Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 2002, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 398-H.F.No. 2972
An act relating to energy; decreasing regulatory
requirements for small power lines; modifying
provision for selecting reliability administrator;
requiring department of administration to coordinate
with department of commerce to develop comprehensive
energy plan for public buildings by 2004; extending
expiration by three years of certain procedural powers
of public utilities commission; making technical
corrections; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section
116C.63, subdivision 4; Minnesota Statutes 2001
Supplement, sections 216B.1646, as amended; 216B.1691,
subdivision 1; 216B.243, subdivision 8; 216C.052,
subdivision 2; 216C.41, subdivision 5; Laws 1999,
chapter 125, section 4; Laws 2001, chapter 212,
article 1, section 3.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116C.63,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. When private real property that is an
agricultural or nonagricultural homestead, nonhomestead
agricultural land, rental residential property, and both
commercial and noncommercial seasonal residential recreational
property, as those terms are defined in section 273.13 is
proposed to be acquired for the construction of a site or route
for a high-voltage transmission line with a capacity of 200
kilovolts or more by eminent domain proceedings, the fee owner,
or when applicable, the fee owner with the written consent of
the contract for deed vendee, or the contract for deed vendee
with the written consent of the fee owner, shall have the option
to require the utility to condemn a fee interest in any amount
of contiguous, commercially viable land which the owner or
vendee wholly owns or has contracted to own in undivided fee and
elects in writing to transfer to the utility within 60 days
after receipt of the notice of the objects of the petition filed
pursuant to section 117.055. Commercial viability shall be
determined without regard to the presence of the utility route
or site. The owner or, when applicable, the contract vendee
shall have only one such option and may not expand or otherwise
modify an election without the consent of the utility. The
required acquisition of land pursuant to this subdivision shall
be considered an acquisition for a public purpose and for use in
the utility's business, for purposes of chapter 117 and section
500.24, respectively; provided that a utility shall divest
itself completely of all such lands used for farming or capable
of being used for farming not later than the time it can receive
the market value paid at the time of acquisition of lands less
any diminution in value by reason of the presence of the utility
route or site. Upon the owner's election made under this
subdivision, the easement interest over and adjacent to the
lands designated by the owner to be acquired in fee, sought in
the condemnation petition for a high voltage right-of-way for a
high-voltage transmission line right-of-way with a capacity of
200 kilovolts or more shall automatically be converted into a
fee taking.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section
216B.1646, as amended by Laws 2002, chapter 377, article 4,
section 3, if enacted, is amended to read:
216B.1646 [RATE REDUCTION; PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION.]
(a) The commission shall, by any method the commission
finds appropriate, reduce the rates each electric utility
subject to rate regulation by the commission charges its
customers to reflect, on an ongoing basis, the amount by which
each utility's property tax on the personal property of its
electric system from taxes payable in 2001 to taxes payable in
2002 is reduced. The commission must ensure that, to the extent
feasible, each dollar of personal property tax reduction
allocated to Minnesota consumers retroactive to January 1, 2002,
results in a dollar of savings to the utility's customers. A
utility may voluntarily pass on any additional property tax
savings allocated in the same manner as approved by the
commission under this paragraph.
(b) By April 10, 2002, each utility shall submit a filing
to the commission containing:
(1) certified information regarding the utility's property
tax savings allocated to Minnesota retail customers; and
(2) a proposed method of passing these savings on to
Minnesota retail customers.
The utility shall provide the information in clause (1) to the
commissioner of revenue at the same time. The commissioner
shall notify the commission within 30 days as to the accuracy of
the property tax data submitted by the utility.
(c) For purposes of this section, "personal property"
means tools, implements, and machinery of the generating plant.
It does not apply to transformers, transmission lines,
distribution lines, or any other tools, implements, and
machinery that are part of an electric substation, wherever
located.
[EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective retroactively
from July 1, 2001.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section
216B.1691, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [DEFINITIONS.] (a) "Eligible energy
technology" means:
(1) an energy technology that generates electricity from
the following renewable energy sources: solar, wind,
hydroelectric with a capacity of less than 60 megawatts, or
biomass; and
(2) was not mandated by state law or commission
order enacted or issued prior to August 1, 2001.
