220%
|
|
|
|
2018
|
0.260%
|
|
|
|
2019
|
0.300%
|
|
|
|
2020
|
0.350%
|
|
|
|
2021
|
0.400%
|
|
(d)
An electric supplier may meet the requirements of this Code section
by:
(1)
Generating electric power at a new renewable energy facility;
(2)
Reducing energy consumption through the implementation of an energy efficiency
measure;
(3)
Purchasing electric power from a new renewable energy facility; or
(4)
Any combination of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection.
(e)
By January 1, 2022, no single renewable energy resource shall supply more than
one-half of the cumulative renewable energy resources employed to comply with
the REPS requirement of this Code section.
(f)
Electric power supplied by a new renewable energy facility or saved due to the
implementation of an energy efficiency measure located within the service area
of the electric supplier or contracted for delivery in this state may be used to
meet the requirements of this Code section. Any electric power that is supplied
by a new renewable energy facility or saved due to the implementation of an
energy efficiency measure that exceeds the requirements of this Code section for
any calendar year may be credited toward the requirements of this Code section
in the following calendar year.
(g)
The Commission shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this Code
section. In developing the rules, the Commission shall:
(1)
Allow an electric supplier to meet up to 50 percent of its REPS requirements
through savings due to the implementation of energy efficiency
measures;
(2)
Provide for the monitoring of compliance with and enforcement of the REPS
requirements;
(3)
Prevent the double counting of resources or measures used to meet the REPS
requirements in another state to meet the REPS requirements of this Code
section;
(4)
Establish an alternative compliance payment as an alternative method for
electric suppliers to comply with the REPS requirement for a calendar year if
the cost of compliance cannot be recovered by the electric supplier through
electric rates. The Commission shall provide that alternative compliance
payments shall be credited to a separate REPS Attainment Fund. The Commission
shall use funds in the REPS Attainment Fund only to develop renewable energy and
energy efficiency measures that promote compliance with the REPS requirement;
and
(5)
Include a procedure as an alternative to the procedure set out in Article 2 of
Chapter 2 of this title to annually adjust the rates of public utilities to
allow timely recovery of all reasonable costs of complying with this Code
section.
(h)
No later than January 15 of each year, the Commission shall submit a report on
the activities taken by the Commission to implement, and by electric suppliers
to comply with, the requirements of this Code section to the General Assembly
and the Governor. The first report required by this subsection shall be
submitted no later than January 15, 2008."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.