Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-100 - Electric companies › Part VII - GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS › Section 480-100-405 - Electrical company generation resource compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions performance standard

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
				No electrical company may enter into a long-term financial commitment after
				June 30, 2008, for the supply of baseload generation unless such generation
				complies with the greenhouse gas emissions performance standard. Electrical
				companies bear the burden to prove compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions
				performance standard under the requirements of WAC
				480-100-415 or as part of a
				general rate case. For electrical companies that fail to carry their burden of
				proof, the commission may disallow recovery of some or all costs in rates,
				impose penalties, or take such other action as is consistent with law.
				Electrical companies seeking to prove compliance with the greenhouse gas
				emissions standard as part of a general rate case must submit all of the
				information specified in WAC
				480-100-415. This chapter does
				not apply to any long-term financial commitment with the Bonneville power
				administration.
(2) The following
				definitions apply for purposes of this section, WAC
				480-100-415,
				480-100-425, and
				480-100-435:
(a) "Baseload electric generation" means
				electric generation from a power plant that is designed and intended to provide
				electricity at an annualized plant capacity factor of at least sixty
				percent.
(b) "Electricity from
				unspecified sources" means electricity that is to be delivered in Washington
				pursuant to a long-term financial commitment entered into by an electrical
				company and whose sources or origins of generation and expected average annual
				deliveries cannot be ascertained with reasonable certainty.
(c) "Greenhouse gas emissions performance
				standard" means the standard established in
				RCW
				80.80.040, WAC
				173-407-120 and
				173-407-130, and the verification
				and measurement procedures contained in WAC
				173-407-140,
				173-407-230, and
				173-407-300.
(d) "Long-term financial commitment" means
				either a new ownership interest in baseload electric generation or an upgrade
				to a baseload electric generation facility; or a new or renewed contract for
				baseload electric generation with a term of five or more years for provision of
				retail power or wholesale power to end-use customers in this state.
(e) "New ownership interest" means a change
				in the ownership structure of a baseload power plant or a cogeneration facility
				or the electrical generation portion of a cogeneration facility affecting at
				least:
(i) Five percent of the market value
				of the power plant or cogeneration facility; or
(ii) Five percent of the electrical output of
				the power plant or cogeneration facility.
The above thresholds apply to each unit within a multiunit
				  generation facility. A direct or indirect change in ownership of an electrical
				  company does not constitute a new ownership interest in baseload electric
				  generation.
(f)
				"Plant capacity factor" means the ratio of the electricity produced during a
				given time period, measured in kilowatt hours, to the electricity the unit
				could have produced if it had been operated at its rated capacity during that
				period, expressed in kilowatt hours.
(g) "Power plant" means a facility for the
				generation of electricity that is permitted as a single plant by a jurisdiction
				inside or outside the state.
(h)
				"State" means the state of Washington.
(i) "Upgrade" means any modification made for
				the primary purpose of increasing the electric generation capacity of a
				baseload electric generation facility or unit. Upgrade does not include:
(i) Routine or necessary
				maintenance;
(ii) Installation of
				emission control equipment;
(iii)
				Installation, replacement, or modification of equipment that improves the heat
				rate of the facility; or
(iv)
				Installation, replacement, or modification of equipment for the primary purpose
				of maintaining reliable generation output capability that does not increase the
				heat input or fuel usage as specified in existing generation air quality
				permits as of July 22, 2007, but may result in incidental increases in
				generation capacity.