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1H.601
2 Introduced by Representatives McCoy of Poultney and Southworth of Walden
3 Referred to Committee on
4 Date:
5 Subject: Public service; energy; renewable energy; clean energy; nuclear
6energy; nuclear storage
7 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to change the
8 Renewable Energy Standard to the Clean Energy Standard by allowing zero
9 emission energy to count as part of the Standard. It would also make changes
10 to the nuclear storage at the former Vermont Yankee site.
11    An act relating to the Clean Energy Standard
12 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
13 Sec. 1. 30 V.S.A. § 202b is amended to read:
14 § 202b. STATE COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY PLAN
15***
16    (e) The Commissioner of Public Service (Commissioner) shall file an
17 annual report on progress in meeting the goals of the Plan. The report shall
18 address each of the following sectors of energy consumption in the State:
19 electricity, nonelectric fuels for thermal purposes, and transportation. In
20 preparing the report, the Commissioner shall consult with the Secretaries of
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1 Administration, of Agriculture, Food and Markets, of Natural Resources, and
2 of Transportation and the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services.
3***
4(3) For each sector, the report shall provide:
5(A) In millions of British thermal units (MMBTUs) for For the most
6 recent calendar year for which data are available, the total amount of energy
7 consumed, the amount of clean and renewable energy consumed, and the
8 percentage of clean and renewable energy consumed. For the electricity
9 sector, the report shall also state the amounts in megawatt hours (MWH) of
10 retail sales and load for Vermont as well as for each retail electricity provider
11 and the Vermont and New England summer and winter peak electric demand,
12 including the hour and day of peak demand.
13(B) Projections of the energy reductions and shift to clean and
14 renewable energy expected to occur under existing policies, technologies, and
15 markets. The most recent available data shall be used to inform these
16 projections and shall be provided as a supplement to the data described in
17 subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3).
18(C) Recommendations of policies to further the clean and renewable
19 energy requirements and goals set forth in statute and the Plan, along with an
20 evaluation of the relative cost-effectiveness and equity-related impacts of
21 different policy approaches.
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1***
2(7) The report shall include the following information on progress
3 toward meeting the Renewable Clean Energy Standard (RES CES):
4(A) An assessment of the costs and benefits of the RES CES based
5 on the most current available data, including rate and economic impacts,
6 customer savings, technology deployment, greenhouse gas emission reductions
7 achieved both relative to 10 V.S.A § 578 requirements and societally, fuel
8 price stability, effect on transmission and distribution upgrade costs, and any
9 recommended changes based on this assessment.
10(i) For the most recent calendar year for which data is available,
11 each retail electricity provider’s retail sales and total load, in MWh; required
12 amounts of clean and renewable energy for each category of the RES CES as
13 set forth in section 8005 of this title; and amounts of clean and renewable
14 energy and tradeable clean and renewable energy credits eligible to satisfy the
15 requirements of sections 8004 and 8005 of this title actually owned by the
16 Vermont retail electricity providers, expressed as a percentage of retail sales
17 and total load MWh purchases made by Vermont retail electricity providers to
18 meet demand.
19***
20(iv) The report shall assess how costs and benefits of the RES
21 CES are being distributed across State, to the extent possible given available
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1 data, by retail electricity service territory, municipality, and environmental
2 justice focus populations, as defined by 3 V.S.A. § 6002. Such an assessment
3 shall consider metrics to monitor affordability of electric rates.
4(B) Projections, looking at least 10 years ahead, of the impacts of the
5 RES CES on electric utility rates, total energy consumption, fossil fuel
6 consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
7(i) The Department shall consider at least three scenarios based on
8 high, mid-range, and low energy price forecasts.
9(ii) The Department shall provide an opportunity for public comment
10 on the model during its development and make the model and associated
11 documents available on the Department’s website.
12(iii) The Department shall project, for the State, the impact of the RES
13 in each of the following areas: electric utility rates, total energy consumption,
14 electric energy consumption, fossil fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas
15 emissions. The report shall compare the amount or level in each of these areas
16 with and without the program.
17(C) An assessment of whether the requirements of the RES CES have
18 been met to date, and any recommended changes needed to achieve those
19 requirements.
20(D) A summary of the activities of distributed renewable generation
21 programs that support the achievement of the RES CES, including:
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1(i) Standard Offer Program under section 8005a of this title,
2 including the number of plants participating under contract and in service in
3 the Program, the prices paid by the Program, and the plant capacity and
4 average annual energy generation of the participating plants. The report shall
5 present this information as totals for all participating plants and by category of
6 renewable energy technology. The report also shall identify the number of
7 applications received, the number of participating plants under contract, and
8 the number of participating plants actually in service.
