2023 Wyoming Statutes › Title 37 - Public Utilities › Chapter 2 - Public Service Commission › Article 1 - In General › Section 37-2-133 - Exemption for Purchase of Coal Fired Generation Facilities That Would Otherwise Have Been Retired; Public Utility Purchase Requirements; Conditions for Exemption.

37-2-133. Exemption for purchase of coal fired generation facilities that would otherwise have been retired; public utility purchase requirements; conditions for exemption.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of this chapter and chapters 1 and 3 of this title shall not apply to a person who operates a coal fired electric generation facility purchased under an agreement approved by the commission under W.S. 37-3-117.
(b) Electric public utilities, other than cooperative electric utilities, shall be obligated to purchase electricity generated from a coal fired electric generation facility purchased under agreement approved by the commission under W.S. 37-3-117 provided that:
(i) The person purchasing the otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility offers to sell some or all of the electricity from the facility to an electric public utility;
(ii) The electricity is sold at a price that is no greater than the purchasing electric utility's avoided cost as may be determined by the commission;
(iii) The electricity is sold under a power purchase agreement with a specified term length and such other terms and conditions as may be approved by the commission; and
(iv) The commission approves a one hundred percent (100%) cost recovery in rates for the cost of the power purchase agreement and the agreement is one hundred percent (100%) allocated to the public utility's Wyoming customers unless otherwise agreed to by the public utility.
(c) In determining an electric public utility's avoided costs under this section, the commission may consider:
(i) The value of the electric energy and capacity generated from the facility;
(ii) The value of any reliability benefits associated with the operation of the facility; and
(iii) Any other factor deemed appropriate by the commission.
(d) The commission may elect to set the avoided cost price and other terms and conditions for the purchase of electricity from an otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility in advance of the facility's proposed retirement date to permit potential purchasers to know the avoided cost price and other terms and conditions for sales from that facility prior to entering into an agreement to purchase the facility.
(e) As used in this section, "avoided cost" means the incremental costs to an electric utility of electric energy or capacity or both which, but for the purchase from the otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility, the utility would generate itself or incur in a purchase from another source. As may be determined by the commission, avoided costs may change over the course of an approved power purchase agreement at specified intervals set forth in the power purchase agreement.
(f) A person purchasing an otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility may sell electricity generated by the facility to the electric public utility selling the otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility, except for a cooperative or municipal public utility, for the benefit of a retail customer located in the existing service territory of that electric public utility provided that the customer has more than one (1) megawatt average demand and takes service at a primary or transmission voltage level.
(g) If an electric utility purchases electricity from the owner of an otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility for the benefit of an eligible retail customer, the utility serving that eligible retail customer shall purchase the electricity at a cost and under terms and conditions that are acceptable to and negotiated between the customer and the owner of the otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility. The electric public utility shall pass that cost through to the customer without markup or modification except:
(i) For the collection of applicable taxes and the appropriate uniform assessment, which shall be collected pursuant to W.S. 37-2-106 through 37-2-109;
(ii) To ensure other Wyoming customers are not negatively impacted by the arrangement provided for in this subsection and subsection (f) of this section, the commission shall also authorize the utility to impose additional charges on participating retail customers to the extent the commission determines that a sale of electricity under this subsection and subsection (f) of this section will result in the utility experiencing incremental stranded generation capacity costs or other incremental costs except for the cost of any undepreciated investments associated with the otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility.
(h) An eligible retail customer under subsection (g) of this section shall only receive electricity as provided in subsection (g) of this section from the owner of an otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility if the customer also purchases partial requirements or equivalent service from the electric public utility under rates, terms and conditions set by the commission to compensate the public utility for its costs.