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2017 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor
Subcommittee Renewable Energy

Chafin (Chairman), Sturtevant, Dance, Wagner

Clerk: John Garrett, Alex Elwood
Staff: Frank Munyan
Date of Meeting: January 26, 2017
Time and Place: 9:00 AM January 26, 2017 3 East Conference Room GAB

S.B. 813 Electric utility regulation; solar generation facilities.

Patron: Marsden

Electric utility regulation; solar generation facilities. Exempts investor-owned electric utilities from the requirement that in a proceeding for approval to construct a generating facility they demonstrate that they have considered and weighed alternative options, including third-party market alternatives, in their selection process, if the proposed generating facility is located in the Commonwealth, uses energy derived from sunlight, and has been declared by statute to be in the public interest. The measure also directs that (i) any cost incurred or projected to be incurred by a utility in connection with such a generation facility is reasonable and prudent if the costs of the generation facility do not exceed by more than 10 percent the cost that would be incurred in the construction and operation of a combined-cycle combustion turbine generation facility with the same capacity and (ii) any increase in rates paid by customers as a result of the construction and operation of such a generation facility is reasonable if the projected increase in rates resulting from the construction and operation of such facility does not exceed by more than two percent the projected increase in rates that would occur if the utility constructed and operated a combined-cycle combustion turbine generation facility with the same capacity.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electric utility regulation; solar generation facilities.

17100749D

S.B. 917 Electric utility regulation; agricultural net energy metering.

Patron: Edwards

Electric utility regulation; agricultural net energy metering. Allows an otherwise eligible agricultural customer-generator to participate in an electric utility's net energy metering program if it is to be served by multiple meters located on one parcel or on multiple parcels. Currently, an agricultural customer-generator may be served by multiple meters that are located at separate but contiguous sites. The measure increases the generation capacity limit for agricultural net metering from 500 kilowatts to one megawatt and adds falling water as a type of generating facility that may be used in agricultural net metering.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-594 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electric utility regulation; agricultural net energy metering.

17101691D

S.B. 918 Renewable energy; third-party power purchase agreements.

Patron: Edwards

Renewable energy; third-party power purchase agreements. Replaces the pilot program enacted in 2013 that authorized certain third-party power purchase agreements providing financing of certain renewable generation facilities. The measure requires the State Corporation Commission to establish third-party power purchase agreement programs for each electric utility. The existing pilot program applies only to Dominion Virginia Power and sets the maximum size of a renewable generation facility at one megawatt; the programs authorized by this measure apply to all electric utilities and do not set limits on the size of facilities. The measure also exempts sellers under third-party power purchase agreements from being defined as a public utility, public service corporation, public service company, or electric utility solely because of the sale of electricity or ownership or operation of a renewable generation facility.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-1.2 of the Code of Virginia; to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 56-1.2:2, 56-232.2:2, and 56-594.2; and to repeal Chapters 358 and 382 of the Acts of Assembly of 2013, relating to the regulation of retail sales of electricity under third-party sales agreements.

17101717D

S.B. 1197 Small renewable energy projects; State Corporation Commission to review construction, etc.

Patron: Deeds

Small renewable energy projects; State Corporation Commission jurisdiction. Restores the requirement for State Corporation Commission (SCC) review of the construction and operation of certain small renewable energy projects. In 2009, the General Assembly removed the requirement that the owner or operator of a small renewable energy project, defined as (i) an electrical generation facility with a rated capacity not exceeding 100 megawatts that generates electricity only from sunlight, wind, falling water, wave motion, tides, or geothermal power or (ii) an electrical generation facility with a rated capacity not exceeding 20 megawatts that generates electricity only from biomass or certain waste, obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity approval for the project from the SCC. This measure restores the requirement for those small renewable energy projects that either will disturb an area of 100 acres or more or are located within five miles of a boundary between the political subdivision in which such project is located and another locality.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 10.1-1197.8, 56-46.1, and 56-580 of the Code of Virginia, relating to State Corporation Commission; approval process for certain small renewable energy projects.

17101447D

S.B. 1208 Electric utilities; community renewable projects.

Patron: Wexton

Electric utilities; community renewable projects. Requires the State Corporation Commission to adopt rules under which community renewable projects are authorized to operate. A community renewable project is solar or wind-powered electric generation facility with a capacity of not more than 20 megawatts that is operated subject to requirements that the electricity generated by the facility belongs to the project's subscribers. The facility may be owned either by the investor-owned electric utility or distribution cooperative in whose service territory the facility is located or a for-profit or nonprofit entity, which may be an entity entirely owned by or consisting of subscribers, that contracts to sell the electricity generated by the facility to the retail utility. The measure provides that neither the owner of a project nor its subscribers are public utilities and that prices paid for subscriptions in projects shall not be subject to regulation by the Commission. The measure also requires the retail utility to purchase all of the electricity generated by the project and that the purchase of the electricity by the utility shall take the form of a credit against the utility's electric bill to each of the project's subscribers. Finally, the measure requires the Commission to formulate and implement policies that simultaneously encourage the ownership by customers of subscriptions in projects and of other forms of distributed generation to the extent the Commission finds there to be demand for such ownership; the development of projects with attributes that the Commission finds result in lower overall total costs for the retail utility's customers; and successful financing and operation of subscriber-owned projects.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-585.1:3, relating to electric utilities; community renewable projects.

17102606D

S.B. 1388 Electric utilities; margin on solar energy power purchase agreements.

