Relating to a qualifying cogenerator that serves a large load and a colocated desalination facility.
relating to a qualifying cogenerator that serves a large load and a
colocated desalination facility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.002, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (13) to read as follows:
(13) “Qualifying cogenerator” and “qualifying small
power producer” have the meanings assigned those terms by 16 U.S.C.
Sections 796(18)(C) and 796(17)(D). A qualifying cogenerator that
provides electricity to a purchaser of the cogenerator’s thermal
output is not for that reason considered to be a retail electric
provider or a power generation company. A qualifying cogenerator
includes an owner or operator of dispatchable generation that:
(A) provides thermal, steam or waste heat for use
by a co-located desalination facility; and
(B) serves a load whose primary purpose is the
manufacture of digital products.
SECTION 2. Subsection 37.001, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
(3) “Retail electric utility” means a person,
political subdivision, electric cooperative, or agency that
operates, maintains, or controls in this state a facility to
provide retail electric utility service. The term does not include
a corporation described by Section 32.053 to the extent that the
corporation sells electricity exclusively at wholesale and not to
the ultimate consumer. A qualifying cogenerator that sells
electric energy at retail to the sole purchaser of the
cogenerator’s thermal output under Sections 35.061 and 36.007 is
not for that reason considered to be a retail electric utility. The
owner or operator of a qualifying cogeneration facility who was
issued the necessary environmental permits from the Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission after January 1, 1998, and who
commenced construction of such qualifying facility before July 1,
1998, may provide electricity to the purchasers of the thermal
output of that qualifying facility and shall not for that reason be
considered an electric utility or a retail electric utility,
provided that the purchasers of the thermal output are owners of
manufacturing or process operation facilities that are located on a
site entirely owned before September, 1987, by one owner who
retained ownership after September, 1987, of some portion of the
facilities and that those facilities now share some integrated
operations, such as the provision of services and raw materials. A
person who is an electric generation equipment lessor or operator
is not for that reason considered to be a retail electric utility.
A person who owns or operates equipment used solely to provide
electricity charging service for consumption by an alternatively
fueled vehicle, as defined by Section 502.004, Transportation Code,
is not for that reason considered to be a retail electric utility.
The owner or operator of a qualifying congenator as defined by
Subdivision 31.002(13) is not considered to be a retail electric
utility if the owner or operator of a qualifying cogenerator is
providing electricity to a manufacturer of digital products and
thermal, steam, or waste heat to a colocated desalination facility.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
