Transmission Siting Preemption (HB 1037)

This week, the Senate passed a new version of the transmission siting preemption bill. There were many redrafts of the bill, and each change helped clarify the parameters of the bill on behalf of cities. Here is a summary of the bill as it passed the Senate on April 12:

Gives transmission developers the ability to opt-in to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) process with completely new transmission facilities at or above 115kv (reconstruction or modification of 115kv facilities would still be permitted at the city);
Gives transmission developers the ability to opt-in to the EFSEC process on new construction, reconstruction, or modification projects above 115kv;
Creates a pre-application process to allow the developers and the local governments an opportunity to come to agreement on transmission corridors prior to the developer filing an application with EFSEC;
Takes out the size limit of transmission projects that could go to EFSEC in national interest corridors, should the federal government identify any national interest corridors in our state; and
Creates a limited definition of "modification" that does not include minor improvements, relocation, or conversion of existing transmission facilities.

This bill was a compromise with the investor-owned utilities and the PUDs because the utilities are anticipating a need for new transmission facilities to serve future renewable energy sources coming online in the next few years, such as wind power in eastern Washington. The bill preserves some local government siting authority on the modification of facilities that already exist in city rights-of-way and for moderate-sized facilities frequently located in urban areas.

Besides AWC staff, the following individual city lobbyists worked on the redrafts and deserve recognition for their hard work: Bob Mack, City of Tacoma and Doug Levy, City of Kent. The bill goes back to the House for concurrence of the amendments.

Net Metered Aggregation (SHB 1140)

This bill passed the Senate on April 12 with new language that narrows the bill in size and scope. Cities, PUDs and Cooperatives had asked for an amendment to have the bill only apply to anaerobic digesters. Instead, the Senate approved a striking amendment that clarifies that the aggregating meters do not change the underlying rate class of the meters and that no more than 100 kilowatts may be aggregated among all customer-generators. These amendments greatly improve the bill for the public utilities. The bill has been sent back to the House for concurrence.

Mitigating the Impacts of Climate Change (ESSB 6001)

This bill, passed by the House on April 12, would establish state goals to reduce greenhouse gases emissions as well as a greenhouse gases emissions performance standard for electric utilities operating in the state. Various reports are required by state agencies and the Governor.

There were a number of floor amendments adopted which include:

Prohibiting electric companies and consumer-owned electric utilities from entering into a long-term financial commitment for base-load electric generation that does not comply with the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard.
Authorizing the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to adopt policies allowing for an additional return on investment to encourage meeting energy requirements through distributed generation and increased efficiency of energy delivery.
Permitting the WUTC to add an increment of 2% to the rate of return on common equity permitted on an electric company's other investments for prudently incurred investments in distributed generation and other measures.
Requiring the WUTC to make a determination regarding an electric company's proposed decision to acquire electric generation for electricity that complies with the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard.
Authorizing consumer-owned electric utilities to collect a surcharge for costs in excess of individual rate categories to meet the greenhouse gases emissions performance standard.

The bill will now need to go back to the Senate for concurrence.

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