Washington: NEEC was in Olympia again this week testifying in support of HB 1257, the House companion bill to SB 5293, the Clean Buildings bill. There was a strong showing of support, as well as stakeholder input regarding desired modifications. We anticipate a revised version of the bill in the next few days and will keep this community apprised of any opportunities to get engaged.
NEEC is also tracking SB 5116, the 100% Clean bill, which was voted out of the Senate Energy, Environment and Technology Committee this week. This bill requires electric utilities to meet 100% of their electric load using “non-emitting and renewable resources” by 2045. The bill goes on to define “non-emitting resources” as “electricity from a generating facility or a resource, including a distributed energy resource, that provides electric energy, capacity, or ancillary services to an electric utility and that does not emit greenhouse gases as a byproduct of energy generation.” Utilities must continue to pursue all cost-effective energy efficiency to manage and reduce the need for additional capacity, and then meet new capacity needs using clean resources. It’s also of note to the industry that the amended bill now defines energy conservation and efficiency as a distributed energy resource, which opens our industry up to participate as a resource in a new manner.
Oregon: The 2019 session in Oregon is also underway. NEEC anticipates the energy discussion in the legislature to center on the carbon pricing bill. For the last year, a joint legislative committee has been meeting to discuss this potential legislation; we expect the bill to be released this week, with a stakeholder briefing this Friday. We will provide an update once the bill is released and will provide additional briefings on items of note and opportunities for our industry to be engaged in the Oregon legislative session, as they arise.