Texas House Committee Reports Favorably Substitute Bill Prohibiting TDUs From Owning Storage
May 15,2019
The Texas House State Affairs committee has reported favorably a substitute for SB 1941 which provides that, "[t]he commission [PUC] may not authorize ownership of an electric energy storage facility by a transmission and distribution utility."
The substitute for SB 1941 generally includes the same provisions as the version of the bill passed by the Senate
The substitute would still allow a transmission and distribution utility, with prior approval of the PUC, to contract with a power generation company to provide electric energy from an electric energy storage facility to ensure reliable service to distribution customers.
One notable change is that the bill refers to storage asset owners as "power generation companies" rather than the, "owner or operator of an electric energy storage facility."
The substitute for SB 1941 maintains the provision that the total amount of electric energy storage capacity reserved by TDU contracts may not exceed 40 megawatts.