(b) "Electric utility" means a public utility providing
electric service, a generation and transmission cooperative
electric association, or a municipal power agency.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section
216B.243, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. [EXEMPTIONS.] This section does not apply to:
(1) cogeneration or small power production facilities as
defined in the Federal Power Act, United States Code, title 16,
section 796, paragraph (17), subparagraph (A), and paragraph
(18), subparagraph (A), and having a combined capacity at a
single site of less than 80,000 kilowatts or to plants or
facilities for the production of ethanol or fuel alcohol nor in
any case where the commission shall determine after being
advised by the attorney general that its application has been
preempted by federal law;
(2) a high-voltage transmission line proposed primarily to
distribute electricity to serve the demand of a single customer
at a single location, unless the applicant opts to request that
the commission determine need under this section or section
216B.2425;
(3) the upgrade to a higher voltage of an existing
transmission line that serves the demand of a single customer
that primarily uses existing rights-of-way, unless the applicant
opts to request that the commission determine need under this
section or section 216B.2425;
(4) a high-voltage transmission line of one mile or less
required to connect a new or upgraded substation to an existing,
new, or upgraded high-voltage transmission line;
(5) conversion of the fuel source of an existing electric
generating plant to using natural gas; or
(5) (6) modification of an existing electric generating
plant to increase efficiency, as long as the capacity of the
plant is not increased more than ten percent or more than 100
megawatts, whichever is greater.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section
216C.052, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES.] (a) The commissioner may
select the administrator who shall serve for a four-year
term. The administrator may not have been a party or a
participant in a commission energy proceeding for at least one
year prior to selection by the commissioner. The commissioner
shall oversee and direct the work of the administrator, annually
review the expenses of the administrator, and annually approve
the budget of the administrator. The administrator may hire
staff and may contract for technical expertise in performing
duties when existing state resources are required for other
state responsibilities or when special expertise is required.
The salary of the administrator is governed by section 15A.0815,
subdivision 2.
(b) Costs relating to a specific proceeding, analysis, or
project are not general administrative costs. For purposes of
this section, "energy utility" means public utilities,
generation and transmission cooperative electric associations,
and municipal power agencies providing natural gas or electric
service in the state.
(c) The department of commerce shall pay:
(1) the general administrative costs of the administrator,
not to exceed $1,500,000 in a fiscal year, and shall assess
energy utilities for reimbursement for those administrative
costs. These costs must be consistent with the budget approved
by the commissioner under paragraph (a). The department shall
apportion the costs among all energy utilities in proportion to
their respective gross operating revenues from sales of gas or
electric service within the state during the last calendar year,
and shall then render a bill to each utility on a regular basis;
and
(2) costs relating to a specific proceeding analysis or
project and shall render a bill for reimbursement to the
specific energy utility or utilities participating in the
proceeding, analysis, or project directly, either at the
conclusion of a particular proceeding, analysis, or project, or
from time to time during the course of the proceeding, analysis,
or project.
(d) For purposes of administrative efficiency, the
department shall assess energy utilities and issue bills in
accordance with the billing and assessment procedures provided
in section 216B.62, to the extent that these procedures do not
conflict with this subdivision. The amount of the bills
rendered by the department under paragraph (c) must be paid by
the energy utility into an account in the special revenue fund
in the state treasury within 30 days from the date of billing
and is appropriated to the commissioner for the purposes
provided in this section. The commission shall approve or
approve as modified a rate schedule providing for the automatic
adjustment of charges to recover amounts paid by utilities under
this section. All amounts assessed under this section are in
addition to amounts appropriated to the commission and the
department by other law.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section
216C.41, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.] (a) An incentive payment is
based on the number of kilowatt hours of electricity generated.
