Minnesota Session Laws - 2017, Regular Session

CHAPTER 5--H.F.No. 113

An act

relating to energy; authorizing construction and operation of a natural gas combined cycle electric generation plant.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin NATURAL GAS COMBINED CYCLE ELECTRIC GENERATION PLANT. new text end

new text begin (a) Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.243 and Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216E, a public utility may, at its sole discretion, construct, own, and operate a natural gas combined cycle electric generation plant as the utility proposed to the Public Utilities Commission in docket number E-002/RP-15-21, or as revised by the utility and approved by the Public Utilities Commission in the latest resource plan filed after the effective date of this section, provided that the plant is located on property in Sherburne County, Minnesota, already owned by the public utility, and will be constructed after January 1, 2018. new text end

new text begin (b) Reasonable and prudently incurred costs and investments by a public utility under this section may be recovered pursuant to the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.16. new text end

new text begin (c) No less than 20 months prior to the start of construction, a public utility intending to construct a plant under this section shall file with the commission an evaluation of the utility's forecasted costs prepared by an independent evaluator and may ask the commission to establish a sliding scale rate of return mechanism for this capital investment to provide an incentive for the utility to complete the project at or under the forecasted costs. new text end

Presented to the governor February 27, 2017

Signed by the governor February 28, 2017, 10:05 a.m.