9***
10(9) For the report due in 2029, the Commission shall issue a report on
11 whether it is reasonable to expect that there will be sufficient new regional
12 renewable resources available for a retail electricity provider with 75,000 or
13 more customers to meet its requirement under subdivision 8005(a)(4)(B)(i)(IV)
14 of this title at or below the alternative compliance payment rate for the new
15 renewable generation category of section 8005 of this title during the year
16 beginning on January 1, 2032, or during the years beginning on January 1,
17 2033 or January 1, 2034. The Commission shall not be required to issue this
18 report in a contested case under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 but shall conduct a
19 proceeding on the issue with opportunities for participation by the retail
20 electricity providers, Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, Renewable
21 Energy Vermont, and other members of the public. Notwithstanding the
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1 timeline specified in subdivision (e)(1) of this section, the Commission shall
2 file this annual report on or before December 15, 2028.
3***
4 Sec. 2. 30 V.S.A. § 8002 is amended to read:
5 § 8002. DEFINITIONS
6    As used in this chapter:
7(1) “CES” means the Clean Energy Standard established under sections
8 8004 and 8005 of this title.
9(2) “Clean energy” means both renewable energy, as defined in this
10 section, as well as electricity produced using a technology that does not emit
11 greenhouse gases as a by-product of energy generation.
12(1)(3) “Commission” means the Public Utility Commission under
13 section 3 of this title.
14(2)(4) “Commissioned” or “commissioning” means the first time a plant
15 is put into operation following initial construction or modernization if the costs
16 of modernization are at least 50 percent of the costs that would be required to
17 build a new plant including all buildings and structures technically required for
18 the new plant’s operation. However, these terms shall not include activities
19 necessary to establish operational readiness of a plant.
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1(3)(5) “CPI” means the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers,
2 designated as “CPI-U,” in the northeast region, as published by the U.S.
3 Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
4(4)(6) “Customer” means a retail electric consumer.
5(5)(7) “Department” means the Department of Public Service under
6 section 1 of this title, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
7(6)(8) “Energy conversion efficiency” means the effective use of energy
8 and heat from a combustion process.
9(7)(9) “Environmental attributes” means the characteristics of a plant
10 that enable the energy it produces to qualify as clean or renewable energy and
11 include any and all benefits of the plant to the environment such as avoided
12 emissions or other impacts to air, water, or soil that may occur through the
13 plant’s displacement of a nonclean or nonrenewable energy source.
14(8)(10) “Existing renewable energy” means renewable energy produced
15 by a plant that came into service prior to or on December 31, 2009.
16(9)(11) “Greenhouse gas reduction credits” shall be as defined in section
17 8006a of this title.
18(10)(12) “Group net metering system” means a net metering system
19 serving more than one customer, or a single customer with multiple electric
20 meters, located within the service area of the same retail electricity provider.
21 Various buildings owned by municipalities, including water and wastewater
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1 districts, fire districts, villages, school districts, and towns, may constitute a
2 group net metering system. A union or district school facility may be
3 considered in the same group net metering system with buildings of its
4 member schools that are located within the service area of the same retail
5 electricity provider. A system that files a complete application for a certificate
6 of public good on or after January 1, 2026, shall not qualify for group net
7 metering, unless the plant will be located on the same parcel, or a parcel
8 adjacent to, the parcel where the energy is utilized.
9(11)(13) “kW” means kilowatt or kilowatts (AC).
10(12)(14) “kWh” means kW hour or hours.
11(13)(15) “MW” means megawatt or megawatts (AC).
12(14)(16) “MWH” means MW hour or hours.
13(15)(17) “Net metering” means measuring the difference between the
14 electricity supplied to a customer and the electricity fed back by the customer’s
15 net metering system during the customer’s billing period:
16***
17(16)(18) “Net metering system” means a plant for generation of
18 electricity that:
19***
20(17)(19) “New renewable energy” means renewable energy capable of
21 delivery in New England and produced by a specific and identifiable plant
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1 coming into service on or after January 1, 2010, but excluding energy
2 generated by a hydroelectric generation plant with a capacity of 200 MW or
3 greater.
