View Bill Status
View Bill Text
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
S1192......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS - BONDS - Amends and adds to existing law as a
"Trailer Bill" to House Bill No. 106 to authorize the Idaho Energy
Resources Authority to undertake any renewable energy generation project
for the benefit of one or more independent power producer and may issue its
bonds to finance their costs.
03/14 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/15 Rpt prt - to St Aff
03/21 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/22 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/23 3rd rdg - PASSED - 34-0-0, 1 vacancy
AYES -- Andreason, Brandt, Broadsword, Bunderson, Burkett,
Burtenshaw, Cameron, Coiner, Compton, Corder, Darrington, Davis,
Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst,
Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McGee, McKenzie, Pearce, Richardson,
Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Sweet, Werk, Williams
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- (District 21 seat vacant)
Floor Sponsor - Hill
Title apvd - to House
03/24 House intro - 1st rdg - to Env
03/29 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/30 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
Rls susp - PASSED - 66-0-4
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer, Bell,
Bilbao, Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Cannon, Chadderdon, Clark,
Collins, Crow, Deal, Denney, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Eskridge,
Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Harwood, Henbest, Henderson,
Jaquet, Jones, Kemp, Lake, LeFavour, Loertscher, Martinez, Mathews,
McGeachin, McKague, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Nielsen, Nonini,
Pasley-Stuart, Pence, Raybould, Ring, Ringo, Rusche, Rydalch, Sali,
Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Shirley, Skippen,
Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Trail, Wood, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Bedke, Roberts, Stevenson, Wills
Floor Sponsors - Eskridge & Anderson
Title apvd - to Senate
03/30 To enrol - Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/31 Sp signed - To Governor
04/06 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 311
Effective: 07/01/05
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1192
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO THE IDAHO ENERGY RESOURCES AUTHORITY ACT; AMENDING SECTION
3 67-8902, IDAHO CODE, AS ADDED BY SECTION 1, HOUSE BILL NO. 106, ENACTED BY
4 THE FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH IDAHO LEGISLATURE, TO PRO-
5 VIDE FURTHER DECLARATION OF NECESSITY AND PURPOSE; AMENDING SECTION
6 67-8903, IDAHO CODE, AS ADDED BY SECTION 1, HOUSE BILL NO. 106, ENACTED BY
7 THE FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH IDAHO LEGISLATURE, TO FUR-
8 THER DEFINE TERMS AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AMENDING SECTION
9 67-8908, IDAHO CODE, AS ADDED BY SECTION 1, HOUSE BILL NO. 106, ENACTED BY
10 THE FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH IDAHO LEGISLATURE, TO PRO-
11 VIDE ADDITIONAL POWERS TO IDAHO ENERGY RESOURCES AUTHORITY; AMENDING
12 CHAPTER 89, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, AS ADDED BY SECTION 1, HOUSE BILL NO.
13 106, ENACTED BY THE FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH IDAHO LEGIS-
