Special Conference Update: Has SB 1547 Changed Everything?
Posted on July 21, 2016 by Bob Jenks
Tags, Conference & Events
The 2016 CUB Policy Conference, The Future Starts Now is coming up on October 14, 2016, and we are anticipating a lively lineup of breakout panels on various topics at the forefront of the utility sector’s current agenda. The first topic in the breakout schedule, The Final Frontier: Has SB 1547 Changed Everything?, is particularly extant.
Back in March, when Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 1547, the Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Bill, into law it made national news and even international news. Oregon decided it wanted to phase out coal as an electric source and double the State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard from 25% to 50%.
The legislation was a product of negotiations between CUB, environmental groups, and utilities. From CUB’s perspective, it reduces the economic risk associated with coal and will allow our utilities to shift their investments from coal retrofits to renewable energy which should provide more long-term value for customers.
But the bill created some controversy. Since Oregon cannot close coal plants located in other states, the bill does not shut down coal plants; instead it says that Oregon will stop investing in coal and using coal to serve customers. There were some concerns about the effect the bill could have on rates, but the modeling by utilities shows at worst a modest rate impact and the bill contains a 4% cost cap, which protects customers in the case that the bill costs more than current projections.
Now that we have had some months to examine and consider the bill, is it still controversial? At The Future Starts Now, we will have a panel of experts dig into this bill and discuss the implications….
Major Provisions of SB 1547:
• Aims to provide 100% coal-free electricity to customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric by 2030, with the exception of a small amount from PGE’s ownership of Colstrip, which would be phased out of the Oregon mix no later than 2035.
• Increases the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 50% in 2040. This increase is staged at 27% by 2025, 35% by 2030, 45% by 2035, and 50% by 2040. Consumer protections in the existing RPS law are maintained. There is also a safety valve that allows the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) to temporarily suspend the requirement for a utility if meeting the RPS would conflict with grid reliability.
• Recognizes Oregon’s leadership in cost-effective energy efficiency and demand response programs that reduce overall energy usage, and supports Pacific Power and PGE plans to take advantage of all cost-effective energy efficiency and cost-effective demand-response resources authorized by the PUC prior to developing new generating resources.
• Customers of PGE and Pacific Power will continue to be protected by the state’s 4% incremental cost cap, which means that utilities are not required to add renewables to their portfolio if the incremental cost to customers is more than 4% higher than the cost of developing non-renewable resources.
• Creates a community solar program for Oregon, allowing residential and small commercial customers of Pacific Power and PGE to participate in the ownership of off-site solar projects which would be credited against their electricity bill. It also directs the PUC to ensure that at least 15% of the overall community solar program capacity be provided to low-income customers.
• Encourages moving to greater reliance on electricity in all modes of transportation to reduce carbon emissions. Pacific Power and PGE could submit plans to the PUC that include deployment of charging stations and related electric vehicle infrastructure. The PUC would determine if the investments were prudent.
Contributing to this first of six breakout panels at The Future Starts Now will be Jason Eisdorfer, Utility Program Director at the PUC; Roger Gray, Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Requirements Utilities; Etta Lockey, Senior Attorney at Pacific Power; Kristen Sheeran, Director of Regulatory Affairs at 3Degrees; and Rachel Shimshak, Executive Director of Renewable Northwest. Our moderator on this panel will be Steve Ernst, Editor of Energy NewsData’s Clearing Up.
More speakers and conference agenda details are being added weekly on the conference website. Registration is now open, and we hope you’ll join us on October 14th at the Downtown Portland Hilton! Stay tuned to the CUB blog and to Twitter using the hashtag #CUBCon16 for ongoing conference news throughout the summer.
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12/27/16 | 0 Comments | Special Conference Update: Has SB 1547 Changed Everything?