Date: 03/25/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB15-046

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 15-046 to the Committee of the WPASS


01:31 PM

The committee was called to order. A quorum was present.

01:31 PM -- SB 15-046

Representative Moreno, prime sponsor, came to the table to present Senate Bill 15-046. Current law contains an overall requirement for cooperative electric associations (CEAs) as part of Colorado's renewable energy standard (RES). Specifically, CEAs are required to generate the following percentages of retail electricity sales from eligible, renewable energy resources:

In addition, CEAs serving more than 100,000 meters and generation and transmission CEAs providing wholesale electricity to other CEAs must meet a 20 percent standard for the years 2020 and after.

Current law also contains distributed generation (DG) requirements for all CEAs. Specifically, CEAs serving more than 10,000 meters must supply 1 percent of their total retail sales through distributed generation, while CEAs serving less than 10,000 meters are required to supply three-fourths of 1 percent in this fashion. Of this amount, one-half must be derived from retail distributed generation (typically rooftop solar) and one-half from wholesale distribution. Finally, state law had provided a 3-times multiplier for solar energy, which expired January 1, 2015.

The reengrossed bill reduces the retail distributed generation requirement for CEAs by allowing them to first net out industrial retail sales from total retail sales. The bill also explicitly allows CEAs to use generation purchases from community solar gardens to count as retail distributed generation. Under current law, only investor-owned utilities may receive credit for community solar garden generation toward retail distributed generation requirements.

01:33 PM -- Ron Asche, representing United Power, and Geoff Hier, representing the Colorado Rural Electric Association, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Asche discussed United Power's investment activities within DG energy, how much of its RES requirements it currently satisfies with DG, and the growth that United Power has seen in recent years. He told the committee that the bill would allow United Energy to exclude industrial retail sales from its RES requirements, which would help it comply with state requirements for its energy mix without hurting the renewable energy industry. Mr. Hier said that the bill had enjoyed bipartisan support in the Senate and that it will give CEAs some flexibility in how they meet the RES.

01:43 PM -- Jeff Ackerman, representing the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), spoke in favor of the bill. He said that the CEO is required by statute to work towards the promotion of the RES in Colorado. He discussed the challenges that some CEAs had experienced in complying with the RES.

01:46 PM -- Rebecca Cantwell, representing the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, spoke in favor of the bill. Ms. Cantwell said that the bill would help the solar industry grow in Colorado and create more demand for solar gardens.

01:48 PM -- Tom Figel, representing GRID Alternatives Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill. He said that GRID Alternatives is a national nonprofit organization that seeks to develop access to solar energy for low-income families, and that the bill will help such families to install solar energy.

01:50 PM -- Richard Orf, representing the Colorado Mining Association, spoke in favor of the bill.

01:53 PM

The committee went into a brief recess.

01:57 PM

The committee came back to order. Representative Moreno made his closing comments.

BILL:SB15-046
TIME: 01:58:13 PM
MOVED:Mitsch Bush
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 15-046 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:Buck
VOTE
Becker J.
Yes
Buck
Yes
Carver
Yes
Coram
Yes
Esgar
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Melton
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Neville P.
Yes
Nordberg
Yes
Winter
Yes
Mitsch Bush
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS