HB 382: "An Act creating the Railbelt Electrical System Authority; and relating to the duties of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 382 01 "An Act creating the Railbelt Electrical System Authority; and relating to the duties of 02 the Regulatory Commission of Alaska." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 42.05 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Article 9A. Railbelt Electrical System Authority. 06 Sec. 42.05.900. Creation of authority. The commission shall establish the 07 Railbelt Electrical System Authority for the purpose of developing a reasonable plan 08 to manage the electric transmission and generation system of the Railbelt area; 09 determining objectively the optimal output of electrical generation facilities to meet 10 the system load at the lowest possible cost, subject to transmission and operational 11 constraints of the Railbelt area; and consolidating operations and tariffs for the 12 Railbelt area. The authority is a division of the commission. 13 Sec. 42.05.910. Board. (a) The commission shall establish a board of directors 14 to govern the authority. The commission shall appoint members to the board from a
01 wide range of stakeholders. A board member shall have applied experience, 02 demonstrated competence, or expert understanding in the member's relevant field. 03 (b) The board is composed of 16 members, including 04 (1) 13 voting members, as follows: 05 (A) at least one member representing the Railbelt utilities; 06 (B) at least one member representing independent power 07 producers or renewable energy interests in the Railbelt area of the state; 08 (C) at least one member representing residential electrical 09 consumers in the Railbelt area of the state; 10 (D) at least one member representing commercial and industrial 11 electrical consumers in the Railbelt area of the state; 12 (E) at least one member with tax or finance experience; 13 (F) at least one member representing a municipality in the 14 Railbelt area of the state; and 15 (G) at least two at-large members; and 16 (2) three ex officio nonvoting members, as follows: 17 (A) one member representing the commission; 18 (B) one member representing the Alaska Energy Authority; and 19 (C) one member representing an existing electrical 20 transmission organization. 21 (c) The percentage of the Railbelt utility members on the board during the 22 following periods may not exceed 23 (1) 40 percent of the voting members in the first five calendar years 24 following formation of the board; 25 (2) 25 percent of the voting members in the sixth, seventh, eighth, 26 ninth, and 10th calendar years following formation of the board; and 27 (3) eight percent of the voting members after the 10th calendar year 28 following formation of the board. 29 Sec. 42.05.920. Powers and duties. (a) The authority shall, for the Railbelt 30 area and subject to the approval of the commission, 31 (1) adopt rules to
01 (A) manage a unified transmission system, with the goal of 02 optimizing the output of electrical generation facilities in the area to meet the 03 system load at the lowest possible cost through a system of merit order 04 economic dispatch; 05 (B) establish and administer a transparent and universal 06 transmission tariff; 07 (C) establish and enforce nondiscriminatory open access to the 08 transmission system; 09 (D) establish and enforce interconnection standards and 10 protocols; 11 (E) establish and implement regional transmission planning 12 criteria and protocols; 13 (F) establish and implement regional generation planning 14 criteria and protocols; 15 (G) establish and enforce reliability standards; 16 (2) authorize interconnections and the construction, development, or 17 expansion of a transmission project; 18 (3) create a long-term regional plan for the Railbelt transmission 19 system that provides for upgrades and regional cooperation and update the plan from 20 time to time; 21 (4) create a long-term regional plan for the Railbelt generation system 22 that provides for upgrades and regional cooperation and update the plan from time to 23 time. 24 (b) In developing rules and authorizing interconnection and transmission 25 projects under (a) of this section, the authority shall, to the greatest extent possible, 26 (1) adhere to nationally recognized reliability and interconnection 27 standards; 28 (2) use existing transmission and interconnection infrastructure; 29 (3) provide nondiscriminatory access and service. 30 (c) The authority may not own assets in excess of $100,000. 31 (d) The commission shall provide personnel to establish and staff the
01 authority. To the extent allowed by law, the commission may recover the costs 02 incurred as a result of this subsection through regulatory cost charges. 03 Sec. 42.05.950. Definition. In AS 42.05.900 - 42.05.950, "authority" means 04 the Railbelt Electrical System Authority. 05 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RAILBELT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AUTHORITY. 08 The Regulatory Commission of Alaska shall, before January 1, 2019, establish an 09 organizational and governance structure for the Railbelt Electrical System Authority created 10 under AS 42.05.900, enacted by sec. 1 of this Act.