4***
5(18)(20) “Plant” means an independent technical facility that generates
6 electricity from renewable energy. A group of facilities, such as wind turbines,
7 shall be considered one plant if the group is part of the same project and uses
8 common equipment and infrastructure such as roads, control facilities, and
9 connections to the electric grid. Common ownership, contiguity in time of
10 construction, and proximity of facilities to each other shall be relevant to
11 determining whether a group of facilities is part of the same project.
12(19)(21) “Plant capacity” means the rated electrical nameplate for a
13 plant, except that, in the case of a solar energy plant, the term shall mean the
14 aggregate AC nameplate capacity of all inverters used to convert the plant’s
15 output to AC power.
16(20)(22) “Plant owner” means a person who has the right to sell
17 electricity generated by a plant.
18(21)(23) “Renewable energy” means energy produced using a
19 technology that relies on a resource that is being consumed at a harvest rate at
20 or below its natural regeneration rate.
21***
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1(22)(24)(A) “Renewable pricing” shall mean an optional service
2 provided or contracted for by an electric company:
3***
4(23)(25) “Retail electricity provider” or “provider” means a company
5 engaged in the distribution or sale of electricity directly to the public.
6(24)(26) “Standard Offer Facilitator” means an entity appointed by the
7 Commission pursuant to subsection 8005a(a) of this title.
8(25) [Repealed.]
9(26)(27) “Tradeable renewable energy credits” means all of the
10 environmental attributes associated with a single unit of energy generated by a
11 renewable energy source where:
12***
13(28) “Tradeable zero emissions credits” or “ZECs” means all of the
14 environmental attributes associated with a single unit of energy generated by a
15 clean energy source where:
16(A) those attributes are transferred or recorded separately from that
17 unit of energy;
18(B) the party claiming ownership of the tradeable zero emissions
19 credits has acquired the exclusive legal ownership of all, and not less than all,
20 the environmental attributes associated with that unit of energy; and
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1(C) exclusive legal ownership can be verified through an auditable
2 contract path or pursuant to the system established or authorized by the
3 Commission or any program for tracking and verification of the ownership of
4 environmental attributes of energy legally recognized in any state and
5 approved by the Commission.
6(27)(29) “Vermont composite electric utility system” means the
7 combined generation, transmission, and distribution resources along with the
8 combined retail load requirements of the Vermont retail electricity providers.
9(28)(30) “Energy transformation project” means an undertaking that
10 provides energy-related goods or services but does not include or consist of the
11 generation of electricity and that results in a net reduction in fossil fuel
12 consumption by the customers of a retail electricity provider and in the
13 emission of greenhouse gases attributable to that consumption. Examples of
14 energy transformation projects may include home weatherization or other
15 thermal energy efficiency measures; air source or geothermal heat pumps; high
16 efficiency heating systems; increased use of biofuels; biomass heating systems;
17 support for transportation demand management strategies; support for electric
18 vehicles or related infrastructure; and infrastructure for the storage of
19 renewable energy on the electric grid.
20(29) “RES” means the Renewable Energy Standard established under
21 sections 8004 and 8005 of this title.
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1(30)(31) “Energy storage facility” has the same meaning as in section
2 201 of this title.
3(31)(32) “Load” means the total amount of electricity utilized by a retail
4 electricity provider over a 12-month calendar year period, including its retail
5 electric sales, any use by the provider itself not included in retail sales, and
6 transmission and distribution line losses associated with and allocated to the
7 retail electricity provider.
8(32)(33) “Load growth” means the increase above a baseline year in a
9 retail electricity provider’s load.
10 Sec. 3. 30 V.S.A. § 8004 is amended to read:
11 § 8004. SALES OF ELECTRIC ENERGY; RENEWABLE CLEAN
12ENERGY STANDARD (RES CES)
13    (a) Establishment Expansion; requirements. The RES Renewable Energy
14 Standard is established expanded to become the CES. Under this program, a
15 retail electricity provider shall not sell or otherwise provide or offer to sell or
16 provide electricity in the State of Vermont without ownership of sufficient
17 energy produced by clean and renewable energy plants or sufficient tradeable
18 renewable energy and zero emissions credits from plants whose energy is
19 capable of delivery in New England that reflect the required amounts of clean
20 and renewable energy set forth in section 8005 of this title or without support
21 of energy transformation projects in accordance with that section. A retail
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1 electricity provider may meet the required amounts of clean and renewable
2 energy through eligible tradeable renewable energy and zero emissions credits
3 that it owns and retires, eligible clean and renewable energy resources with
4 environmental attributes still attached, or a combination of those credits and
5 resources.
