Benton PUD Commission supports House Bill 2124 and Senate Bill 5964 - August 2011

The Commissioners of Benton PUD passed a resolution of support for two legislative bills. House Bill 2124 and Senate Bill 5964 were introduced to revise the Energy Independence Act (EIA).  The bills would clarify that if a utility has excess energy under current contracts, then the utility has the option to choose not to buy unneeded energy or renewable energy credits as required by the EIA.  As a utility grows and needs to add energy to meet growing customer needs, the new resources must meet the EIA requirements. The bills were introduced at the end of the 2011 Washington State Legislative session.

Benton PUD and Franklin PUD Commissions held a joint hearing to receive input from customers on the two bills.  Over 50 people attended with 16 people speaking in support of the proposed legislation.

The EIA was the result of Initiative 937 approved by voters in 2006 with the intent to increase energy conservation and renewable energy resources.  It requires an electric utility with 25,000 or more customers to use eligible renewable resources to meet a portion of its load (3% in 2012, 9% in 2016, and 15% in 2020) and to acquire all cost effective conservation starting in 2010.  The initiative failed to pass in Benton and Franklin counties.

“We feel these two bills do not change in the intent of the Initiative.  Benton PUD will continue to be an advocate for renewable power and conservation but we should be able to purchase new renewables to fulfill our customer’s need in the most cost-effective way,” said Bob Bertsch, Benton PUD Commissioner.  “As always, we must protect our utility from unnecessary additional costs and our customers from unwanted and unneeded rate increases.”

The unintended consequence of the EIA is utilities are required to purchase additional renewable power (or equivalent credits) even if additional power is not needed to serve customers - in many cases displacing clean, renewable hydropower and disincentivising energy conservation.