1.1             CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT ON S.F. NO. 1753 
  1.2                          A bill for an act 
  1.3             relating to utilities; modifying low-income electric 
  1.4             rate discount program; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             2002, section 216B.16, subdivision 14. 
  1.6                                                   May 10, 2004
  1.7   The Honorable James P. Metzen 
  1.8   President of the Senate
  1.10  The Honorable Steve Sviggum 
  1.11  Speaker of the House of Representatives
  1.13     We, the undersigned conferees for S.F. No. 1753, report 
  1.14  that we have agreed upon the items in dispute and recommend as 
  1.15  follows: 
  1.16     
  1.17     That the House recede from its amendments and that S.F. No. 
  1.18  1753 be further amended as follows: 
  1.19     Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert: 
  1.20     "Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 123B.02, is 
  1.21  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.22     Subd. 21.  [WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM.] The board may 
  1.23  construct, acquire, own in whole or in part, operate, and sell 
  1.24  and retain and spend the payment received from selling energy 
  1.25  from a wind energy conversion system, as defined in section 
  1.26  216C.06, subdivision 19.  The board's share of the installed 
  1.27  capacity of the wind energy conversion systems authorized by 
  1.28  this subdivision must not exceed 3.3 megawatts of nameplate 
  2.1   capacity.  A board owning, operating, or selling energy from a 
  2.2   wind energy conversion system must integrate information about 
  2.3   wind energy conversion systems in its educational programming. 
  2.4      <h>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</h> This section is effective the day 
  2.5   following final enactment. 
  2.6      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216B.16, 
  2.7   subdivision 14, is amended to read: 
  2.8      Subd. 14.  [LOW-INCOME ELECTRIC RATE DISCOUNT.] A public 
  2.9   utility shall provide fund an affordability program for 
  2.10  low-income customers in an amount based on a 50 percent electric 
  2.11  rate discount on the first 300 kilowatt hours consumed in a 
  2.12  billing period for a low-income residential customer customers 
  2.13  of the utility.  For the purposes of this subdivision, 
  2.14  "low-income" means describes a customer who is receiving 
  2.15  assistance from the federal low-income home energy assistance 
  2.16  program.  The affordability program must be designed to target 
  2.17  participating customers with the lowest incomes and highest 
  2.18  energy costs in order to lower the percentage of income they 
  2.19  devote to energy bills, increase their payments, and lower costs 
  2.20  associated with collection activities on their accounts.  For 
  2.21  low-income customers who are 62 years of age or older or 
  2.22  disabled, the program must, in addition to any other program 
  2.23  benefits, include a 50 percent electric rate discount on the 
  2.24  first 300 kilowatt hours consumed in a billing period.  For the 
  2.25  purposes of this subdivision, "public utility" includes only 
  2.26  those public utilities with more than 200,000 residential 
  2.27  electric service customers.  The commission may issue orders 
  2.28  necessary to implement, administer, and recover the discount 
  2.29  rate costs of the program on a timely basis.  
  2.30     <h>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</h> This section is effective July 1, 2004.  
  2.31     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  2.32  216B.241, subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  2.33     Subd. 1b.  [CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENT BY COOPERATIVE 
  2.34  ASSOCIATION OR MUNICIPALITY.] (a) This subdivision applies to: 
  2.35     (1) a cooperative electric association that provides retail 
  2.36  service to its members; 
  3.1      (2) a municipality that provides electric service to retail 
  3.2   customers; and 
  3.3      (3) a municipality with gross operating revenues in excess 
  3.4   of $5,000,000 from sales of natural gas to retail customers.  
  3.5      (b) Each cooperative electric association and municipality 
  3.6   subject to this subdivision shall spend and invest for energy 
  3.7   conservation improvements under this subdivision the following 
  3.8   amounts: 
  3.9      (1) for a municipality, 0.5 percent of its gross operating 
  3.10  revenues from the sale of gas and 1.5 percent of its gross 
  3.11  operating revenues from the sale of electricity, excluding gross 
  3.12  operating revenues from electric and gas service provided in the 
  3.13  state to large electric customer facilities; and 
  3.14     (2) for a cooperative electric association, 1.5 percent of 
  3.15  its gross operating revenues from service provided in the state, 
  3.16  excluding gross operating revenues from service provided in the 
  3.17  state to large electric customer facilities indirectly through a 
  3.18  distribution cooperative electric association. 
  3.19     (c) Each municipality and cooperative electric association 
  3.20  subject to this subdivision shall identify and implement energy 
  3.21  conservation improvement spending and investments that are 
  3.22  appropriate for the municipality or association, except that a 
  3.23  municipality or association may not spend or invest for energy 
  3.24  conservation improvements that directly benefit a large electric 
  3.25  customer facility for which the commissioner has issued an 
  3.26  exemption under subdivision 1a, paragraph (b). 
  3.27     (d) Each municipality and cooperative electric association 
  3.28  subject to this subdivision may spend and invest annually up to 
  3.29  ten percent of the total amount required to be spent and 
  3.30  invested on energy conservation improvements under this 
  3.31  subdivision on research and development projects that meet the 
  3.32  definition of energy conservation improvement in subdivision 1 
  3.33  and that are funded directly by the municipality or cooperative 
  3.34  electric association.  
