Florida Senate - 2013                                     SB 498
       
       
       
       By Senator Thompson
       
       
       
       
       12-00866-13                                            2013498__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to renewable energy producers;
    3         amending s. 366.02, F.S.; revising the definition of
    4         the term “public utility” to exclude certain producers
    5         of renewable energy; amending s. 366.91, F.S.;
    6         requiring public utilities to purchase electricity
    7         from renewable energy producers at a certain rate;
    8         providing an effective date.
    9  
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 366.02, Florida
   13  Statutes, is amended to read:
   14         366.02 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
   15         (1) “Public utility” means every person, corporation,
   16  partnership, association, or other legal entity and their
   17  lessees, trustees, or receivers supplying electricity or gas
   18  (natural, manufactured, or similar gaseous substance) to or for
   19  the public within this state; but the term “public utility” does
   20  not include either a cooperative now or hereafter organized and
   21  existing under the Rural Electric Cooperative Law of the state;
   22  a municipality or any agency thereof; an entity that produces
   23  and sells no more than 5 megawatt hours per hour of renewable
   24  energy, as defined in s. 366.91(2), to users of that renewable
   25  energy located on property that is adjacent to, contiguous with,
   26  or located within 1/2 mile of where the renewable energy is
   27  produced; any dependent or independent special natural gas
   28  district; any natural gas transmission pipeline company making
   29  only sales or transportation delivery of natural gas at
   30  wholesale and to direct industrial consumers; any entity selling
   31  or arranging for sales of natural gas which neither owns nor
   32  operates natural gas transmission or distribution facilities
   33  within the state; or a person supplying liquefied petroleum gas,
   34  in either liquid or gaseous form, irrespective of the method of
   35  distribution or delivery, or owning or operating facilities
   36  beyond the outlet of a meter through which natural gas is
   37  supplied for compression and delivery into motor vehicle fuel
   38  tanks or other transportation containers, unless such person
   39  also supplies electricity or manufactured or natural gas.
   40         Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 366.91, Florida
   41  Statutes, is amended to read:
   42         366.91 Renewable energy.—
   43         (3) On or before January 1, 2006, Each public utility must
   44  continuously offer a purchase contract to producers of renewable
   45  energy. The commission shall establish requirements relating to
   46  the purchase of capacity and energy by public utilities from
   47  renewable energy producers and may adopt rules to administer
   48  this section. The contract shall contain payment provisions for
   49  energy at the same rate that the public utility sells energy to
   50  ratepayers and capacity which are based upon the utility’s full
   51  avoided costs, as defined in s. 366.051; however, capacity
   52  payments are not required if, due to the operational
   53  characteristics of the renewable energy generator or the
   54  anticipated peak and off-peak availability and capacity factor
   55  of the utility’s avoided unit, the producer is unlikely to
   56  provide any capacity value to the utility or the electric grid
   57  during the contract term. Each contract must provide a contract
   58  term of at least 10 years. Prudent and reasonable costs
   59  associated with a renewable energy contract shall be recovered
   60  from the ratepayers of the contracting utility, without
   61  differentiation among customer classes, through the appropriate
   62  cost-recovery clause mechanism administered by the commission.
   63         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.