National Legislative Report
Congress is back to work after taking time off for the holidays. Climate change will be on the forefront of discussions. In the House, Chairman Dingell started the new year by saying businesses and economic sectors must boost efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He raised the possibility of an auto industry exemption in any cap-and-trade mandate since this industry was already targeted with legislation requiring stricter mpg standards. In the Senate, the Leiberman/Warner bill could be heard on the floor this spring. Senate staff is waiting on key analysis of cap-and-trade economic impacts from the Congressional Budget Office and the Energy Information Administration.
Because of our struggling economy, we can expect tighter spending cuts in domestic programs. We anticipate continuing efforts to pass a renewable portfolio standard. The tax package that included the production tax credit for IOUs and the clean renewable energy bonds for co-ops will expire at the end of 2008. And lawmakers will have to complete the conference committee work on the farm bill.
We will keep you updated on when representatives of Colorado’s electric cooperatives meet with the state’s congressional delegation to explain the electric co-ops’ position on these pieces of legislation.
You are asked to add your voice to this effort by contacting your congressional representative, as well as Sen. Wayne Allard (R) and Sen. Ken Salazar (D) either directly or through the Take Action Network.
National Issues of Concern for Electric Co-op Members
State Issues of Concern for Electric Co-op Members
The 2008 General Assembly is in full swing. Below are the bills CREA is following. We will keep you posted on any changes or amendments. For CREA's position on these state issues, see the Member's Only section.
Renewable Energy & Efficiency Bill
In December, the President signed a renewable energy and efficiency bill (H.R. 6). The bill increases vehicle fuel standards to 35 mpg, up from 25 mpg; it requires fuel producers to use at least 36 billion gallons of ethanol and other biofuels by 2022, a fivefold increase over the current standard; it sets new lighting efficiency standards in government buildings, provides additional funding for carbon capture and sequestration programs, and expands funding and technology development for geothermal.
The new energy law also contains language requiring a study on the adequacy of railroad infrastructure for transporting renewable fuels. Electric cooperatives won this targeted victory as part of a series of fast strikes in various committees to spotlight the railroad problem and the resulting impacts on energy reliability and prices.
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FY-08 Omnibus Spending Package
The FY08 omnibus spending package covers several issues important to the co-ops.
RUS: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Loan Program will include $6.5 billion for guaranteed rate loans, with $100 million for hardship loans, available until expended. There is another $500 million for the bond guarantee loan program. Bill language maintains electric cooperative eligibility for the RUS loan (once a
borrower, always a borrower) and Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants programs. The provisions do not force the Administration to change its policy of no loans for new baseload generation.
PMAs: The Energy and Water provisions include language to block the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) "Agency Rate" proposal for the power marketing administrations such as WAPA. This action prevents OMB from setting new higher interest rates on federal power investments. Congress continues to use the appropriations process to block "Agency Rate" proposals which are the Administration's "back door" attempt to usurp congressional authority over PMAs.
Hydro: The bill includes language recognizing the importance of hydropower in reducing carbon emissions: "Hydropower improvements at existing facilities provide a reliable, domestic, emission-free resource that is renewable."
R&D: Funding for the Energy Department’s coal research and development totals $498 million, about $72 million above the Administration's proposal. The bill continues funding for existing coal-based plant innovations, rejecting a White House proposal to "zero out" the program, and increases carbon sequestration research support. However, the FutureGen coal-based, zero emissions electric power plant project funds allocation was cut about a third. Other programs, such as clean coal technology, nuclear power, renewable energy and efficiency, received sufficient funding to continue in FY08.
LIHEAP: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program will receive $2.57 billion, about $409 million more than FY07.
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SB 93 — Concerning standards for the use of net metering for customer-generators of cooperative electric associations.
Download the bill.
Bill Summary:
- Repeals the requirement that a customer pay for the installation of metering equipment to participate in a net metering system.
- Repeals
authorization for a cooperative electric association ("utility") to install additional equipment for net metering.
- Broadens the utility's authorization to impose a fee, beyond a backup or standby fee, on a net metering system to avoid cost shifting.
- Changes the threshold at which a utility may refuse to net meter additional customers from 1% of aggregated customer monthly peak demand to 1% of average monthly peak demand.
- Requires a utility that net meters a customer to give retail credit for electricity generated and consumed by the customer and at least wholesale credit for electricity generated but not consumed.
- Requires a utility to negotiate the terms of a net metering system that exceeds 25 kilowatts.
- Requires a customer who generates electricity to indemnify the utility for damage done to the utility's equipment from the net metering system.
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HB 08-1025. GEO Bill — Concerning the Governors Energy Office.
Download the bill.
Bill Summary:
- Statutorily creates the governor's energy office (office) within the
office of the governor.
- Specifies the director as the head of the office.
- Establishes duties and powers of the office and the director.
- Makes conforming amendments.
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HB 08-1107-Levy Bill — Concerning measures to promote energy efficiency by retail electric utilities in which ultimate managerial control is vested in customers of such utilities.
Download the bill.
Bill Summary:
- Directs cooperative electric associations and municipal utilities
serving 5,000 or more customers to engage in conservation and energy
efficiency programs and to devote funding equal to 1% of sales revenue
in their first year, and 2% in their second and subsequent years, to such
efforts.
- Exempts a utility from the spending requirement in any year in which the utility's retail electricity sales, in megawatt-hours, fall at least
3% below its sales for the immediately preceding year.
- Requires periodic reports from the utilities to the governor's energy office.
- Specifies that this act does not extend PUC authority.
- Makes conforming amendments.
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HB 08-1160. Solano net metering bil — Concerning net metering for customer generators of electric utilities.
Download the bill.
Bill Summary:
- Repeals the existing law that requires a cooperative electric association (CEA) to provide its customers who generate electricity with
a net metering program.
- Requires municipally owned utilities that serve
at least 5,000 customers (MOUs) and CEAs to provide residential
customers who generate up to 10 kilowatts from eligible energy resources
with a net meter and to provide commercial or industrial customers who
generate up to 25 kilowatts from eligible energy resources with a net
meter.
- Requires CEAs and MOUs to credit a customer-generator's excess
generation one-to-one against the customer's monthly energy
consumption and to account for such excess generation annually or when
the customer terminates electrical service.
- Requires CEAs, MOUs, and
qualifying retail utilities subject to the renewable energy standard to
provide net metering at nondiscriminatory rates.
- Specifies
interconnection standards.
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HB 08-1164. Solano technology bill — Concerning the advancement of new solar energy technologies.
Download the bill.
Bill Summary:
- Declares it to be in the best interests of this state to develop and
utilize Colorado's solar resources.
- Directs the public utilities commission
to:
- Encourage utilities to exceed minimum renewable resource
standards;
- Give full consideration to the likelihood of new
environmental regulation and the risk of higher future costs
associated with the emission of greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide when it considers utility proposals to
acquire resources;
- Consider whether acquisition of utility-scale solar
resources is in the public interest, taking into account the
associated costs and benefits, and, if so, the appropriate
amount of utility-scale solar resources that should be
acquired; and
Periodically review and publish conclusions regarding the
operational and economic characteristics of utility-scale
solar electric generation technologies.
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