  3.35     (e) Load-management activities that do not reduce energy 
  3.36  use but that increase the efficiency of the electric system may 
  4.1   be used to meet the following percentage of the conservation 
  4.2   investment and spending requirements of this subdivision: 
  4.3      (1) 2002 - 90 percent; 
  4.4      (2) 2003 - 80 percent; 
  4.5      (3) 2004 - 65 percent; and 
  4.6      (4) 2005 and thereafter - 50 percent. 
  4.7      (f) A generation and transmission cooperative electric 
  4.8   association that provides energy services to cooperative 
  4.9   electric associations that provide electric service at retail to 
  4.10  consumers may invest in energy conservation improvements on 
  4.11  behalf of the associations it serves and may fulfill the 
  4.12  conservation, spending, reporting, and energy savings goals on 
  4.13  an aggregate basis.  A municipal power agency or other 
  4.14  not-for-profit entity that provides energy service to municipal 
  4.15  utilities that provide electric service at retail may invest in 
  4.16  energy conservation improvements on behalf of the municipal 
  4.17  utilities it serves and may fulfill the conservation, spending, 
  4.18  reporting, and energy savings goals on an aggregate basis, under 
  4.19  an agreement between the municipal power agency or 
  4.20  not-for-profit entity and each municipal utility for funding the 
  4.21  investments. 
  4.22     (g) By June 1, 2002, and Every two years thereafter, on a 
  4.23  schedule determined by the commissioner, each municipality or 
  4.24  cooperative shall file an overview of its conservation 
  4.25  improvement plan with the commissioner.  With this overview, the 
  4.26  municipality or cooperative shall also provide an evaluation to 
  4.27  the commissioner detailing its energy conservation improvement 
  4.28  spending and investments for the previous period.  The 
  4.29  evaluation must briefly describe each conservation program and 
  4.30  must specify the energy savings or increased efficiency in the 
  4.31  use of energy within the service territory of the utility or 
  4.32  association that is the result of the spending and investments.  
  4.33  The evaluation must analyze the cost-effectiveness of the 
  4.34  utility's or association's conservation programs, using a list 
  4.35  of baseline energy and capacity savings assumptions developed in 
  4.36  consultation with the department.  The commissioner shall review 
  5.1   each evaluation and make recommendations, where appropriate, to 
  5.2   the municipality or association to increase the effectiveness of 
  5.3   conservation improvement activities.  Up to three percent of a 
  5.4   utility's conservation spending obligation under this section 
  5.5   may be used for program pre-evaluation, testing, and monitoring 
  5.6   and program evaluation.  The overview and evaluation filed by a 
  5.7   municipality with less than $2,500,000 60,000,000 kilowatt hours 
  5.8   in annual gross revenues from the retail sale sales of electric 
  5.9   service may consist of a letter from the governing board of the 
  5.10  municipal utility to the department providing the amount of 
  5.11  annual conservation spending required of that municipality and 
  5.12  certifying that the required amount has been spent on 
  5.13  conservation programs pursuant to this subdivision.  
  5.14     (h) The commissioner shall also review each evaluation for 
  5.15  whether a portion of the money spent on residential conservation 
  5.16  improvement programs is devoted to programs that directly 
  5.17  address the needs of renters and low-income persons unless an 
  5.18  insufficient number of appropriate programs are available.  For 
  5.19  the purposes of this subdivision and subdivision 2, "low-income" 
  5.20  means an income at or below 50 percent of the state median 
  5.21  income.  
  5.22     (i) As part of its spending for conservation improvement, a 
  5.23  municipality or association may contribute to the energy and 
  5.24  conservation account.  A municipality or association may propose 
  5.25  to the commissioner to designate that all or a portion of funds 
  5.26  contributed to the account be used for research and development 
  5.27  projects that can best be implemented on a statewide basis.  Any 
  5.28  amount contributed must be remitted to the commissioner by 
  5.29  February 1 of each year. 
  5.30     (j) A municipality may spend up to 50 percent of its 
  5.31  required spending under this section to refurbish an existing 
  5.32  district heating or cooling system.  This paragraph expires July 
  5.33  1, 2007.  
  5.34     Sec. 4.  [REPEALER.] 
  5.35     Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 325E.015, is repealed." 
  5.36     Delete the title and insert: 
  6.1                          "A bill for an act 
  6.2             relating to utilities; modifying provisions related to 
  6.3             wind energy systems; modifying low-income electric 
  6.4             rate discount program; regulating conservation 
  6.5             improvement by cooperatives and municipalities; 
  6.6             eliminating duplicate language related to budget 
  6.7             payment plans as a required customer option; amending 
  6.8             Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 123B.02, by adding a 
  6.9             subdivision; 216B.16, subdivision 14; Minnesota 
  6.10            Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 216B.241, 
  6.11            subdivision 1b; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  6.12            section 325E.015." 
  7.1      We request adoption of this report and repassage of the 
  7.2   bill. 
  7.5      Senate Conferees: 
  7.8   .........................     .........................
  7.9   Ellen R. Anderson             Gary W. Kubly  
  7.12  .........................     
  7.13  David C. Gaither               
  7.18     House Conferees: 
  7.21  .........................     .........................
  7.22  Torrey Westrom                Raymond Cox 
  7.25  .........................     
  7.26  Dan Larson