14 LATURE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 67-8925, IDAHO CODE, TO AUTHORIZE
15 THE IDAHO ENERGY RESOURCES AUTHORITY TO UNDERTAKE ANY RENEWABLE ENERGY
16 PROJECT FOR THE BENEFIT OF ONE OR MORE INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS AND
17 ISSUE ITS BONDS TO FINANCE THE COST THEREOF AND TO PROVIDE APPLICATION TO
18 AN INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER.
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
20 SECTION 1. That Section 67-8902, Idaho Code, as added by Section 1, House
21 Bill No. 106, enacted by the First Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth Idaho
22 Legislature, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:
23 67-8902. DECLARATION OF NECESSITY AND PURPOSE. (1) It is hereby deter-
24 mined and declared that:
25 (a) Industrial, irrigation, commercial and residential consumers in the
26 state of Idaho receive electric service from various investor-owned, coop-
27 erative and municipal utilities and the ability of these utilities to pro-
28 vide reliable and economic electric services at stable prices is essential
29 to the economy and the economic development of the state of Idaho and to
30 the health, safety and welfare of its people;
31 (b) The regional interconnection of electric utilities causes events and
32 conditions in other western states to have a significant impact of the
33 operations of utilities in the state of Idaho and the restructuring of the
34 electric industry in recent years by the federal government and in other
35 states has exposed all utilities in Idaho, and the consumers served by
36 them, to volatile market prices, reliability concerns and other adverse
37 conditions;
38 (c) It is in the best interest of the state of Idaho and its people that
39 sufficient and reliable electric generation and transmission resources are
40 developed and made available at cost-based rates in order to enable these
41 utilities to meet existing and future demands for electric services, to
42 provide adequate reserves and to promote reliability at the most stable
43 rates practicable;
2
1 (d) The electric utility and energy industries are and will continue to
2 be capital-intensive industries and the availability of cost-effective
3 financing to investor-owned, cooperative and municipal utilities will
4 enhance the ability of these utilities to provide and promote economic
5 electric services to consumers in the state;
6 (e) Coordination, cooperation and joint ventures between and among such
7 utilities with one another and with the private, cooperative, federal,
8 state and municipal utilities and agencies that provide wholesale and
9 retail electric services in the western states will promote regional elec-
10 tric reliability and stability and will provide economies of scale; and
11 (f) It is the intent of the legislature to create the Idaho energy
12 resources authority to promote the development and financing of facilities
13 for the benefit of participating utilities and to accomplish the purposes
14 stated above, and to authorize the authority to exercise all such powers
15 as are necessary to enable it to achieve such purposes and to thereby pro-
16 mote and protect the economy of the state of Idaho and the health, safety
17 and welfare of its people; and
18 (g) It is in the best interest of the state of Idaho and its people to
19 encourage and promote the development of renewable energy resources in
20 order to develop sustainable sources of energy supply, reduce
21 inefficiencies in the use of electric energy and enhance the long-term
22 stability of the energy resources and requirements of the state.
23 (2) Nothing contained herein is intended or shall be construed to limit
24 or restrict the authority of the Idaho public utilities commission with
25 respect to the regulation of electric corporations and public utilities pursu-
26 ant to title 61, Idaho Code.
27 SECTION 2. That Section 67-8903, Idaho Code, as added by Section 1, House
28 Bill No. 106, enacted by the First Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth Idaho
29 Legislature, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:
30 67-8903. DEFINITIONS. When used in this chapter, the following terms
31 shall have the following meanings:
32 (1) "Authority" means the Idaho energy resources authority created pursu-
33 ant to section 67-8904, Idaho Code.
34 (2) "Board" means the board of directors of the authority.
35 (3) "Bonds" means any bonds, notes, certificates or other obligations or
36 evidences of indebtedness issued by the authority.
37 (4) "Commission" means the Idaho public utilities commission created pur-
38 suant to section 61-201, Idaho Code.
39 (5) "Electric cooperative" means a cooperative corporation or association
40 which is:
41 (a) Organized under the provisions of section 501(c)(12) or 1381 of the
42 Internal Revenue Code;
43 (b) Is an Idaho nonprofit corporation pursuant to chapter 3, title 30,
44 Idaho Code; and
45 (c) Is an operating entity or successor entity thereof which owns facili-
46 ties and provides electric service to customers in Idaho as of the effec-
47 tive date of this chapter.
48 (6) "Facility" means any facility necessary, used or useful in connection
49 with the generation or transmission of electric power and energy and any
50 renewable energy generation project, in each case including, but not limited
51 to, all real and personal property, fuel supplies and transportation facili-
52 ties, pollution control facilities and all equipment and improvements neces-
53 sary or desirable in connection with a facility. "Facility" shall include
3
1 facilities owned in whole or in part by the authority or a participating util-
2 ity, including undivided ownership interests in facilities, leasehold inter-
3 ests in facilities and other estates, but excludes a generating facility that
4 sells any portion of its output as a qualifying facility to a participating
5 utility under provisions of the public utility regulatory policies act of
6 1978, 16 U.S.C. section 2601 et sec seq.
7 (7) "Independent power producer" means any public or private corporation
8 which is not itself a participating utility, but which may be an affiliate of
9 a participating utility, that develops any renewable energy generation project
10 undertaken by the authority pursuant to this chapter.
11 (8) "Participating utility" means, with respect to any facilities under-
12 taken by the authority pursuant to this chapter, any public or private corpo-
13 ration, electric cooperative or other cooperative corporation or association,
14 municipal corporation, political subdivision of this state or another state,
15 state or federal agency, joint operating entity or other entity that:
16 (a) Owns and operates an electric utility system that provides electric
17 services to consumers of electricity located in an existing service area
18 within the boundaries of this state;
19 (b) Provides electric generation, power supply, transmission and/or
20 ancillary and related services at wholesale to one (1) or more participat-
21 ing utilities described in paragraph (a) of this subsection; or
22 (c) Is organized or operates as a regional transmission organization cov-
23 ering all or any part of the state of Idaho and one (1) or more other
24 states.
