NOTE:  This bill has been prepared for the signature of the appropriate legislative
officers and the Governor.  To determine whether the Governor has signed the bill
or taken other action on it, please consult the legislative status sheet, the legislative
      history, or the Session Laws.
      
      
      HOUSE BILL 11-1262
      
      
      BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Becker and Levy, Baumgardner, Bradford,
      Court, Ferrandino, Fischer, Gardner D., Hamner, Holbert, Hullinghorst,
      Jones, Joshi, Kerr A., Labuda, Lee, Looper, Peniston, Solano, Sonnenberg,
      Tyler, Waller, Wilson, Brown, Conti, Coram, DelGrosso, Fields,
      Gardner B., Gerou, Kerr J., Liston, Murray, Nikkel, Pace, Priola, Riesberg,
      Ryden, Schafer S., Scott, Summers, Todd, McNulty;
      also SENATOR(S) Johnston and Brophy, Cadman, Giron, Grantham,
      Guzman, Harvey, King S., Lambert, Mitchell, Nicholson, Renfroe,
      Scheffel, Schwartz, Jahn.
      
      
      Concerning procedures to ensure transparency in the process of
           bidding by electric utilities for the acquisition of new
           generation facilities.
       
      
      Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
      
           SECTION 1.  40-6-107, Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to
      read:
      
           40-6-107.  Production of documents - transparency in planning
      for future acquisitions - rules.  (1)  The commission may require, by order
      served on any public utility in the manner provided in section 40-6-102 for
      the service of orders, the production within this state at such time and place
      as it may designate, of any records and documents kept by said the public
      utility in any office or place without outside of this state, or, at its option,
      verified copies in lieu thereof, so that an examination thereof of the
      records or documents may be made by the commission or under its
      direction.
      
           (2) (a)  To ensure transparency in the acquisition of power
      generation resources for the benefit of Colorado ratepayers and
      to promote fairness in electric utility competitive bidding
      processes, the commission shall, within ninety days after the
      effective date of this subsection (2), commence a rule-making
      proceeding to adopt rules, applicable after the effective date of
      this subsection (2), to require an investor-owned electric utility
      that is evaluating or has evaluated an existing or proposed
      electric generating facility as a potential resource, whether in
      connection with a commission proceeding or otherwise, to provide
      the owner or developer of the generating facility, upon request,
      with reasonable and timely access to the modeling inputs and
      assumptions that were used by the investor-owned public utility
      to evaluate the facility and that reasonably relate to that
      facility or to the transmission of electricity from that facility to
      the investor-owned public utility.  Bidders in a competitive
      electric resource bidding process shall be permitted access to
      those modeling inputs and assumptions, as the modeling inputs and
      assumptions apply to the bidders' particular facility, in time to
      ensure that errors or omissions may be corrected before the
      competitive bidding process is completed.  If it is determined that
      an error or omission, as defined by commission rule-making, exists
      in the investor-owned public utility's modeling, the commission
      shall require the investor-owned public utility to perform
      additional modeling to confirm that electric generating facilities
      are fairly and accurately represented in the results of any
      computer modeling performed by the investor-owned public
      utility.
      
           (b)  In any commission proceeding regarding electric
      resource planning or otherwise relating to the acquisition of,
      contracting for, or retirement of electric generation facilities,
      the commission shall establish procedures regarding the
      designation and approval of information as highly confidential
      that protect the public interest and assure that ratepayers
      receive the benefits of competition and transparency while
      protecting the trade secrets of computer modeling software
      producers, independent bidders, and the investor-owned public
      utility.
      
           SECTION 2.  Safety clause.  The general assembly hereby finds,
      determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
      preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.
      
      
      
      
      ________________________________________________________
      Frank McNulty                      Brandon C. Shaffer
      SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE                     PRESIDENT OF
      OF REPRESENTATIVES                         THE SENATE
      
      
      
      
      
      
      ____________________________  ____________________________
      Marilyn Eddins                      Cindi L. Markwell
      CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE                 SECRETARY OF
      OF REPRESENTATIVES                         THE SENATE
      
      
      
      
                  APPROVED________________________________________
      
      
      
      
      
                                    _________________________________________
                                    John W. Hickenlooper
                                    GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO