SB349: AN ACT relating to energy policy and declaring an emergency.

Legislative Summary

Creates a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to make findings and declarations; defines terms; establishes the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission and administratively attaches it to the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK CAER); provides for membership of the commission board and executive committee; provides for gubernatorial appointments of members of the commission board and executive committee and requires Senate confirmation of those appointments; requires the election of two of the executive committee members by the commission board from the board membership; provides for commission and executive committee terms; prohibits the compensation of members; makes members subject to the requirements of the executive branch code of ethics; provides for the election of the commission chair and vice chair; allows the executive committee to adopt bylaws governing the conduct of the commission’s business; prohibits direct financial relationship between a member of the executive committee and a utility; prohibits a member from serving if it would cause a conflict with or result in the disclosure of confidential information relating to any research projects at UK CAER; requires recusal and replacement of an executive committee member to prevent disclosure of confidential information; prohibits the Governor from reorganizing the commission or executive committee; allows the commission to employ an executive director, subject to confirmation by the Senate; provides for the duties of the commission, which shall include the examination and study of energy generation related topics and review of the decommissioning notices given by utilities as required by the Act; requires that the commission submit annual reports on December 1 to the Legislative Research Commission, the Governor, and the Public Service Commission to make recommendations based on the issues that the commission has examined; requires any utility seeking to retire any existing coal, oil, or natural gas-fired electric generating plant to give notice to the executive committee no later than 180 days before submitting a retirement application to the Public Service Commission as required under KRS 278.264; provides for the requirements of the notice; prohibits the disclosure of confidential information as part of the notice; requires that, within 90 days of receiving a notice, the commission hold a public hearing in the county where the retirement is proposed to occur; requires that, within 135 days of receiving notice and after the public hearing has occurred, the executive committee submit a final report with written findings and recommendations regarding the retirement to the Public Service Commission; provides for inclusion of the executive committee’s written report and any dissenting findings in any retirement application made to the Public Service Commission, which shall consider the findings before approving a retirement under KRS 278.264; requires that the executive committee or executive director, if authorized by the executive committee, have standing to intervene in any case or proceeding before the Public Service Commission; allows the executive committee to employ administrative staff or third-party consultants if funding is available; requires that the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission cease to exist on December 31, 2035; creates a new section of KRS 278.010 to 278.450 to require the Public Service Commission to issue final orders within eight months of the filing of an application by a utility; amends KRS 278.110 to require that final reports of investigations or special inquiries be filed within the public record for the case for which it was prepared; requires that the contracted person be subject to written information requests and cross-examination in any public hearing for the case in which the report was prepared; amends KRS 278.264 to require that an application for the retirement of an electric generating unit include a statement certifying compliance with the requirements of Section 1 of this Act; requires that the Public Service Commission find, in order to overcome the rebuttable presumption against the retirement, that a utility seeking to retire an electric generating unit will replace it with new electric generating capacity that has the same or higher capacity value and net capability, unless the utility can demonstrate that it is not necessary; requires that the Public Service Commission find, in order to overcome the rebuttable presumption against the retirement, that the retirement will not commence until the replacement generating capacity is fully constructed, permitted, and in operation, unless the utility can demonstrate that it is necessary to commence the retirement earlier; defines “dispatchable” and “intermittent”; and provides for the staggering of initial appointments to the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission; EMERGENCY.