SB517: Bill Text

LRB-4789/1

MDK:kmg:km

1997 - 1998 LEGISLATURE

1997 Senate BILL 517

March 19, 1998 - Introduced by Senator Burke, cosponsored by Representative R. Potter. Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Environmental Resources.

SB517,1,11 An Act to amend 196.374 (1); and to create 15.07 (1) (a) 7., 15.07 (1) (d), 15.792, 20.155 (1m), 25.17 (1) (kx), 25.96, 196.374 (4), 196.378 and 196.96 of the statutes; relating to: establishing programs for low-income energy assistance, improving energy conservation and efficiency markets and encouraging the development and use of renewable resources, creating a public benefits and energy assistance board, establishing a public benefits and energy assistance fund, requiring electric utilities and retail cooperatives to charge access fees to customers and members, imposing requirements on the use of renewable resources by electric and gas utilities and cooperatives, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, making appropriations and providing a penalty.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill creates a public benefits and energy assistance board (board), which is required to establish and administer programs for providing energy assistance to low-income households and conservation and efficiency services to eligible recipients and for encouraging the development and use of renewable energy resources. The bill also imposes certain requirements on the generation of electricity from renewable energy resources by public utilities and retail cooperative associations.

Public benefits and energy assistance board

The board, which is attached to the public service commission (PSC), is required to establish programs for each of the following: 1) assisting low-income households with weatherization and energy conservation services and payment of energy bills (low-income assistance programs); 2) providing energy conservation and efficiency services to eligible recipients (conservation programs); and 3) encouraging the development and use of renewable energy resources (renewables programs). The board must hold a hearing before establishing the programs. Interested persons, including members of the public, may intervene in a hearing and, under certain circumstances, receive compensation from the PSC for the reasonable costs of intervention.

The bill requires the division of housing in DOA to contract with certain nonprofit or governmental entities for the administration of the low-income assistance programs. The board may contract with the same types of entities for the administration of the conservation and renewables programs. Under the low-income assistance programs, in each fiscal year, no less than the difference between $50,000,000 and the amount of funding received by the state under certain federal low-income assistance and weatherization programs (federal programs) must be used for purposes other than paying energy bills. The bill also specifies the minimum amounts that must be used for certain purposes under the conservation and renewables programs.

The programs established by the board are funded by an access fee that the board collects from nonmunicipal electric public utilities, which must charge the access fees to their customers. Municipal electric public utilities and retail electric cooperatives (municipal utilities and cooperatives) are also required to charge an access fee to their customers or members. Every 3 years, a municipal utility or cooperative may elect to contribute all or a specified portion of the access fees to the board for the programs established by the board. A municipal utility or cooperative that does not elect to contribute all of the access fees to the board must spend specified portions of the access fees on its own "commitment to community programs", which are defined as low-income assistance programs, energy conservation programs and programs for promoting the welfare of communities that include the municipal utility's or cooperative's customers or members.

The bill directs the board to determine the amount of an access fee that must be charged by nonmunicipal public utilities, municipal utilities and cooperatives. Each municipal utility and cooperative must charge an access fee that is sufficient for the utility or cooperative to collect an annual average of $13.16 per meter for each customer or member. However, for the period ending on June 30, 2008, the amount of the access fee paid by an individual customer or member may not exceed 3% of the total of every other charge that is billed to the customer or member during that period.

For nonmunicipal utilities, the board must determine the amount of the access fee as follows. In fiscal year 1998-99, a portion of the access fee must be in an amount that is sufficient for the board to collect from the nonmunicipal electric utilities the amount that results from subtracting the sum of the following from $105,000,000: 1) the amount received by the state under the federal programs; and 2) 50% of the access fees charged by municipal utilities and cooperatives. For fiscal years after 1998-99, the amount is determined by subtracting the same amounts from an amount of low-income need that is determined by the board. The remaining portion of the access fee must be sufficient for the board to collect from nonmunicipal utilities the amount that results from subtracting the sum of the following from $112,000,000: 1) the amount of funding received under the federal programs; and 2) 20% of the access fees charged by municipal utilities and cooperatives. After fiscal year 2000-01, the board may reduce the amount that must be collected from the remaining portion of the access fee if the board discontinues or reduces any of the conservation or renewables programs. The total access fee paid by a customer of a nonmunicipal utility is subject to the same 3% limit that applies to an access fee paid by a customer or member of a municipal utility or cooperative.

The bill also requires certain electric utilities to spend a portion of the access fees on energy conservation programs, rather than paying the entire amount to the board. Under current law, certain electric utilities are required to spend at least 0.5% of their annual operating revenues on energy conservation programs. The bill requires instead that, through fiscal year 2001-02, such electric utilities must spend a specified portion of the access fees on energy conservation programs. After fiscal year 2001-02, the electric utilities are not required to spend a portion of the access fees on energy conservation programs, but must pay the entire amount to the board.

