HB4290 - Relating to a qualifying cogenerator that serves a large load and a colocated desalination facility.

      By: Darby, Landgraf, Anchía, Craddick H.B. No. 4290       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   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(13), Utilities Code, is amended   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.   The term includes an owner   or operator of dispatchable generation that:                       (A)     provides thermal, steam, or waste heat for   use by a colocated desalination facility;                       (B)     serves a load used for the primary purpose of   manufacturing digital products; and                       (C)     is not located in an area in which a   municipally owned utility or electric cooperative is certificated   to provide retail electric utility service.          SECTION 2.  Section 37.001(3), Utilities Code, is amended 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 cogenerator that provides   thermal, steam, or waste heat for use by a colocated desalination   facility and serves a load used for the primary purpose of   manufacturing digital products 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.          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.