6    (b) Rules. The Commission shall adopt update the rules that are necessary
7 to allow the Commission and the Department to implement and supervise
8 further the implementation and maintenance of the RES CES.
9    (c) RECS RECs and ZECs; banking. The Commission shall allow a
10 provider that has met the required amount amounts of clean and renewable
11 energy or zero emissions credits in a given year, commencing with 2017, to
12 retain tradeable renewable energy or zero emissions credits created or
13 purchased in excess of that amount for application to the provider’s required
14 amount of clean or renewable energy in one of the following three years.
15    (d) Alternative compliance payment. In lieu of purchasing renewable
16 energy or tradeable renewable energy or zero emissions credits or supporting
17 energy transformation projects to satisfy the requirements of this section and
18 section 8005 of this title, a retail electricity provider in this State may pay to
19 the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund established under section 8015
20 of this title an alternative compliance payment at the applicable rate set forth in
21 section 8005. The administrator of the Vermont Clean Energy Development
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1 Fund shall use the payment from a retail electricity provider electing to make
2 an alternative compliance payment to satisfy its obligations under subdivisions
3 8005(a)(1), 8005(a)(2), 8005(a)(4), and 8005(a)(5) of this title for the
4 development of renewable energy plants that are intended to serve and benefit
5 customers with low income of the retail electricity provider that has made the
6 payment. Such plants shall be located within the provider’s service territory, if
7 feasible. In the event that such a payment is insufficient to enable the
8 development of a renewable energy plant, the administrator may use the
9 payment for other initiatives allowed under section 8015 of this title that will
10 benefit customers with low income of the retail electricity provider that has
11 made the payment. As used in this subsection (d), “customer with low
12 income” means a person purchasing energy from a retail electricity provider
13 and with an income that is less than or equal to 80 percent of area median
14 income, adjusted for family size, as published annually by the U.S. Department
15 of Housing and Urban Development.
16***
17    (f) Joint efforts. Retail electricity providers may engage in joint efforts to
18 meet one or more categories within the RES CES.
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1 Sec. 4. 30 V.S.A. § 8005 is amended to read:
2 § 8005. RES CES CATEGORIES
3    (a) Categories. This section specifies five categories of required resources
4 to meet the requirements of the RES CES established in section 8004 of this
5 title: total clean and renewable energy, distributed renewable generation,
6 energy transformation, new renewable energy, and load growth renewable
7 energy. In order to support progress toward Vermont’s climate goals and
8 requirements, a provider may, but shall not be required to, exceed the
9 statutorily required amounts under this section.
10(1) Total clean and renewable energy.
11(A) Purpose; establishment. To encourage the economic and
12 environmental benefits of clean and renewable energy, this subdivision
13 establishes, for the RES CES, minimum total amounts of clean and renewable
14 energy within the supply portfolio of each retail electricity provider. To satisfy
15 this requirement, a provider may use clean energy generated within New
16 England or renewable energy with environmental attributes attached or any
17 class of tradeable renewable energy credits generated by any renewable energy
18 plant whose energy is capable of delivery in New England.
19(B) Required amounts.
20(i) The amounts of total renewable clean energy required by this
21 subsection (a) shall be 63 percent of each retail electricity provider’s annual
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1 load during the year beginning on January 1, 2025, increasing by at least an
2 additional four 7.4 percent each third January 1 thereafter until reaching 100
3 percent: on and after January 1, 2030.
4(i) on and after January 1, 2035 for a retail electricity provider who
5 serves a single customer that takes service at 115 kilovolts and each municipal
6 retail electricity provider formed under local charter or chapter 79 of this title;
7 and
8(ii) on and after January 1, 2030, for all other retail electricity
9 providers The amount of total renewable energy required by this subsection (a)
10 shall be 63 percent of each retail electricity provider’s annual electricity
11 purchases during the year beginning on January 1, 2025, increasing to 67
12 percent of each retail electricity provider’s annual electricity purchases during
13 the year beginning on January 1, 2028, increasing to 71 percent of each retail
14 electricity provider’s annual electricity purchases during the year beginning on
15 January 1, 2030, and increasing to 75 percent of each retail electricity
16 provider’s annual electricity purchases on and after January 1, 2032.
17***
18(2) Distributed renewable generation.