The bill imposes other requirements on the board's programs and the commitment to community programs, including the following:

1. The bill requires public utilities to allow electric customers to make contributions to the board's programs or the commitment to community programs.

2. For purposes of determining whether a municipal utility or cooperative has spent a required amount on a commitment to community program, the bill allows a municipal utility or cooperative to receive credit for any spending by its wholesale electric supplier on the supplier's own commitment to community programs.

3. The bill imposes certain reporting requirements on municipal utilities and cooperatives that spend access fees on commitment to community programs.

Renewable energy resources

Under this bill, a certain percentage of the electricity generated by a public utility or retail cooperative association must be generated from renewable energy resources. The percentage is calculated on the basis of a public utility's or retail cooperative association's "system peak load share", which is defined as the amount of electricity that the public utility or retail cooperative association delivered to its customers or members at that time during the summer of 1996 that the maximum amount of electricity was delivered to all customers and members of all public utilities and retail cooperative associations. The following percentages of a public utility's or retail cooperative association's system peak load share must be generated from renewable resources: 1% by December 31, 2000; 1.5% by December 31, 2002; 2% by December 31, 2004; 2.5% by December 31, 2006; 3% by December 31, 2008; and 4% by December 31, 2010.

The bill allows a municipal public utility or retail cooperative association to receive a credit for the amount of electricity generated from renewable resources by its wholesale supplier. In addition, the bill allows public utilities and retail cooperative associations to purchase credits from other public utilities and retail cooperative associations that generate electricity from renewable resources in excess of the required percentages of system peak load share. A public utility or retail cooperative association that purchases such a credit may use the credit for purposes of determining whether it satisfies a required percentage. The PSC must promulgate rules establishing requirements and procedures for sales of such credits.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB517, s. 1 Section 1. 15.07 (1) (a) 7. of the statutes is created to read:

SB517,4,4 15.07 (1) (a) 7. Members of the public benefits and energy assistance board appointed under s. 15.792 (1) (b) or (c) shall be appointed as provided in s. 15.792 (1) (b) or (c) without senate confirmation.

SB517, s. 2 Section 2. 15.07 (1) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

SB517,4,8 15.07 (1) (d) Except as provided in s. 15.792 (1) (b) 5. or 8. or (c), no member appointed to the public benefits and energy assistance board may be an employe of a utility, as defined in 196.374 (1).

SB517, s. 3 Section 3. 15.792 of the statutes is created to read:

SB517,4,11 15.792 Same; attached board. Public benefits and energy assistance board. (1) (a) In this subsection:

SB517,4,12 1. "Electric utility" has the meaning given in s. 196.96 (1) (f).

SB517,4,13 2. "Low-income household" has the meaning given in s. 196.96 (1) (L).

SB517,4,14 3. "Municipal utility" has the meaning given in s. 196.96 (1) (p).

SB517,5,1 4. "Renewable resource" has the meaning given in s. 196.378 (1) (g).

SB517,5,2 5. "Retail cooperative" has the meaning given in s. 196.96 (1) (r).

SB517,5,3 6. "Small business" has the meaning given in s. 16.75 (4) (c).

SB517,5,5 7. "Small business representative" means a director, manager, member, officer, owner or partner of a small business.

SB517,5,8 (b) There is created a public benefits and energy assistance board that is attached to the public service commission under s. 15.03. The board shall consist of the following members appointed for 3-year terms:

SB517,5,10 1. One member appointed by the governor who is a member of a low-income household or who represents a low-income household advocacy group.

SB517,5,13 2. One member appointed by the president of the senate who is a residential electric utility customer or who represents a residential electric utility customer advocacy group.

SB517,5,15 3. One member appointed by the governor who is a small business representative or who represents a small business advocacy group.

SB517,5,17 4. One member appointed by the president of the senate who represents an environmental or renewable resource advocacy group.

SB517,5,20 5. One member appointed by the president of the senate who represents of a municipal utility or retail cooperative or municipal utility or retail cooperative advocacy group.

SB517,5,22 6. One member appointed by the speaker of the assembly who is a member of a low-income household or who represents a low-income household advocacy group.

SB517,5,24 7. One member appointed by the speaker of the assembly who represents an environmental or renewable resource advocacy group.

SB517,6,2 8. One member appointed by the speaker of the assembly who represents an electric utility or electric utility advocacy group.

SB517,6,4 9. One member appointed by the chairperson of the public service commission to represent the public service commission.

SB517,6,6 10. One member appointed by the secretary of natural resources to represent the department of natural resources.

SB517,6,8 11. One member appointed by the administrator of the division of housing in the department of administration to represent the division of housing.