25 (89) "Renewable energy" means a source of energy that occurs naturally,
26 is regenerated naturally or uses as a fuel source, a waste product or byprod-
27 uct from a manufacturing process including, but not limited to, open or
28 closed-loop biomass, fuel cells, geothermal energy, waste heat, cogeneration,
29 solar energy, waterpower and wind.
30 (10) "Renewable energy generation project" means an electric generating
31 facility or system that uses renewable energy as its primary source of energy
32 to generate electricity.
33 (11) "Revenues" means all receipts, purchase payments, loan repayments,
34 lease payments, rents, fees and charges, and all other income or receipts
35 derived by the authority from a participating utility.
36 SECTION 3. That Section 67-8908, Idaho Code, as added by Section 1, House
37 Bill No. 106, enacted by the First Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth Idaho
38 Legislature, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:
39 67-8908. POWERS. (1) The authority shall have the following powers, which
40 are hereby declared to be necessary to enable the authority to carry out and
41 effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter, together with all
42 powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performance thereof:
43 (a) To have perpetual succession as a body politic and corporate;
44 (b) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of
45 its business;
46 (c) To sue and be sued and to prosecute and defend, at law or in equity,
47 in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties;
48 (d) To have and to use a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleas-
49 ure;
50 (e) To maintain an office at such place or places as it may designate;
51 (f) To make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or
52 convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions under this chap-
53 ter;
4
1 (g) To acquire, whether by purchase, gift, grant, bequest, devise,
2 exchange, eminent domain or otherwise, own, hold, improve, lease, trans-
3 fer, assign, pledge and dispose of, any real or personal property or any
4 interest therein necessary or convenient in connection with any facility
5 or its purposes under this chapter; provided however, that the power of
6 eminent domain is limited to only those purposes and participating utili-
7 ties as authorized by section 7-701, Idaho Code;
8 (h) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, renovate, improve, replace, main-
9 tain, repair, manage, operate, lease as lessee or lessor, and regulate any
10 facility; to enter into contracts for any and all of such purposes and for
11 the acquisition and management of fuel supplies, provided such is reason-
12 ably necessary for the operation and maintenance of any facility; to enter
13 into contracts and agreements to manage risks associated with the purchase
14 and sale of energy and energy commodities, provided such is reasonably
15 necessary for the operation and maintenance of any facility; and shall
16 designate one (1) or more qualified participating utilities as agent or
17 agents of the authority, as agreed to among the participating utilities,
18 with respect to the foregoing;
19 (i) To sell, lease or otherwise provide by contract to one (1) or more
20 participating utilities the services, output or product provided by any or
21 all of the facilities undertaken by the authority upon such terms and con-
22 ditions as the authority and the participating utilities shall deem
23 proper, and to establish, charge, collect and revise from time to time
24 such rents, fees and charges for such services, output or product as pro-
25 vided for in this chapter;
26 (j) To borrow money and to issue bonds for any of the purposes described
27 in this chapter, to issue refunding bonds and to enter into contracts and
28 agreements determined by the authority to be necessary or desirable to
29 manage its debt service and interest costs;
30 (k) To establish rules and regulations for the use of facilities and to
31 designate a participating utility as its agent, to establish rules and
32 regulations for the use of the facilities undertaken or operated by such
33 participating utility;
34 (l) To employ or contract for consulting engineers, architects, attor-
35 neys, accountants, construction and financial experts, superintendents,
36 managers, and such other employees and agents as may be necessary in its
37 judgment and to fix their compensation;
38 (m) To enter into contracts, agreements or other transactions with and
39 accept grants and the cooperation of the United States or any agency
40 thereof or any state or any agency or governmental subdivision thereof, in
41 furtherance of the purposes of this chapter including, but not limited to,
42 the development, maintenance, operation, and financing of any facility and
43 to do any and all things necessary in order to avail itself of such aid
44 and cooperation;
45 (n) To receive and accept aid or contributions from any source of money,
46 property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied
47 to carry out the purposes of this chapter subject to such conditions upon
48 which such grants and contributions may be made, including, but not lim-
49 ited to, gifts or grants from any department or agency of the United
50 States or any state for any purpose consistent with this chapter;
51 (o) To assign and pledge all or any part of its revenues and income and
52 to mortgage or otherwise encumber any or all of its facilities and the
53 site or sites thereof, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, for the
