Bill would boost utility use of renewable resources

McCoy’s TEC Committee will discuss energy-conservation measure

February 9, 2009

OLYMPIA – A plan prime-sponsored by state Rep. John McCoy to establish stronger standards for the use of renewable resources and the pursuit of energy conservation will receive a public hearing in the Tulalip Democrat’s legislative committee later this week.
McCoy’s bill (HB 1133) would strengthen requirements laid out in Initiative 937 – the Energy Independence Act of 2006.
His measure will receive a public hearing in his House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held in hearing room B, which is located on the first floor of the John L. O’Brien Building on the Capitol Campus here in Olympia.
The bill proposes to increase the amount of renewable resources that certain electric utilities must use in meeting the goals of the initiative. Further, McCoy’s legislation would enlarge the geographic region from which utilities can secure these renewable resources.
Utilities would also be called upon to pursue all available conservation-related strategies regarding energy end-use, production, and distribution.
McCoy spent much of last year working on this issue with consumer and industry representatives. He said his legislation “spurs renewable-energy projects and promotes investments in energy conservation at the utility and consumer level.
“Renewable-energy requirements are detailed in the voter-approved state law,” he explained. “Before I-937, utilities didn’t have to meet specific targets either for energy conservation or for use of renewable resources.”
Electric utilities serving more than 25,000 customers must use eligible renewable resources or acquire equivalent renewable-energy credits, or a combination of both, according to terms of McCoy’s bill, in order to meet these yearly targets:
* At least four percent of the utility’s load by January 1, 2012, and each year after through December 31, 2015.
* At least 10 percent of the utility’s load by January 1, 2016, and each year after through
December 31, 2019.
* At least 16 percent of the utility’s load by January 1, 2020, and each year after through
December 31, 2024.
* At least 20 percent of the utility’s load by January 1, 2025, and each year after.
The McCoy legislation also expands the geographic region in which a utility can generate or derive eligible renewable resources and renewable-energy credits.
A utility must obtain at least half its resources and credits from generation facilities in the Northwest. Remaining resources and credits could come from facilities situated in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). Starting January 1, 2016, electricity from an eligible renewable resource that is derived from generation facilities located outside the Northwest must be delivered to the Bonneville Power Administration or to the transmission system of a qualifying utility.
The WECC includes Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming, and parts of Montana, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. Also, the council includes the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as a portion of Baja California in Mexico.