19(A) Purpose; establishment. This subdivision establishes a
20 distributed renewable generation category for the RES CES. This category
21 encourages the use of distributed generation to support the reliability of the
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1 State’s electric system;, reduce line losses;, contribute to avoiding or deferring
2 improvements to that system necessitated by transmission or distribution
3 constraints;, and diversify the size and type of resources connected to that
4 system. This category requires the use of renewable energy for these purposes
5 to reduce environmental and health impacts from air emissions that would
6 result from using other forms of generation.
7***
8(3) Energy transformation.
9(A) Purpose; establishment. This subdivision (3) establishes an
10 energy transformation category for the RES CES. This category encourages
11 Vermont retail electricity providers to support additional distributed renewable
12 generation or to support other projects to reduce fossil fuel consumed by their
13 customers and the emission of greenhouse gases attributable to that
14 consumption. A retail electricity provider may satisfy the energy
15 transformation requirement through distributed renewable generation in
16 addition to the generation used to satisfy subdivision (2) of this subsection (a)
17 or energy transformation projects or a combination of such generation and
18 projects.
19***
20(4) New renewable energy.
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1(A) Purpose; establishment. This subdivision (4) establishes a new
2 regional renewable energy category for the RES CES. This category
3 encourages the use of new renewable generation to support the reliability of
4 the regional ISO-NE electric system. To satisfy this requirement, a provider
5 shall use new renewable energy with environmental attributes attached or any
6 class of tradeable renewable energy credits generated by any renewable energy
7 plant coming into service after January 1, 2010, whose energy is capable of
8 delivery in New England.
9***
10(E) On or before December 15, 2026, the Commission shall issue a
11 report on whether it is reasonable to expect that there will be sufficient new
12 regional renewable resources available for a retail electricity provider with
13 75,000 or more customers to meet its requirement under subdivision
14 (4)(B)(i)(IV) of this subsection (a) at or below the alternative compliance
15 payment rate for the new renewable generation category of this section during
16 the year beginning on January 1, 2030, or at any time in the subsequent five
17 years. The Commission shall not be required to issue this report in a contested
18 case under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 but shall conduct a proceeding on the issue
19 with opportunities for participation by the retail electricity providers, Vermont
20 Public Power Supply Authority, Renewable Energy Vermont, and other
21 members of the public. The Commission may use its authority under sections
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1 20 and 21 of this title as may be necessary to support technical analysis
2 necessary to develop this report.
3***
4 Sec. 5. 30 V.S.A. § 8006 is amended to read:
5 § 8006. TRADEABLE CREDITS; ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES;
6RECOGNITION, MONITORING, AND DISCLOSURE
7    (a) The Commission shall establish or adopt a amend and expand its system
8 of tradeable renewable energy credits for renewable resources that may be
9 earned by electric generation qualifying for the prior RES to include clean
10 energy generation. The system shall recognize tradeable renewable energy
11 credits monitored and traded on the New England Generation Information
12 System (GIS); shall provide a process for the recognition, approval, and
13 monitoring of environmental attributes attached to clean and renewable energy
14 that are eligible to satisfy the requirements of sections 8004 and 8005 of this
15 title but are not monitored and traded on the GIS; and shall otherwise be
16 consistent with regional practices.
17    (b) The Commission shall ensure that all electricity provider and provider-
18 affiliate disclosures and representations made with regard to a provider’s
19 portfolio are accurate and reasonably supported by objective data. Further, the
20 Commission shall ensure that providers disclose the types of generation used
21 and shall clearly distinguish between energy or tradeable energy credits
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1 provided from clean, renewable, and nonrenewable energy sources and
2 existing and new renewable energy.
3 Sec. 6. 30 V.S.A. § 8008 is amended to read:
4 § 8008. AGREEMENTS; ATTRIBUTE REVENUES; DISPOSITION BY
5COMMISSION
6    (a) As used in this section, “the revenues” means revenues that are from the
7 sale, through tradeable clean or renewable energy certificates or other means,
8 of environmental attributes associated with the generation of clean and
9 renewable energy from a system of generation resources with a total plant
10 capacity greater than 200 MW and that are received by a Vermont retail
11 electricity provider on or after May 1, 2012, pursuant to an agreement,
12 contract, memorandum of understanding, or other transaction in which a
13 person or entity agrees to transfer such revenues or rights associated with such
14 attributes to the provider.