54 benefit and security of the holders of bonds issued to finance such facil-
55 ities or any portion thereof;
5
1 (p) To make loans to any participating utility to finance the cost of any
2 facilities in accordance with an agreement between the authority and such
3 participating utility;
4 (q) To make secured or unsecured loans to a participating utility to
5 refinance obligations and indebtedness incurred for facilities undertaken
6 and completed prior to or after the enactment of this chapter when the
7 authority finds that such financing is in the public interest and either
8 alleviates the financial hardship upon the participating utility or is in
9 connection with other financing by the authority for such participating
10 utility or may be expected to result in a cost-effective delivery of elec-
11 tricity to the consumers served by the participating utility, or any com-
12 bination thereof;
13 (r) To charge to and equitably apportion its administrative costs and
14 expenses incurred in the exercise of the powers and duties conferred by
15 this chapter among the participating utilities that have entered into con-
16 tracts with the authority;
17 (s) To procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property
18 and other assets in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desir-
19 able and to self-insure against such risks as it shall deem to be reason-
20 able;
21 (t) To invest any funds not needed for immediate use or disbursement,
22 including any funds held in reserve, in:
23 (i) Bonds, notes and other obligations of the United States or any
24 agency or instrumentality thereof and other securities secured by
25 such bonds, notes or other obligations;
26 (ii) Money market funds which are insured or the assets of which are
27 limited to obligations of the United States or any agency or instru-
28 mentality thereof;
29 (iii) Time certificates of deposit and savings accounts;
30 (iv) Commercial paper which, at the time of its purchase, is rated
31 in the highest category by a nationally recognized rating service;
32 (v) Property or securities in which the state treasurer may invest
33 funds in the state treasury pursuant to section 67-1210, Idaho Code;
34 and
35 (vi) With respect to any funds representing bond proceeds or amounts
36 pledged to the payment of bonds, such other investments as may be
37 specified in a bond resolution or trust indenture securing bonds of
38 the authority;
39 (u) To participate in cooperative ventures with any agencies or organiza-
40 tions in order to provide affordable and reliable energy to the residents
41 of the state; and
42 (v) To undertake and finance renewable energy generation projects devel-
43 oped by an independent power producer; and
44 (w) To do all things necessary and convenient to carry out the purposes
45 of this chapter.
46 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the authority
47 shall have no power to:
48 (a) Acquire the operating property of any investor-owned, private, coop-
49 erative, municipal or other utility by the exercise of the power of emi-
50 nent domain;
51 (b) Provide financing for the acquisition of the operating property of
52 any such utility by or under threat of eminent domain, in either case
53 unless such utility consents in writing to the acquisition; or
54 (c) Deliver retail electricity or related retail products or services to
55 any ultimate consumer, whether in violation of the Idaho electric supplier
6
1 stabilization act or otherwise.
2 SECTION 4. That Chapter 89, Title 67, Idaho Code, as added by Section 1,
3 House Bill No. 106, enacted by the First Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth
4 Idaho Legislature, be, and the same is hereby amended by the addition thereto
5 of a NEW SECTION, to be known and designated as Section 67-8925, Idaho Code,
6 and to read as follows:
7 67-8925. RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION PROJECTS. The authority may under-
8 take any renewable energy generation project for the benefit of one (1) or
9 more independent power producers and may issue its bonds to finance the cost
10 thereof, all to the same extent and subject to the same provisions applicable
11 to the undertaking and financing of other facilities for the benefit of one
12 (1) or more participating utilities. In furtherance of the foregoing, an inde-
13 pendent power producer shall be deemed to be a participating utility with
14 respect to a renewable energy generation project for purposes of sections
15 67-8909, 67-8910 and 67-8911, Idaho Code.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14977
Amendment to the Idaho Energy Resources Authority Act.
House Bill 106 creates the Idaho Energy Resources Authority to
finance the construction of electric generation and transmission
projects by electric utilities.
This proposed legislation acts as a "trailer bill" or amendment
to H 106 so that independent (non-utility) developers of
renewable energy projects may also request financing from the
Idaho Energy Resources Authority.
House Bill 30, the original bill creating the Idaho Energy
Resources Authority, combined the financing of both generation
and transmission facilities and renewable energy facilities.
Sponsors of the proposed Act believed that renewable energy
project financing by independent developers needed to be
contained in a bill separate from utility financing of generation
and transmission facilities.
FISCAL IMPACT
This legislation will have no fiscal impact on the state.
Contact
Name: Representative George Eskridge
Representative Eric Anderson
Senator Brent Hill
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1192