Bill Text: TX HB2287 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to net metering for public schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-10 - Referred to State Affairs [HB2287 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB2287-Introduced.html

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82R7097 ALL-D
By: Crownover H.B. No. 2287

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to net metering for public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.002, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter, other than
Sections 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.203, 39.903, 39.904, 39.9051,
39.9052, and 39.914 [39.914(e)], does not apply to a municipally
owned utility or an electric cooperative. Sections 39.157(e),
39.203, and 39.904, however, apply only to a municipally owned
utility or an electric cooperative that is offering customer
choice. If there is a conflict between the specific provisions of
this chapter and any other provisions of this title, except for
Chapters 40 and 41, the provisions of this chapter control.
SECTION 2. Section 39.914, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.914. NET METERING FOR [CREDIT FOR SURPLUS SOLAR
GENERATION BY] PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (a) In this section, "distributed
renewable generation" means electric generation provided by a
renewable energy technology, as defined by Section 39.904, that is
installed on a retail electric customer's side of the meter.
(b) This section applies only to an independent school
district.
(c) An electric utility or retail electric provider shall
provide for net metering and contract with an independent school
district so that the school district receives credit at the full
retail rate for each kilowatt hour produced by distributed
renewable generation, up to the total amount of electricity
received from the utility or provider during an annualized billing
period. The contract must also provide that the school district
receive credit for any surplus electricity produced by distributed
renewable generation and that the district be compensated for those
credits as provided by this section [:
[(1) surplus electricity produced by a school
building's solar electric generation panels is made available for
sale to the electric transmission grid and distribution system; and
[(2) the net value of that surplus electricity is
credited to the district].
(d) [(b)] For areas of this state in which customer choice
has not been introduced, the commission by rule shall require that
credits for surplus electricity [for electricity produced by a
school building's solar electric generation panels] reflect the
value of the electricity that is made available for sale to the
electric utility in accordance with federal regulations.
(e) [(c)] For independent school districts in areas in
which customer choice has been introduced, the district must sell
credits for surplus electricity [the school buildings' surplus
electricity produced] to the retail electric provider that serves
the school district's load at a value agreed to between the district
and the provider that serves the district's load. The agreed value
may be based on the clearing price of energy at the time of day that
the electricity is made available to the grid or the value may be in
the form of a credit applied to the district's account that the
district may carry over to subsequent annualized periods until the
credit has been redeemed. The independent organization identified
in Section 39.151 shall develop procedures so that the amount of
electricity purchased from a district under this section is
accounted for in settling the total load served by the provider that
serves the district's load. A district requesting net metering
services for purposes of this section must have metering devices
capable of providing measurements consistent with the independent
organization's settlement requirements.
(f) [(d)] A transmission and distribution utility shall
make available to an independent school district for purposes of
this section metering required for services provided under this
section, including a single bidirectional meter capable of
measuring the flow of electricity in both directions [separate
meters that measure the load and generator output or a single meter
capable of measuring separately in-flow and out-flow at the point
of common coupling meter point]. The district must pay the
differential cost of the metering unless the meters are provided at
no additional cost. Except as provided by this section, Section
39.107 applies to metering under this section.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the
commission by rule may provide for an alternative net metering
structure, provided that a school district receives full retail
value for excess electricity produced during months in which the
district generates more electricity than the district consumes.
[(e) A municipally owned utility or electric cooperative shall
consider and complete the determinations regarding net metering
service as provided by the federal Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Section 2601 et seq., as amended by
the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-58)) after
proceedings conducted in accordance with that law. A municipally
owned utility or electric cooperative shall report the
determinations made under this subsection to the State Energy
Conservation Office and include in that report information
regarding metering electricity generated by solar panels on public
school building rooftops.]
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a contract for the sale of distributed renewable generation
entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of this Act.
A contract for the sale of distributed renewable generation entered
into or renewed before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this
Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.