The amount of the payment is:
(1) for a facility described under subdivision 2, paragraph
(a), clause (4), 1.0 cents per kilowatt hour; and
(2) for all other facilities, 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
For electricity generated by qualified wind energy conversion
facilities, the incentive payment under this section is limited
to no more than 100 megawatts of nameplate capacity. During any
period in which qualifying claims for incentive payments exceed
100 megawatts of nameplate capacity, the payments must be made
to producers in the order in which the production capacity was
brought into production.
(b) Beginning For wind energy conversion systems installed
and contracted for after January 1, 2002, the total size of a
wind energy conversion system under this section must be
determined according to this paragraph. Unless the systems are
interconnected with different distribution systems, the
nameplate capacity of one wind energy conversion system must be
combined with the nameplate capacity of any other wind energy
conversion system that is:
(1) located within five miles of the wind energy conversion
system;
(2) constructed within the same calendar year as the wind
energy conversion system; and
(3) under common ownership.
In the case of a dispute, the commissioner of commerce shall
determine the total size of the system, and shall draw all
reasonable inferences in favor of combining the systems.
(c) In making a determination under paragraph (b), the
commissioner of commerce may determine that two wind energy
conversion systems are under common ownership when the
underlying ownership structure contains similar persons or
entities, even if the ownership shares differ between the two
systems. Wind energy conversion systems are not under common
ownership solely because the same person or entity provided
equity financing for the systems.
Sec. 7. Laws 1999, chapter 125, section 4, is amended to
read:
Sec. 4. [SUNSETS.]
Sections 1 to 3 expire as of June 30, 2002 2005.
Sec. 8. Laws 2001, chapter 212, article 1, section 3, is
amended to read:
Sec. 3. [BENCHMARKS FOR EXISTING PUBLIC BUILDINGS.]
The department of administration shall maintain information
on energy usage in all public buildings for the purpose of
establishing energy efficiency benchmarks and energy
conservation goals. The department shall report preliminary
energy conservation goals to the chairs of the senate
telecommunications, energy and utilities committee and the house
regulated industries committee by January 15, 2002. The
department shall develop, in coordination with the department of
commerce, a comprehensive plan by January 15, 2003 2004, to
maximize electrical and thermal energy efficiency in existing
public buildings through conservation measures having a simple
payback within ten to 15 years. The plan must detail the steps
necessary to implement the conservation measures and include the
projected costs of these measures. The owner or operator of a
public building subject to this section shall provide
information to the department of administration necessary to
accomplish the purposes of this section.
Sec. 9. [IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION; COMPETITIVE
BIDDING CRITERIA.]
The commissioner of commerce shall identify and evaluate
various criteria that could be used by a utility in evaluating
and selecting bids submitted in a competitive bidding process
established under Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.2422,
subdivision 5.
To assist in the evaluation, the commissioner shall convene
a series of forums at which input from citizens and stakeholders
can be solicited. The commissioner shall present this
evaluation in a report to the house and senate policy and
finance committees with jurisdiction over energy regulatory
issues and agencies by January 15, 2003.
Sec. 10. [EXCESS DULUTH ENERGY LOAN FUNDS; USE IN OTHER
ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.]
Notwithstanding Laws 1981, chapter 223, as amended by Laws
1984, chapter 581, or any other law to the contrary, the city of
Duluth may use excess funds in accounts in its home energy loan
program authorized by those laws for other energy conservation
programs, including, but not limited to, a commercial enterprise
energy loan program or a city climate protection program to
reduce city energy consumption, provided that:
(1) all bonds issued under the home energy loan program
have been retired;
(2) no more energy loan bonds are issued; and
(3) any sums used for other energy saving programs are in
excess of market demands for home energy loans.
[EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day after
the approval by the governing body of the city of Duluth is
filed according to Minnesota Statutes, section 645.021,
subdivision 3.
Sec. 11. [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.]
The revisor of statutes shall remove codification of Laws
2001, chapter 212, article 8, section 14. Laws 2001, chapter
212, article 8, section 14, shall remain part of Laws 2001 as
uncodified law.
Sec. 12. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1, 3 to 9, and 11 are effective the day following
final enactment.
Presented to the governor May 20, 2002
Signed by the governor May 22, 2002, 1:29 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes