Rep. GATCH proposes the following amendment (LC-3309.HA0110H):
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting SECTION 6.
Amend the bill further, by deleting SECTION 11.
Amend the bill further, SECTION 14, by striking Section 58-37-70(C)(1) and inserting:
(C)(1) Electrical utilities and the South Carolina Public Service Authority shallmay evaluate the potential for deploying small modular nuclear facilities at suitable sites within this State. A "suitable site" may include sites of current nuclear facilities, sites where nuclear facilities have been proposed but not constructed, and brownfield sites, such as coal generation sites.Amend the bill further, SECTION 15.A., by striking Section 58-37-120(A)(1) and inserting:
Section 58-37-120. (A)(1) Any agency presented with an application for a permit for an energy infrastructure project shall promptly provide a public comment period if required by regulation and shall review and issue a decision on the application no later than six months after the date the application is received by the agency. If the agency fails to undertake review of and take final action upon the application within the six-month review period, as defined in subsection (A)(3), the application shall be deemed approved, and the agency shall promptly issue documentation of such approval.
Amend the bill further, SECTION 15.A., by striking Section 58-37-120(D) and (E) and inserting:
(D) Upon receipt of an application, the agency shall promptly review it for sufficiency and shall provide the applicant with a list of all technical and administrative deficiencies within thirty days of receipt, or if a public comment period is required, fifteen days from the end of the comment period. The identification by the agency of deficiencies in the application shall not toll the six-month period for agency determination.(E) No later than sixty days prior to filing any permit applications under this section, a public utility that plans to construct or has entered into agreements to construct any energy infrastructure project which may result in the use of eminent domain must provide written notice, via certified U.S. mail, to any property owners whose properties may be acquired or condemned. This notice must clearly state the need for the project, its preferred and any alternative locations or routes, a phone number or email that property owners may contact at the utility, and an appropriate contact at the Office of Regulatory Staff. No later than thirty days after filing an application, the utility must also hold a public meeting to solicit feedback from interested members of the affected community and on the date an application is filed, must provide notice of said meeting in a newspaper or other publication of general circulation in each county where the project may be located and in writing to all landowners whose property may be condemned.
Amend the bill further, SECTION 20, by striking Section 58-42-10(F)(3) and inserting:
(3) the expiration of any existing contracts for with qualifying facilities pursuant to the Public Utility Regulatory Practices Policies Act.
Amend the bill further, SECTION 23, by striking Section 58-37-40(C)(2) and inserting:
(2) The commission shall approve an electrical utility's or the Public Service Authority's integrated resource plan if the commission determines that the proposed integrated resource plan represents the most reasonable and prudent means of meeting the electrical utility's or the Public Service Authority's energy and capacity needs as of the time the plan is reviewed. To determine whether the integrated resource plan is the most reasonable and prudent means of meeting energy and capacity needs, the commission, in its discretion, shall consider whether the plan appropriately balances the following factors:In reviewing an integrated resource plan, the commission shall give due consideration as to the resources and actions necessary for the utility to fulfill compliance and reliability obligations pursuant to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the Southeastern Electric SERC Reliability Council Corporation, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, as well as environmental requirements applicable to resources serving customers in this state. Matters related to the scope and sufficiency of an electrical utility's demand-side plans and activities shall be considered exclusively in proceedings conducted pursuant to Section 58-37-20. In reviewing an integrated resource plan, the commission shall focus its review on the decisions which the applicant must make in the near term based on the triennial integrated resource plan under consideration at the time and shall approve a plan if it finds that the plan appropriately balances the following factors:
(a) resource adequacy and capacity to serve anticipated peak electrical load, including the need for electric capacity and energy required to support economic development and industry retention in the electrical utility's or the Public Service Authority's service territory and to meet applicable planning reserve margins;
(b) consumer affordability and least reasonable cost considering the resources needed to support economic development and industry retention, and other risks and benefits;
(c) compliance with applicable state and federal environmental regulations;
(d) power supply reliability;
(e) commodity price risks;
(f) diversity of generation supply; and
(g) the efficiencies and optimum plans for any electrical utility system spanning state lines located within the electrical utility's or the Public Service Authority's balancing authority area; and
(h) other foreseeable conditions that the commission determines to be for the public's interest.
Amend the bill further, SECTION 29, by striking Section 58-37-20(B) and (C) and inserting:
(B) The commission shallmay approve any program filed by a public utility if the program is found to be cost-effective. Furthermore, the commission may, in its discretion, approve demand-side management pilot programs and any program filed by a public utility that is not cost-effective, so long as the proposed demand-side management program is targeted to low-income customers, andprovided that the public utility's portfolio of demand-side management programs is cost-effective as a whole.(C) The South Carolina Public Service Commission maymust adopt procedures that encouragerequire electrical utilities and public utilities providing gas services subject to the jurisdiction of the commission to plan for and invest in all reasonable, prudent, and available energy efficiency and demand-side resources that are cost-effective energy efficient technologies and energy conservation programs that achieve net energy savings of at least 0.66 percent of total retail sales as of May 15, 2027, or a higher level asin an amount to be determined by the commission. Energy efficiency shall be considered a component of the requirement for a utility to make every reasonable effort to minimize fuel costs as outlined in Section 58-27-865(F) and the commission may grant a proportional disallowance based on evidence in record. If an electrical utility fails to meet the requirements of this section as determined by the commission, the commission is authorized to appoint a third-party administrator to carry out the residential low-income energy efficiency duties pursuant to this section on behalf of the electrical utility if the commission determines that having such a third-party administrator is in the public interest and consistent with law. Such a program shall be funded through the existing energy efficiency rider mechanism, with those funds transferred to the third-party administrator. Upon notice and hearings that the commission may require, the commission may issue rules, regulations, or orders pursuant to this chapter to implement applicable programs and measures under this section. If adopted, these procedures must: provide incentives and cost recovery for energy suppliers and distributors who invest in energy supply and end-use technologies that are cost-effective, environmentally acceptable, and reduce energy consumption or system or local coincident peak demand; allow energy suppliers and distributors to recover costs and obtain a reasonable rate of return on their investment in qualified demand-side management programs sufficient to make these programs at least as financially attractive as construction of new generating facilities; require the Public Service Commission to establish rates and charges that ensure that the net income of an electrical or gas utility regulated by the commission after implementation of specific cost-effective energy conservation measures is at least as high as the net income would have been if the energy conservation measures had not been implemented. For purposes of this section only, the term "demand-side activity" means a program conducted by an electrical utility or public utility providing gas services for the reduction or more efficient use of energy requirements of the utility or its customers including, but not limited to, utility transmission and distribution system efficiency, customer conservation and efficiency, load management, cogeneration, and renewable energy technologies.
Amend the bill further, by deleting SECTIONS 43, 44.A, 44.B, and 44.C.
Amend the bill further, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:
SECTION X. Section 58-4-50(A)(9) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:(A)(9) to serve as a facilitator or otherwise act directly or indirectly to resolve disputes and issues involving matters within the jurisdiction of the commission. In accordance with the mission of the Office of Regulatory Staff as provided for in Section 58-4-10 and in the context of settlement negotiations, the Office of Regulatory Staff shall consider any applicable requirements set out for the Public Service Commission pursuant to Section 58-3-140;
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.