Section 80.04.570. Power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power.

(1) On the petition of an electrical company, the commission shall approve or disapprove a power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power, as defined in RCW 80.80.010, and the recovery of related acquisition costs. No agreement for an electrical company's acquisition of coal transition power takes effect until it is approved by the commission.

(2) Any power purchase agreement for the acquisition of coal transition power pursuant to this section must provide for modification of the power purchase agreement to the satisfaction of the parties thereto in the event that a new or revised emission or performance standard or other new or revised operational or financial requirement or limitation directly or indirectly addressing greenhouse gas emissions is imposed by state or federal law, rules, or regulatory requirements. Such a modification to a power purchase agreement agreed to by the parties must be reviewed and considered for approval by the commission, considering the circumstances existing at the time of such a review, under procedures and standards set forth in this section. In the event the parties cannot agree to modification of the power purchase agreement, either party to the agreement has the right to terminate the agreement if it is adversely affected by this new standard, requirement, or limitation.

(3) When a petition is filed, the commission shall provide notice to the public and potentially affected parties and set the petition for hearing as an adjudicative proceeding under chapter 34.05 RCW. Any party may request that the commission expedite the hearing of that petition. The hearing of such a petition is not considered a general rate case. The electrical company must file supporting testimony and exhibits together with the power purchase agreement for coal transition power. Information provided by the facility owner to the purchasing electrical company for evaluating the costs and benefits associated with acquisition of coal transition power must be made available to other parties to the petition under a protective order entered by the commission. An administrative law judge of the commission may enter an initial order including findings of fact and conclusions of law, as provided in RCW 80.01.060(3). The commission shall issue a final order that approves or disapproves the power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power within one hundred eighty days after an electrical company files the petition.

(4) The commission must approve a power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power pursuant to this section only if the commission determines that, considering the circumstances existing at the time of such a review: The terms of such an agreement provide adequate protection to ratepayers and the electrical company during the term of such an agreement or in the event of early termination; the resource is needed by the electrical company to serve its ratepayers and the resource meets the need in a cost-effective manner as determined under the lowest reasonable cost resource standards under chapter 19.280 RCW, including the cost of the power purchase agreement plus the equity component as determined in this section. As part of these determinations, the commission shall consider, among other factors, the long-term economic risks and benefits to the electrical company and its ratepayers of such a long-term purchase.

(5) If the commission has not issued a final order within one hundred eighty days from the date the petition is filed, or if the commission disapproves the petition, the power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power is null and void. In the event the commission approves the agreement upon conditions other than those set forth in the petition, the electrical company has the right to reject the agreement.

(6)(a) Upon commission approval of an electrical company's power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power in accordance with this section, the electrical company is allowed to earn the equity component of its authorized rate of return in the same manner as if it had purchased or built an equivalent plant and to recover the cost of the coal transition power under the power purchase agreement. Any power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power that earns a return on equity may not be included in an imputed debt calculation for setting customer rates.

(b) For purposes of determining the equity value, the cost of an equivalent plant is the least cost purchased or self-built electric generation plant with equivalent capacity. In determining the least cost plant, the commission may rely on the electrical company's most recent filed integrated resource plan. The cost of an equivalent plant, in dollars per kilowatt, must be determined in the original process of commission approval for each power purchase agreement for coal transition power.

(c) The equivalent plant cost determined in the approval process must be amortized over the life of the power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power to determine the recovery of the equity value.

(d) The recovery of the equity component must be determined and approved in the review process set forth in this section. The approved equity value must be in addition to the approved cost of the power purchase agreement.

(7) Authorizing recovery of costs under a power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power does not prohibit the commission from authorizing recovery of an electrical company's acquisition of capacity resources for the purpose of integrating intermittent power or following load.

(8) Neither chapter 180, Laws of 2011 nor the commission's approval of a power purchase agreement for acquisition of coal transition power that includes the ability to earn the equity component of an electrical company's authorized rate of return establishes any precedent for an electrical company to receive an equity return on any other power purchase agreement or other power contract.

(9) For purposes of this section, "power purchase agreement" means a long-term financial commitment as defined in *RCW 80.80.010(15)(b).

(10) This section expires December 31, 2025.

[ 2011 c 180 § 304.]

NOTES:

*Reviser's note: RCW 80.80.010 was alphabetized pursuant to RCW 1.08.015(2)(k), changing subsection (15) to subsection (16).

Findings—Purpose—2011 c 180: See note following RCW 80.80.010.

2011 c 180 § 304.