Web posted
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Details of House energy legislation outlined
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Details of the energy bill receiving first-round approval Monday in the House:
SUNFLOWER CHANGES
-- The provisions are a response to the decision in October by Rod Bremby, secretary of health and environment, to deny a permit to Sunflower Electric Power Corp. for two 700-megawatt coal-fired power plants outside Holcomb.
-- The secretary would be required to reconsider any permit decision made on an application submitted between Jan. 1, 2006, and the day the legislation takes effect, if that permit is still subject to administrative or judicial proceedings. Sunflower's permit application fits the description.
-- The utility would have 60 days to reapply for its permit, and the secretary would have 15 days to act.
-- The secretary of health and environment could not reject a permit when all requirements of the state's existing air-quality laws have been met by a utility. Such a provision would have required Bremby to approve a permit for Sunflower.
-- The secretary could not impose air-quality standards that are stricter than those in federal law without legislative approval.
POLLUTION CONTROL
-- If a utility started construction on a new power plant after Jan. 1, that plant must use the best available technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions.
-- If a utility builds a new coal-fired plant or upgrades an existing plant, it must remove 80 percent or more of the mercury from its coal.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Utilities would be required to generate 5 percent of their electricity from renewable resources, such as wind, by 2012. They'd have to generate 10 percent from renewable resources by 2020. Previous language set higher percentages but tied them to utilities' generating capacity, rather than actual production of power.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
-- The state would provide income tax credits to landlords who make homes, duplexes or apartments they rent more energy efficient. The tax credit would be $100 for each unit in which new insulation is installed and $300 for each rental home in which new heating or air conditioning systems are installed. Supporters expect the credits to total between $2.5 million and $3 million a year.
-- Starting in 2010, fuel efficiency standards for vehicles purchased by the state would have to be 10 percent higher than they were in 2007, if it were cost-effective.
-- Office products and equipment purchased by the state, including computers, appliances, light fixtures and light bulbs, would have to meet efficiency standards set by the federal government, if energy savings made their use cost-effective.
-- The Department of Administration would be required to collect data on energy consumption and costs for all property owned and leased by the state and submit a report to the 2009 Legislature. The goal is to identify locations using excessive energy.
-- The state could not lease space or renew a lease on property not owned by the state unless the owners conducted an energy audit.
-- The Kansas Corporation Commission would be required to ''strongly encourage'' state agencies to participate in a program to make their facilities more energy efficient by Dec. 1, 2010.
-- State buildings constructed or after July 1, 2009, would have to meet energy efficiency standards at least 10 percent lower than those established by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air conditioning Engineers. Meters would have to meet standards set by the federal government in 2005.
-- The same efficiency standards would apply, where possible, to buildings renovated after that date.
NET METERING
-- The following provisions apply to utility customers who have their own solar-powered generating systems, which capacities of 100 kilowatts or less.
-- For such customers, a utility must make available a program for ''net metering,'' available if the applications for a program come from customers who consume 1 percent or more of the utility's power during a peak service hour.
-- In such a program, a utility must measure how much power a customer uses against how much power that customer's solar-powered system generates. If the net figure is positive, that's what the utility would bill the customer for. If it's negative, the customer would receive a credit equal to 1.5 times the cost of the fuel not used by the utility.
ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES
-- Any member-owned company selling electricity to retail or wholesale customers could exempt itself from state regulation of its rates, unless its customers file a petition with the KCC. The exemption must be approved by a cooperative's members.
-- Such provisions now apply to cooperatives with fewer than 15,000 customers.
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Source: House Sub for SB 327.
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