15***
16 Sec. 7. 10 V.S.A. § 6505 is amended to read:
17 § 6505. EXEMPTION
18    This subchapter does not apply to any temporary storage by Vermont
19 Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation of spent nuclear fuel elements or other
20 radioactive waste at its present the site of the former Vermont Yankee Nuclear
21 Power Station generated at the same site.
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1 Sec. 8. 10 V.S.A. § 6522 is amended to read:
2 § 6522. PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION REVIEW OF PROPOSALS FOR
3NEW STORAGE FACILITIES FOR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
4***
5    (c) In addition, the following limiting conditions shall apply:
6(1) Any certificate of public good issued by the Commission shall
7 permit storage only of spent fuel that is derived from the operation of at the
8 former Vermont Yankee and not from any other source site.
9(2) Any certificate of public good issued by the Commission shall limit
10 the cumulative total amount of spent fuel stored at Vermont Yankee to the
11 amount derived from the operation of the facility up to, but not beyond, March
12 21, 2012, the end of the current operating license. Authorized capacity may
13 include on-site storage capacity to accommodate full core offload or any order
14 or requirement of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with respect to the fuel
15 derived from these operations. [Repealed.]
16***
17(4) Compliance with the provisions of this subchapter shall constitute
18 compliance with the provisions of this chapter that require that approval be
19 obtained from the General Assembly before construction or establishment of a
20 facility for the deposit or storage of spent nuclear fuel, but only to the extent
21 specified in this subchapter or authorized under this subchapter. The Public
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1 Utility Commission is authorized to hear and issue a certificate of public good
2 for such a facility under 30 V.S.A. § 248 to the extent specified or authorized
3 in this subchapter. Other agencies of the State also may receive and act on
4 applications related to the construction or establishment of such a facility,
5 provided that any approval for such a facility applies only to the extent
6 specified or authorized in this subchapter. Storage of spent fuel derived from
7 the operation of Vermont Yankee after March 21, 2012 shall require the
8 approval of the General Assembly under this chapter. [Repealed.]
9(5) Compliance with the provisions of this subchapter shall not confer
10 any expectation or entitlement to continued operation of Vermont Yankee
11 following the expiration of its current operating license on March 21, 2012.
12 Before the owners of the generation facility may operate the generation facility
13 beyond that date, they must first obtain a certificate of public good from the
14 Public Utility Commission under Title 30. [Repealed.]
15 Sec. 9. REPEAL
16    30 V.S.A. § 254 (construction or extended operation of a nuclear power
17 plant; public engagement process) is repealed.
18 Sec. 10. 30 V.S.A. § 248 is amended to read:
19 § 248. NEW GAS AND ELECTRIC PURCHASES, INVESTMENTS, AND
20FACILITIES; CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC GOOD
21***
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1    (e)(1) Before a certificate of public good is issued for the construction of a
2 nuclear energy generating plant within the State, the Public Utility
3 Commission shall obtain the approval of the General Assembly and the
4 Assembly’s determination that the construction of the proposed facility will
5 promote the general welfare. The Public Utility Commission shall advise the
6 General Assembly of any petition submitted under this section for the
7 construction of a nuclear energy generating plant within this State, by written
8 notice delivered to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the
9 President of the Senate. The Department of Public Service shall submit
10 recommendations relating to the proposed plant and shall make available to the
11 General Assembly all relevant material. The requirements of this subsection
12 shall be in addition to the findings set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
13(2) No nuclear energy generating plant within this State may be operated
14 beyond the date permitted in any certificate of public good granted pursuant to
15 this title, including any certificate in force as of January 1, 2006, unless the
16 General Assembly approves and determines that the operation will promote the
17 general welfare, and until the Public Utility Commission issues a certificate of
18 public good under this section. If the General Assembly has not acted under
19 this subsection by July 1, 2008, the Commission may commence proceedings
20 under this section and under 10 V.S.A. chapter 157, relating to the storage of
21 radioactive material, but may not issue a final order or certificate of public
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 BILL AS INTRODUCED  H.601
 2026  Page 24 of 24
1 good until the General Assembly determines that operation will promote the
2 general welfare and grants approval for that operation. [Repealed.]
3***
4    (m) In any matter with respect to which the Commission considers the
5 operation of a nuclear energy generating plant beyond the date permitted in
6 any certificate of public good granted under this title, including any certificate
7 in effect as of January 1, 2006, the Commission shall evaluate the application
8 under current assumptions and analyses and not an extension of the cost
9 benefit assumptions and analyses forming the basis of the previous certificate
10 of public good for the operation of the facility. [Repealed.]
11***
12 Sec. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE
13    This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
                                                                     VT LEG #386172 v.2