Senate Appropriations advances H710 to define generation facilities and create PUC decommissioning fund

The Senate Appropriations Committee on May 19 advanced H710, a bill that narrows how "electricity generating facilities" are defined for the state's renewable energy programs and would authorize the Public Utility Commission to establish a decommissioning fund to cover abandoned or insolvent facilities.

Office of Legislative Council told the committee that the bill applies specifically to renewable energy programs in chapter 89 and is intended to clarify which adjacent or co-located installations count as one facility for purposes of tiered net-metering incentives. "It's just for the renewable energy programs," counsel said, adding the change helps determine when developers are eligible for incentives in tiered standard-offer or net-metering categories.

Counsel said sections 3 and 4 of H710 address decommissioning: section 3 would authorize the PUC to perform financial and economic calculations to estimate decommissioning costs, and section 4 would establish a PUC-managed decommissioning fund. Under current statute the Certificate of Public Good (CPG) holder must provide an instrument assuring decommissioning; supporters of H710 told the committee the fund would act as a backstop if a CPG holder abandoned a facility or became insolvent so the state could cover cleanup and removal costs.

The legislative counsel also described the bill as setting a bright-line test so that facilities using different generating technologies (for example, solar versus wind) would generally be treated as separate plants for incentive purposes. Counsel highlighted that the incentives tied to tiers are the main reason the definition matters to developers and regulators.

Members pressed several procedural and authority questions. Counsel acknowledged the bill does not itself create an immediate fee; rather, the PUC intends to open a proceeding to develop a formula and would report back to the legislature next year on the recommended fee structure and the fund's formula. Counsel said the intent was to charge a prospective fee on future CPG recipients so money would accrue to the fund for future decommissioning needs.

Committee members noted the bill had not gone through the finance committee. Counsel said the language defines the prospective fee and authorizes the PUC to create a formula but that the PUC will need to clarify whether it has the authority to begin charging fees and how the formula should operate.

A motion to advance H710 was made and seconded. Senator Watson moved the bill and Senator B. seconded; the roll call recorded affirmative votes from Senator B., Senator Brennan, Lion, Senator Watson and Senator Westman, and the committee approved the motion to advance the bill. The committee discussion record shows the PUC will open a proceeding and report back next year on the proposed fee formula and fund design.

After the vote members paused business when a separate bill (No. 953) arrived but the clerk had not been handed the packet; members delayed further action while that was resolved.