Bill Summary for Bill Number HB10-1365

Date: 03/25/2010

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB10-1365

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved Amendment L. 010 (Attachment D). The motion Moved Amendment L. 012 (Attachment L). The motion Moved to refer HB 10-1365 to the Committee on Appr	Pass Without Objection FAIL PASS

01:59 PM -- House Bill 10-1365

Senator Whitehead, prime sponsor, described the provisions of House Bill 10-1365 concerning incentives for utilities to convert from coal to gas. He also distributed Amendment L. 010 (Attachment D). The reengrossed bill requires that, by August 15, 2010, all regulated utilities (IOUs) that own or operate coal-fired electric generating units submit to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) an emissions reduction plan for those units. The plan is required to cover 900 megawatts or 50 percent of the utility's generating capacity, whichever is less. The plan must give primary consideration to conversion of the units to natural gas or other low-emission resources, and may not cover any units already planned for retirement prior to January 1, 2015.

02:03 PM

Senator Penry, prime sponsor, described potential U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission regulations under the Clean Air Act. He also described recent discoveries of gas deposits that have increased the domestic natural gas reserves and responded to criticism that the bill is "anti-coal."

02:08 PM

Senator Penry and Senator Whitehead responded to questions from the committee about the need for the bill.

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:13 PM -- Jim Martin, Executive Director, Department of Natural Resources, spoke in support of the bill and described the regulation of regional haze under the federal Clean Air Act (Attachment E). He also identified coal fired power plants that may be effected by the bill and pending federal clean air regulations. He also responded to questions from the committee about the need for the bill, deadlines for implementing the bill by the Air Quality Control Commission and the PUC, and other issues.

02:41 PM -- Frank Prager, Xcel Energy, spoke in support of the bill and described energy sources for Xcel's electric generation facilities. He also described pending federal air quality regulations and the effect these regulations may have on his company's electric generation facilities. He also responded to questions from the committee about the potential cost of the retrofits of the coal plants with emission controls compared with converting plants to cleaner burning fuels.

02:49 PM -- Karen Hyde, Xcel Energy, spoke in support of the bill and described provisions of the bill that allow Xcel to recover the cost of the conversion to its coal fired power plants. She responded to questions from the committee about the potential cost of the retrofits of the coal plants with emission controls compared with converting plants to cleaner burning fuels.

03:03 PM -- Skip Arnold, Energy Outreach Colorado, spoke in support of the bill and expressed concern about the effect of increased energy costs on low-income households. He also responded to questions from the committee about the authority of the PUC to consider the effect of rate increases on low income households.

03:07 PM -- Scott Moore, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., spoke in support of the bill and described the potential cost advantages of natural gas over other energy sources for the generation of electricity. He also responded to questions from the committee (at 3:30 p.m.) about the cost of natural gas in Colorado and the national market.

03:13 PM -- Lem Smith, Encana Oil and Gas U.S.A., spoke in support of the bill and described natural gas reserves in the United States and Colorado.

03:18 PM -- Jay Still, Pioneer Natural Resources, spoke in support of the bill and described gas production by his company in the Raton Basin near Trinidad, Colorado. He also described the benefits of using natural gas to generate electricity and responded to questions from the committee about the potential effect of the bill on employment in the gas development industry and addressed other issues.

03:32 PM -- Vickie Patton, Environmental Defense Fund, spoke in support of the bill and described pending federal air quality regulations concerning ground level ozone, haze, and other pollutants.

03:39 PM -- Pam Kiely, Environment Colorado, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Western Resource Advocates, spoke in support of the bill.

03:41 PM -- John Harpole, Mercator Energy, spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the benefits of using natural gas to generate electricity (Attachment F and G).

03:50 PM -- Barbara Kirkmeyer, Weld County Board of County Commissioners, spoke in support of the bill and described the benefits of severance taxes generated from gas production to Weld County and other local governments.

03:55 PM -- Benjamin Waters, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, spoke in support of the bill.

03:55 PM -- Steve Wilson, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.

03:58 PM -- Mike Cerbo, American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the effect of the bill on power plant workers, transit facilities, and manufacturing facilities that rely on cheap energy. He also responded to questions from the committee (at 4:08 p.m.) about potential amendments that would address his concerns.

04:02 PM -- Charles Tedesco, United Steelworkers of America, spoke in opposition to the bill.

