LRB-2130/1
MDK:kjf:pg
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
May 21, 2007 - Introduced by Joint Legislative Council. Referred to Committee
on Energy and Utilities.
AB347,1,3
1An Act to amend 196.491 (3) (dm) of the statutes;
relating to: requiring the
2Public Service Commission to investigate future electric supplies after the
3operating licenses of nuclear power plants in the state expire.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill is explained in the Note provided by the Joint Legislative Council in
the bill.
For further information see the state 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:
Joint Legislative Council prefatory note: This bill was prepared for the Joint
Legislative Council's Special Committee on Nuclear Power. The bill directs the Public
Service Commission (PSC) to undertake an investigation of alternative strategies that
the state could pursue to meet the anticipated demand for electricity in 2033, by which
date it is expected that the operating licenses of the nuclear power plants currently
operating in Wisconsin will have expired. The investigation must be based on the
development of scenarios that project in the forecast period the total demand for
electricity and the proportions of electricity that are expected to be generated by different
types of fuel. The bill specifies certain elements and assumptions that the PSC must
incorporate into the design and preparation of these scenarios.
The bill directs the PSC to appoint a committee to advise the PSC on the
investigation and its report on the investigation. The bill requires the Energy Institute
of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to assist the PSC in conducting the investigation.
The bill directs the PSC to submit its report on the investigation to the legislature within
18 months after the bill's effective date.
The bill provides that, in making a determination necessary for the PSC to approve
a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for a new large power plant or
high-voltage transmission line, the PSC may not consider a factual conclusion in the
PSC's report on the investigation unless the conclusion is independently corroborated in
the PSC's hearing on the CPCN application.
AB347, s. 1
1Section
1. 196.491 (3) (dm) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB347,2,52
196.491
(3) (dm) In making a determination required under par. (d), the
3commission may not consider a factual conclusion in a strategic energy assessment
4or the report required under 2007 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 2 (6), unless
5the conclusion is independently corroborated in the hearing under par. (b).
AB347,2,77
(1) In this section, "commission" means the public service commission.
AB347,2,168
(2) The commission shall undertake an investigation of alternative strategies
9that the state could pursue to meet the expected demand for electricity in the state
10in 2033, which is the final year in which the operating licenses of the nuclear power
11plants in Wisconsin are set or expected to expire. The study shall be designed to
12provide guidance to the commission, the legislature, and the electric power industry
13in formulating policy and conducting planning regarding the future sources of
14electric power that will be available in this state, including intermediate and
15longer-term strategies for achieving alternative outcomes identified in the
16investigation.
AB347,2,2117
(3) The commission shall base the investigation under subsection (2
) on the
18development of scenarios that project in the forecast period the total demand for
19electricity and the proportions of electricity that are expected to be generated by
20different types of fuels. The commission shall do all of the following in designing and
21preparing these scenarios:
AB347,3,5
1(a) Incorporate appropriate factors, including the continuation of a reliable and
2adequate supply of electricity, the expected retirement of existing electric generating
3facilities, and construction of new electric generating facilities, the importation of
4electricity into the state, and expected improvements in the electric transmission
5system.
AB347,3,86
(b) Include scenarios that include electric generating technologies that use coal
7as a fuel and produce no or minimal emissions of carbon dioxide, that use nuclear fuel
8in advanced light water reactors, and that use both types of technologies.
AB347,3,149
(c) Base the scenarios on the assumed implementation of a range of energy
10efficiency programs, ranging from continuation of the current programs to
11implementation of programs that produce the maximum energy savings foreseen by
12the commission, and of a range of regulatory programs that result in an effective cost
13of air emissions of carbon dioxide ranging from $0 per ton to the highest amount per
14ton foreseen by the commission.
AB347,3,1715
(d) Identify the expected economic costs and environmental impacts of each
16scenario using established methodologies that facilitate comparisons of the
17scenarios.
AB347,3,2018
(4) The commission shall appoint an advisory committee under section 15.04
19(1) (c) of the statutes to assist in the investigation and report required under this
20section.
AB347,3,2221
(5) The Energy Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shall assist
22the commission in conducting the investigation under this section
.
AB347,4,223
(6) The commission shall prepare a report on the results of its investigation
24under this section and shall submit the report to the legislature in the manner
1provided under section 13.172 (3) of the statutes, no later than the first day of the
219th month beginning after the effective date of this subsection.
