Legislative Session number- 82

Bill Name: SF0722

E Relating to energy, enacting the "Minnesota Energy Security and Reliability
Act" ARTICLE 1 PUBLIC BUILDING ENERGY CONSERVATIONModifying the goal and
eliminating the sunset of the state buildings energy conservation expenditures
shared savings program; requiring the departments of administration and commerce
to develop sustainable building design guidelines for new state buildings by a
certain date, specifying certain guidelines requirements; requiring the
department of administration to maintain information on energy use in public
buildings to establish energy efficiency benchmarks and energy conservation
goals, requiring a preliminary energy conservation goals report to the
legislature by a certain date; requiring the department to development a
comprehensive plan by a certain later date to maximize electrical and thermal
energy efficiency in existing public buildings through conservation measures,
specifying certain plan requirements ARTICLE 2 JOINT VENTURESAuthorizing and
providing for municipal utilities to enter into joint ventures with other
municipal utilities, municipal power agencies, cooperative associations or
investor owned utilities to provide retail electric utility services within the
boundaries of exclusive electric service territories under certain conditions,
subjecting terms and conditions of the joint ventures to ratification by the
governing bodies of the respective utilities and providing for organization,
powers and duties; authorizing retail electric customers of the joint ventures
to elect subjection to electric rate regulation by the public utilities
commission (PUC) under certain conditions; providing for construction of the
provisions, excepting the joint venture between the city of Willmar and
Kandiyohi county from the provisions ARTICLE 3 MISCELLANEOUSRequiring and
providing for electric utility filing of tariffs, schedules and agreements for
interconnection and parallel operation of on site distributed generation;
requiring the public utilities commission to initiate a proceeding to establish
generic standards for the tariffs for distributed generation fueled by clean
fuel or a combination of fuels of a certain limited interconnected capacity,
specifying certain standards requirements, authorizing the PUC to develop
financial incentives based on utility performance to encourage residential and
small business customers to participate in on site generation; specifying
certain public utility distributed generation tariff filing and municipal
utility and cooperative electric association tariff adoption requirements,
requiring certain reports to the commissioner of commerce and the maintenance of
certain records and authorizing the PUC to order public utilities to make
adequate infrastructure investments and undertake sufficient preventative
maintenance relating to generation, transmission and distribution facilities;
requiring the legislative electric energy task force to evaluate options and
priorities relating to energy source development of resources derived from
agricultural production and to energy options available in rural areasARTICLE 4
CONSUMER PROTECTIONModifying and clarifying the provisions regulating public
utility cold weather disconnections; providing certain protections for
residential customers of utilities and cooperative electric associations;
requiring the offering of budget billing plans and certain payment agreements,
authorizing the utilities and associations to establish terms and conditions for
the plans and agreements; requiring reconnection or continuation of service to
residences with medically necessary equipment; granting the public utilities
commission the authority to resolve complaints involving violations; modifying
certain PUC low income utility customer programs requirements ARTICLE 5
INCENTIVE PAYMENTS Extending the eligibility window for payments under the
renewable energy production incentive program for qualified hydroelectric
facilities and providing for the determination of the size and ownership of wind
energy conversion systems for incentive payments eligibility purposes,
specifying certain nameplate capacity combination requirements, authorizing
facilities to regain the right to receive the payments after losing eligibility
upon cure of the ownership structure ARTICLE 6 DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITYRequiring
the public utilities commission (PUC), cooperative electric associations and
municipal utilities to adopt standards for safety, reliability and service
quality for distribution facilities, defining certain terms and specifying
certain standards requirements; requiring the commissioner of commerce to
provide an analysis of the costs and benefits of the standards to consumers and
utilities to the legislature by a certain date ARTICLE 7 SITING AND ROUTING OF
POWER PLANTS AND TRANSMISSION LINES Modifying the definition of high voltage
transmission line and clarifying the definition of utility for environmental
quality board power plant siting regulation purposes, prohibiting EQB review of
certain projects authorized by the public utilities commission; modifying
certain large electric generating plant site and high voltage transmission line
route designation requirements, requiring permits from the EQB, requiring the
EQB to incorporate into one proceeding the route selection for high voltage
transmission lines directly associated with and necessary to interconnect the
generating plant to the transmission system, requiring and providing for
application for the permits to the board, specifying certain EQB environmental
impact statement (EIS) preparation and public hearing requirements and expanding
and modifying certain factors to be considered in designating sites and routes;
regulating final decisions by the board; providing an alternative review
