Senate Bill sb1202
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 1202
By Senator Bennett
21-623-05
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the provision of electric
3 power; amending s. 366.05, F.S.; requiring
4 findings by the Public Service Commission
5 before a public utility constructs a power
6 plant or buys certain power from a third party;
7 requiring a public utility to purchase
8 wholesale power under certain conditions;
9 amending s. 403.503, F.S.; adding gas and
10 combined cycle facilities to the power plants
11 that are subject to the Florida Electrical
12 Power Plant Siting Act; amending s. 403.506,
13 F.S.; providing for application of the act to
14 steam-generating plants; applying the act's
15 certification requirement to facilities that
16 alter or add certain steam generating capacity
17 to an existing plant; specifying that the
18 replacement of an existing turbine is an
19 alteration rather than a modification; amending
20 s. 403.5175, F.S.; requiring that a
21 determination of need by the Public Service
22 Commission be included in an application for
23 power plant certification which seeks a certain
24 increase in steam-generating capacity at an
25 existing plant; providing an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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29 Section 1. Subsection (12) is added to section 366.05,
30 Florida Statutes, to read:
31 366.05 Powers.--
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 1202
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1 (12) In order to ensure that each public utility that
2 produces or purchases power complies with its obligations
3 under s. 366.03 regarding fair and reasonable rates and
4 charges, each public utility shall:
5 (a) Seek and receive commission approval before
6 constructing an electric power plant as defined in s. 403.503,
7 procuring capacity in an amount greater than 150 megawatts
8 from a third-party supplier, or procuring capacity for a term
9 longer than 1 year from a third-party supplier. The commission
10 may not grant approval unless it finds that:
11 1. The utility seeking approval conducted a publicly
12 announced fair and competitive procurement process that was
13 monitored for fairness and evaluated for cost-effectiveness by
14 an independent evaluator appointed by the commission; and
15 2. The decision to construct or procure by the utility
16 seeking approval is the most cost-effective alternative for
17 the customers of the utility.
18 (b) Purchase energy from third-party suppliers when
19 such power is available for purchase on the wholesale market
20 at prices that make it less costly for the utility to buy the
21 power than to produce it, taking into consideration to the
22 greatest extent possible the utility's purchasing obligations
23 under the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act.
24 Section 2. Subsection (12) of section 403.503, Florida
25 Statutes, is amended to read:
26 403.503 Definitions relating to Florida Electrical
27 Power Plant Siting Act.--As used in this act:
28 (12) "Electrical power plant" means, for the purpose
29 of certification, any gas, steam, combined-cycle, or solar
30 electrical generating facility using any process or fuel,
31 including nuclear materials, and includes associated
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 1202
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1 facilities which directly support the construction and
2 operation of the electrical power plant and those associated
3 transmission lines which connect the electrical power plant to
4 an existing transmission network or rights-of-way to which the
5 applicant intends to connect, except that this term does not
6 include any gas, steam, combined-cycle, or solar electrical
7 generating facility of less than 75 megawatts in capacity
8 unless the applicant for such a facility elects to apply for
9 certification under this act. An associated transmission line
10 may include, at the applicant's option, any proposed terminal
11 or intermediate substations or substation expansions connected
12 to the associated transmission line.
13 Section 3. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 403.506,
14 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
15 403.506 Applicability and certification.--
16 (1) The provisions of This act applies shall apply to
17 any electrical power plant as defined herein, except that this
18 the provisions of this act does shall not apply to any
19 electrical power plant or steam generating plant of less than
20 75 megawatts in capacity or to any substation to be
21 constructed as part of an associated transmission line unless
22 the applicant elects has elected to apply for certification of
23 such plant or substation under this act. No construction of
24 any new electrical power plant or addition or alteration of
25 the expansion in steam generating capacity of any existing
26 electrical power plant which increases such capacity at that
27 plant by an amount equal to or greater than 75 megawatts may
28 be undertaken after October 1, 1973, without first obtaining
29 certification in the manner as herein provided, except that
30 this act shall not apply to any such electrical power plant
31 which is presently operating or under construction or which
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 1202
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1 has, upon the effective date of chapter 73-33, Laws of
2 Florida, applied for a permit or certification under
3 requirements in force prior to the effective date of such act.
4 (2) Except as provided in the certification,
5 modification of nonnuclear fuels, internal related hardware,
6 or operating conditions not in conflict with certification
7 which increase the electrical output of a unit to no greater
8 capacity than the maximum operating capacity of the existing
9 generator do shall not constitute an alteration or addition to
10 generating capacity which requires certification pursuant to
11 this act. For the purpose of this subsection, replacement of
12 an existing gas, steam, or combined cycle turbine is an
13 alteration and not a modification.
14 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 403.5175, Florida
15 Statutes, is amended to read:
16 403.5175 Existing electrical power plant site
17 certification.--
18 (1) An electric utility that owns or operates an
19 existing electrical power plant as defined in s. 403.503(12)
20 may apply for certification of an existing power plant and its
21 site in order to obtain all agency licenses necessary to
22 assure compliance with federal or state environmental laws and
23 regulation using the centrally coordinated, one-stop licensing
24 process established by this part. An application for site
25 certification under this section must be in the form
26 prescribed by department rule. Applications must be reviewed
27 and processed in accordance with ss. 403.5064-403.5115, except
28 that a determination of need by the Public Service Commission
29 is not required unless the application seeks certification of
30 an addition or alteration of the steam-generating capacity of
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 1202
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1 an existing power plant which would increase such capacity in
2 that plant by an amount that equals or exceeds 75 megawatts.
3 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.
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6 SENATE SUMMARY
7 Requires findings by the Public Service Commission before
a public utility constructs a power plant or buys certain
8 power from a third party. Requires a public utility to
purchase wholesale power under certain conditions. Adds
9 gas and combined-cycle facilities to the power plants
subject to the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act.
10 Removes steam generating plants from application of that
act. Applies the act's certification requirement to
11 facilities that alter or add certain steam-generating
capacity to an existing plant.
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