In the Senate Business & Commerce Committee, this evening, HB 1500 (PUCT Sunset bill) was called up. Chairman Schwertner then allowed 25 amendments to be laid out. These amendments may be added to HB 1500 tomorrow on the Senate floor. The amendments were mostly bills and concepts heard earlier in the session, including variations of SB 2010, 2011, 2012, 624, 7 and others.
Below is a HillCo report that covers the discussions on HB 1500 in committee this evening.
This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer.
HB 1500 (Schwertner) Relating to the continuation and functions of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Office of Public Utility Counsel, and the functions of the independent organization certified for the ERCOT power region
- Schwertner – Have a new committee substitute
- Includes 4 bills passed off the senate floor: SB 2010 (Schwertner), SB 2011 (Schwertner), SB 2012 (Schwertner), portions (guardrails to PCM), includes changes by the House of a cap of $1b to the PCM, and SB 7 (Schwertner)
- ERCOT to study in a public meeting if firming requirement should apply to existing generation
- Are 25 proposed amendments; will bring them up so we do not have to suspend rules to bring them up on the floor
- Amendment A Schwertner – Restricts PUC from preventing the IMM from appearing before the legislature; any modifications to the IMM contract to be discussed in a public meeting by PUC; safeguards for IMM contract
- Amendment A withdrawn
- Amendment B Schwertner – Sunset recommendation on how/when commission can give directives to ERCOT; builds on house verbal directives limitations; clarifies it written order or memo must be approved by majority of commission; requires any directive resulting in a new cost/fee, increasing exiting fee, rule process to be heard in a contested case
- Amendment B withdrawn
- Amendment C Schwertner – PUC commissioners to elect on to serve as chair for a two-year term
- King – Same thing the RRC does
- Zaffirini – Changing to be elected, after than appointed? Talked to the Governor about this?
- Schwertner – Have discussed many things with him, not this
- Amendment C withdrawn
- Amendment D Schwertner – Commissioners to serve 2-year terms
- Amendment D withdrawn
- Amendment E Schwertner – Safety net; if 10k MW is not added by July 1 ,2024 PUC to choose certain entitles to add 10k MW to the ERCOT gird
- Amendment E withdrawn
- Amendment F Schwertner – Prohibits PUC from requiring retail/load serving from purchasing credits
- Amendment F withdrawn
- Amendment G Schwertner – HB 2569 (Shaheen) PUC must require notice of unplanned service interruption
- Amendment G withdrawn
- Amendment H Schwertner – SB 1094 (Schwertner); PPA pre-approval process
- Amendment H withdrawn
- Amendment I Schwertner – Requires Sunset special purpose review in 2025 PUC, OPUC and ERCOT; limited to implementation of legislation this session and Sunset recommendations
- Amendment I withdrawn
- Amendment J Schwertner – Prohibit generators from retiring any dispatchable for 5 years if they receive PCM credits, with exception
- Amendment J withdrawn
- Amendment K King – SB 1287 (King); PUC to establish an allowance by class for generation interconnection costs; generator has to pay for costs that exceed the base amount
- Amendment K withdrawn
- Amendment L King – SB 2014 (King); eliminates requirement to purchase renewable energy credits; allows tracking system to remain in place – voluntary program
- Amendment L withdrawn
- Amendment M King – SB 2015 (King) dispatchable generation goal 2024 50% of all generation built needs to be dispatchable; includes batteries, thermal, etc.
- Amendment N withdrawn
- Amendment N King – SB 1075 (King); cleanup bill to temporary mobile generation
- Amendment N withdrawn
- Amendment O King – Not a bill this committee heard, was heard in Criminal Justice; is on Monday’s house calendar; concerning penalty for attacking the grid
- Amendment O withdrawn
- Amendment P King – SB 1015 (King); DCRF rate-recovery bill
- Amendment P withdrawn
- Amendment Q King – SB 1519 (King); was not set in House State Affairs; regarding residential load management
- Johnson – This is important planning; related to an amendment I plan on offering
- Amendment R Kolkhorst – No more than 20% of retail can be controlled by a single company including corporate parents; SB 2012 (Schwertner) provision
- Amendment R withdrawn
- Amendment S Kolkhorst – Bars PUC from adopting a PCM
- Amendment S withdrawn
- Amendment T Kolkhorst – Scaled down version of SB 624 (Kolkhorst); did not receive a hearing in the House; retains Miles’ amendment
- Amendment T withdrawn
- Amendment U Middleton – Prohibits PUC from approving interconnection tie-in from offshore wind facilities or those in the Gulf of Mexico; concerning a future federal project
- Amendment U withdrawn
- Amendment X Johnson – SB 1212 (Johnson) regulatory distributed energy resources
- Amendment X withdrawn
- Amendment Y Johnson – SB 2112 (Johnson) small backup facilities; not moving in the House
- Amendment Y withdrawn
- Amendment V Menendez – SB 114 (Menendez) demand response; is pending on calendar in the House
- Amendment W Menendez – SB 258 (Eckhardt) energy efficiency bill; left pending in House State Affairs
- CS adopted and voted out to the Senate floor (11-0)