procedure for applications for site or route permits and authorizing and
providing for local in lieu of EQB review of applications for certain projects;
authorizing and providing for board issuance of emergency permits for the
construction of large generating plants or high voltage transmission lines due
to major unforeseen events, requiring notice to the PUC of the unforeseen event
and the need for immediate construction, requiring the EQB after notice and
hearing to adopt rules specifying the criteria for emergency certification;
expanding the agenda of the annual public hearing held by the board; providing
for alternative expiration of advisory task forces appointed by the EQB;
reducing the time limit for filing an appeal; modifying certain EQB rules
adoption authority; modifying the definition of large energy facility for public
utility resource planning and renewable energy purposes; requiring and providing
for the PUC to develop and maintain a list of certified high voltage
transmission line projects, specifying certain utility transmission projects
reporting and PUC approval requirements, requiring the department of commerce to
create, maintain and annually update an inventory of transmission lines,
excluding transmission line proposals approved by or pending before a local
government unit, the EQB or the PUC on a certain date, authorizing assessment of
cooperative associations and municipal utilities for the proceedings; modifying
certain large energy facility certificate of need requirements and expanding
exemptions; requiring the commissioner of commerce to prepare a state energy
planning report for submission to the legislature by a certain date, specifying
certain report content and update requirements; repealing certain EQB large
electric power generating plant study area inventory requirements, the
generating plant or transmission line emergency certification procedure, certain
route and site exemptions, a certain obsolete savings clause and a certain
provision providing for the determination of large energy facility for
certificate of need purposes by the primary fuel source ARTICLE 8 RENEWABLE
ENERGY AND CONSERVATION Modifying the provision providing for public utilities
commission approval of public utility power purchase contracts or investments
and the recovery of expenses or costs; providing renewable and high efficiency
energy rate options, requiring utilities to offer options allowing customers to
determine the amount of electricity generated or purchased as renewable energy
or energy generated by high efficiency low emissions distributed generation,
defining high efficiency low emissions distributed generation and specifying
certain implementation plan and rate requirements; requiring and providing for
commissioner of commerce certification of power supplies and authorizing the PUC
to establish a program for tradeable credits for eligible power supplies;
requiring electric utilities to generate or procure sufficient electricity
generated by eligible energy technologies, defining eligible energy technology
and specifying an implementation schedule and certain utility reporting
requirements; defining energy conservation and load management, redefining
energy conservation improvement and modifying certain provisions under the
conservation investment program; restricting expenditures for research and
development projects to projects best implemented on a statewide basis;
modifying certain requirements for cooperative electric associations and
municipalities and authorized load management activities, specifying certain
conservation improvement plans filing, overview and evaluation requirements;
reducing the public utility annual investment requirement; authorizing the
commissioner of public service to establish a list of programs allowed to be
offered as energy conservation improvements and modifying the low income
programs requirement; eliminating the burden of proof requirement for
petitioners requesting modification or revocation of a department of public
service decision by the PUC; authorizing the commissioner to order public
utilities to include with the filing of proposed conservation improvement plans
the results of independent audits of the programs and expenditures, specifying
certain audit requirements; modifying certain commissioner of commerce public
utility assessment requirements for operation and extending the expiration date
of the legislative electric energy task force; establishing a temporary position
of reliability administrator in the department of commerce to serve as a source
of independent expertise and a technical advisor on issues relating to the
reliability of the electric system, specifying certain duties; specifying
certain cooperative electric association and municipal utility energy and
capacity conservation programs evaluation and reporting requirements; phasing in
required conservation improvement expenditures by cooperative electric
associations; specifying certain utility or association distributed energy
resources requirements; authorizing the PUC to temporarily provide an
alternative recovery mechanism for the expense of continuing existing approved
cost effective projects by rate regulated distribution cooperative electric
associations; requiring the commissioner of commerce to study the conservation
investment program and make change recommendations to the legislature by a
certain date; extending a certain exemption from investment and expenditure
requirements under certain conditions; requiring the department of commerce to
report to the legislature by a certain date on the development of a universal
energy service program to provide energy bill payment and conservation
assistance to low and moderate income energy customers; requiring the
commissioner to transfer a certain amount of money to the commissioner of
administration to implement the sustainable building guidelines (ja)