REFERENCE TITLE: community choice energy study committee

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-sixth Legislature

First Regular Session

2023

HB 2405

Introduced by

Representatives Travers: Cano, Contreras L, Sandoval, Shah, Smith, Terech

An Act

establishing the community choice energy study committee.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Community choice energy study committee; membership; duties; report; delayed repeal

A. The community choice energy study committee is established consisting of the following members:

1. Two members of the senate who are members of the natural resources, energy and water committee and who are of different political parties.  The president of the senate shall appoint these members and designate one of these members as the cochairperson of the committee.

2. Two members of the house of representatives who are members of the natural resources, energy and water committee and who are of different political parties.  The speaker of the house shall appoint these members and designate one of these members as the cochairperson of the committee.

3. The director of the governor's resiliency office or the director's designee.

4. The presidents of Arizona public service company and Tucson electric power or the presidents' designees.

5. The president of the Salt River project or the president's designee.

6. The presidents of two independent energy suppliers that are currently active in Arizona public service company's buy through program that allows qualifying corporations to access alternative wholesale electricity suppliers or the presidents' designees.  The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint these members.

7. The executive director of the Arizona solar energy industry association or the executive director's designee.

8. The presidents of Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University or the presidents' designees.

9. Two executive directors of Arizona nonprofit advocacy organizations, such as conservatives for environmental stewardship, Arizonans for community choice or Arizona public interest research group, or the executive directors' designees. The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint these members.

10. The executive director of the Arizona residential utility consumer office or the executive director's designee.

B. Committee members are not eligible to receive compensation.

C. The committee shall:

1. Meet as often as the cochairpersons deem necessary.

2. Gather information regarding current community choice energy organizational models in the ten states that have authorized community choice energy through state legislation.

3. Review best practices for community choice energy implementation and operations, potential rate savings for customers, potential revenue streams and other community benefits for participating municipalities, potential achievement of communities' energy goals more cost-effectively and more rapidly than through their current utility, potential risks that community choice energy programs might face that merit consideration, potential impacts of extending municipalities' access to the wholesale energy market, potential impacts on energy delivery systems and delivery reliability and potential effects of community choice energy and regulated wholesale competition on this state's investor-owned utilities, energy technologies innovation, development of smart cities and local and statewide economic development.

4. Ascertain the feasibility and the potential legal, regulatory, economic and environmental impacts of community choice energy in this state.

5. Accept testimony and documentation from stakeholders, independent energy and utility experts, community choice energy administrators from other states and other interested parties.

6. Solicit input from a broad and inclusive range of stakeholders and presenters that may include local governments, investor-owned utilities, business groups, consumer advocates, environmental advocates, independent power producers and transmission providers, experts in energy reliability and resource adequacy planning, renewable energy developers, expert consultants in energy project financing, experts in energy efficiency and distributed energy resources, representatives of operational community choice energy authorities and members of the general public.

D. On or before November 15, 2023, the committee shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.

E. The legislature shall staff committee meetings.

F. This section is repealed from and after September 30, 2024.