04:04 PM -- Rick Johnson, United Transportation Union, spoke in opposition to the bill.

04:10 PM -- Sam Pantello, United Steelworkers of America, spoke in opposition to the bill.

04:11 PM -- Mr. Cerbo, Mr. Tedesco, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Pantello responded to questions from the committee about the effect of the bill on workers and potential amendments that would address their concerns.

04:19 PM -- Robert Butero, United Mine Workers of America, spoke in opposition to the bill.

04:21 PM -- Michael Byrd, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), spoke in opposition to the bill and compared the cost of energy generated from coal to natural gas. He also estimated the potential loss of power plant jobs resulting from the conversion of coal electric generation facilities to gas.

04:27 PM -- Dick Hartman, Union Pacific Railroad, spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed the investment Union Pacific has put into infrastructure for the transportation of coal.

04:32 PM -- Cathy Norris, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, spoke in opposition to the bill. She described how the bill would result in a loss of business for the railroad industry. Ms. Morris answered questions from the committee regarding the effect of the Comanche III Power Plant on the railroad industry.

04:42 PM -- Ric Fanyo, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., (operator of the Henderson Mine), AngloGold-Ashanti (operator of the Cresson Mine), Rocky Mountain Steel, (operator of the Pueblo steel plant) of the spoke in opposition to the bill and described how the bill will effect electric costs for his companies' Colorado operations. He also responded to questions from the committee concerning long-term energy contracts used by his company and PUC regulations concerning the construction cost recovery for electric energy generation facilities.

05:07 PM -- Stuart Sanderson, Colorado Mining Association, spoke in opposition to the bill and described the economic benefits of coal mining in Colorado (Attachments H, I, J, and K). He also compared the cost of electricity generated from coal and natural gas and responded to questions from the committee. Mr. Sanderson also submitted a petition in opposition to the bill from Affordable Energy Colorado. A copy of this petition will be available at Colorado State Archives.

05:27 PM -- Mike Saccomano, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:29 PM -- Aron Diaz, Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:32 PM -- Greg Schaefer, Arch Coal Inc., spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about pending federal air quality regulations for particulates and other air pollutants. He also described the deadlines for complying with air quality standards if Colorado is determined by the EPA to be out of compliance with these standards.

05:38 PM -- Rich Atkinson, ColoWyo Coal Company, spoke in opposition to the bill and described the benefits of electricity generated by coal fired power plants. He also described the potential impact of the bill on the coal mining industry, public schools, and local governments in coal producing regions of the state. He responded to questions from the committee about Colorado coal burned in metropolitan area power plants and the Comanche Power Plant.

05:52 PM -- Terry Ross, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:58 PM -- Bill Schroeder, Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA), spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the cost of electricity generated by coal fired power plants and gas fired plants.

06:08 PM -- Heide Wagner, Tri-State Power Generation and Transmission, commented on the bill and expressed concern about the potential effect of the bill on the cost of electricity.

06:09 PM -- Geoff Hier, Colorado Rural Electric Association, commented on the bill and expressed concern about the potential effect of the bill on the cost of electricity. He also urged the committee to allow time for all stakeholders to review the legislation.

06:13 PM -- Craig Walker, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill and proposed amendments to the definitions in the bill.

06:21 PM

Senator Whitehead described the provisions of Amendment L. 010 (Attachment D).

06:23 PM

Senator Whitehead and Senator Penry closed their remarks on the bill.


BILL:	HB10-1365
TIME:	06:23:45 PM
MOVED:	Whitehead
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L. 010 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy
	Gibbs
	Harvey
	Kester
	Schwartz
	Whitehead
	Hodge

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1365
TIME:	06:31:00 PM
MOVED:	Harvey
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L. 012 (Attachment L). The motion failed on a roll call vote of 2 to 5.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	No
	Gibbs	No
	Harvey	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Schwartz	No
	Whitehead	No
	Hodge	No

Not Final YES: 2 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB10-1365
TIME:	06:33:35 PM
MOVED:	Whitehead
MOTION:	Moved to refer HB 10-1365 to the Committee on Appropriations, as amended. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 5 to 2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	Yes
	Gibbs	Yes
	Harvey	No
	Kester	No
	Schwartz	Yes
	Whitehead	Yes
	Hodge	Yes

Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

06:35 PM

The meeting adjourned.