Patron: Wagner

Electric utilities; margin on solar energy power purchase agreements. Authorizes any investor-owned incumbent electric utility to enter into, recover the costs of, and earn a margin on power purchase agreements that (i) are executed between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018, and (ii) are for power generated by solar energy systems located in the Commonwealth and not constructed, owned, or operated by the utility (a) each of which systems has a capacity equal to or greater than two megawatts and (b) which systems in the aggregate have a capacity that is not more than one percent of the utility's adjusted Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year. The costs and margin are recoverable through the utility's fuel factor proceeding. The measure provides that such agreements are in the public interest and that in reviewing the costs and the level of costs to be recovered, the State Corporation Commission shall liberally construe the provisions of this measure and shall presume that the costs associated with such agreements are reasonably and prudently incurred.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-581.2, relating to electric utility regulation; earning a return under certain power purchase agreements.

17102584D

S.B. 1393 Electric utilities; community solar pilot programs.

Patron: Wagner


Electric utilities; community solar pilot programs. Requires Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power to conduct a community solar pilot program for retail customers. A pilot program will authorize the participating utility to sell electric power to subscribing customers under a voluntary companion rate schedule, and the utility will generate or purchase the electric power from eligible generation facilities selected for inclusion in the pilot program. An eligible generation facility is an electrical generation facility that (i) exclusively uses energy derived from sunlight; (ii) is placed in service on or after July 1, 2017; (iii) is not constructed by an investor-owned utility but is acquired by an investor-owned utility through an asset purchase agreement or is subject to a power purchase agreement under which the utility purchases the facility's output from a third party; and (iv) has a generating capacity not exceeding two megawatts, subject to an exception. Pilot programs will have a three-year duration unless renewed or made permanent. The measure requires an investor-owned utility to select eligible generating facilities for dedication to its pilot program through a request for proposal (RFP) process. The minimum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program shall not be less than four MW and in Dominion's pilot program shall not be less than 25 MW. The maximum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program shall not be more than 10 MW and in Dominion's pilot program shall not be more than 40 MW. The measure establishes a procedure through which an investor-owned utility may increase the generating capacity of facilities in its pilot program above the amount most recently approved by the State Corporation Commission. The measure authorizes an investor-owned utility to recover pilot program costs that are not recovered through the voluntary companion rate schedule through the utility's annual fuel factor proceeding or rate adjustment clause proceeding. A subscribing customer's usage above the amount subscribed for the voluntary companion rate schedule shall be billed under the customer's applicable standard rate. The measure authorizes a utility consumer services cooperative to conduct a pilot program and gives the cooperative flexibility in designing its program and voluntary companion rate schedule. The measure declares that the participation of retail customers in a pilot program is in the public interest and that the voluntary companion rate schedules approved are necessary in order to acquire information which is in furtherance of the public interest. The measure requires the Commission to approve the recovery of pilot program costs that it deems to be reasonable and prudent, the pilot program design, the voluntary companion rate schedule, and the portfolio of participating generating facilities. Commission review or approval is not required for individual participating generating facilities, agreements, sites, or RFPs. The measure provides that an approved voluntary companion rate schedule shall not be considered a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. Finally, an enactment clause directs investor-owned utilities, prior to submitting a proposal for a pilot program, to examine, in cooperation with representatives of relevant governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities, options to facilitate the subscribing by low-income customers to the utility's pilot program.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-585.1:3, relating to electric utility regulation; pilot programs for community solar development.

17102602D

S.B. 1394 Small agricultural generators; establishes parameters of a program.

Patron: Wagner


Small agricultural generators. Establishes the parameters of a program under which small agricultural generators may sell the electricity generated from a small agricultural generating facility to its utility. The program will end enrollment by eligible agricultural customer-generators in the existing net energy metering program effective July 1, 2018, while allowing eligible agricultural customer-generators to remain in the net metering program for not more than 20 years. A small agricultural generator is defined in this measure as a customer who operates an electrical generating facility as part of an agricultural business, which generating facility, among other conditions, has a capacity of not more than 1.5 megawatts, uses renewable energy as its total source of fuel, has a capacity that does not exceed 150 percent of the customer's expected annual energy consumption based on the previous 12 months of billing history, and is a qualifying small power production facility. The program for small agricultural generators requires the generator to enter into a power purchase agreement with its supplier to sell all of the electricity generated at a rate not less than the supplier's State Corporation Commission-approved avoided cost tariff for energy and capacity. The program also provides for utilities to recover distribution service costs and costs incurred to purchase electricity, capacity, and renewable energy certificates from the small agricultural generator through its Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) rate adjustment clause if the utility has a Commission-approved RPS plan and rate adjustment clause or, if the utility does not have a Commission-approved RPS rate adjustment clause, then the costs shall be recoverable through the supplier's fuel adjustment clause or through the utility's cost of purchased power. Finally, the measure directs the Commission to conduct a single docketed proceeding to implement the provisions of this measure.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-594 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-594.2, relating to small agricultural generators; sale of electric power; net metering.

17102605D

S.B. 1418 Electric utilities; costs of pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities.

Patron: Chafin

Electric utilities; costs of pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities. Authorizes an investor-owned electric utility to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval of a rate adjustment clause for recovery of the costs of one or more pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities that utilize renewable energy as all or a portion of their power source and are located in the coalfield region of the Commonwealth. The measure provides that the requirement that a utility demonstrate that it has considered and weighed alternative options, including third-party market alternatives, in its selection process does not apply to these generation and storage facilities. The construction of these generation and storage facilities is declared to be in the public interest, and in determining whether to approve such facility, the Commission is directed to liberally construe the provisions of Title 56.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electric utility regulation; pumped hydroelectricity generation and storage facilities.

17103515D