{"id":4207,"date":"2013-05-31T18:39:32","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T18:39:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=4207"},"modified":"2013-05-31T18:39:32","modified_gmt":"2013-05-31T18:39:32","slug":"environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/31\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Accomplishments And Missed Opportunities From The 83rd Texas Legislative Session"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/iStock_Row_Of_Wind_Turbines_jpg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4209\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/iStock_Row_Of_Wind_Turbines_jpg-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/iStock_Row_Of_Wind_Turbines_jpg-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/iStock_Row_Of_Wind_Turbines_jpg.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>This blog post is co-authored by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/marita-mirzatuny\">Marita Mirzatuny<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/kate-zerrenner\">Kate Zerrenner<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In addition to passing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2013\/05\/27\/us-usa-taxes-texas-idUSBRE94Q0LG20130527\">tax cuts<\/a> and making <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinchronicle.com\/blogs\/food\/2013-04-03\/pecan-pie-named-the-state-pie-of-texas\/\">pecan pie the official state pie<\/a> of Texas, the 83<sup>rd<\/sup> Legislature heard numerous energy-related bills.\u00a0 As a solution to our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/energy\/texas-energy-crunch\">Texas Energy Crunch<\/a> efforts, EDF supported 13 bills that would have provided relief to Texas\u2019 resource adequacy problems; in other words, the issues Texas faces as a result of increasing energy demand, scorching temperatures and a record drought. \u00a0Among those bills (which we review on page 13 of our \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/news\/edf-releases-%E2%80%9C-state-energy-crunch-texas%E2%80%9D-report\">State of the Texas Energy Crunch<\/a>\u2019 report) are a few, highlighted below, that made some \u2013 albeit not enough \u2013 progress.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Energy Legislation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A big success this session was the passage of <a href=\"http:\/\/legiscan.com\/TX\/bill\/SB385\/2013\">Senate Bill (SB) 385<\/a> by Chairman John Carona. \u00a0SB 385, or the <a href=\"http:\/\/pacenow.org\/\">Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)<\/a> bill, clears some of the hurdles that prohibit commercial and industrial properties from taking advantage of new financing for energy improvements. \u00a0PACE allows property owners to pay for water and energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy improvements with loans, which are then repaid through an annual charge on their property tax bill. \u00a0For more on this legislation, please see our <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/23\/texas-picks-up-the-clean-energy-pace\/\">recent blog post<\/a> covering PACE in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Chairman Carona\u2019s demand response bill, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/Search\/DocViewer.aspx?K2DocKey=odbc%3a%2f%2fTLO%2fTLO.dbo.vwCurrBillDocs%2f83%2fR%2fS%2fB%2f01351%2f3%2fB%40TloCurrBillDocs&amp;QueryText=sb+1351&amp;HighlightType=1\">SB 1351<\/a>, passed and was referred to State Affairs in the House. \u00a0Demand response (DR) initiatives allow customers to voluntarily reduce peak electricity use and receive a payment for doing so in response to a signal from their utilities.\u00a0 Additionally, Chairman Rafael Anch\u00eda introduced the companion bill, House Bill (HB) 2194. \u00a0HB 2194 allows for customer, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/news\/edf-releases-%E2%80%9C-state-energy-crunch-texas%E2%80%9D-report\">demand-side resources<\/a> (DSR), from \u201cresidential, commercial, and industrial customers to participate in all energy markets&#8221; and specifies that DSR \u201cmust be designed and implemented in a manner to increase market efficiency, competition, and customer benefits.\u201d This bill clears the way for demand response, renewable energy, and energy efficiency to become important players in the market.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/tlodocs\/83R\/billtext\/html\/SB01280S.htm\">SB 1280, by Senator Kirk Watson<\/a>, passed out of the Business and Commerce Committee with a seven to two vote. \u00a0This bill, regarding Texas\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2012\/08\/13\/1315\/\">reserve margin<\/a> for the electric grid, requires that power regions (such as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT) estimate the available generation at any given time, the expected peak demand (demand at the hottest part of the day when the most energy is being used) and the amount of reserve energy needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply. \u00a0SB 1280 also directs the use of voluntary load participation programs (think demand response) with at least 20 percent of peak energy demand coming from each of the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Jos\u00e9 Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s net metering bill, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/tlodocs\/83R\/billtext\/html\/SB01239S.htm\">SB 1239<\/a>, successfully passed out of the Business and Commerce committee. \u00a0Texas is one of only seven states where customers are not guaranteed fair compensation for the electricity they provide to the grid. \u00a0SB 1239 clarifies that all retail electric providers, municipal utilities and cooperatives must buy back extra electricity from residential customers along with churches and schools at a reasonable, market-based value.\u00a0 For example, Los Angeles implemented the largest solar <a href=\"http:\/\/losangeles.cbslocal.com\/video\/8176410-largest-urban-rooftop-solar-buyback-program-approved\/\">buyback<\/a> program in the nation earlier this year, paying customers 17 cents a kilowatt hour for excess energy produced.<\/p>\n<p>In the House, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/tlodocs\/83R\/billtext\/html\/HB00303I.htm\">HB 303<\/a> by Representative Eddie Rodriguez called for a new renewable energy goal \u2013 to supply 35 percent of energy demand with clean energy by 2020, with at least two percent coming from solar. \u00a0This marks an important precedent for the clean energy standards introduced in state legislatures around the country. \u00a0Additionally, Representative Rafael Anch\u00eda authored <a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/tlodocs\/83R\/billtext\/html\/HB02196I.htm\">HB 2196<\/a>, a bill that addresses <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/texascleanairmatters\/2013\/04\/15\/renewables-buyback-bill-pays-good-money-for-clean-energy\/\">payments to customers<\/a> for renewable energy and other demand-side contributions to the electric grid.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s great that some of the bills gained some traction, only SB 385 made its way to the Governor\u2019s desk. \u00a0With a <a href=\"http:\/\/bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com\/2013\/05\/ercot-predicting-hot-summer-conservation-pleas-likely.html\/\">hotter than average summer approaching<\/a>, possibly worse than 2011, electric reliability is not a guarantee and these bills would have provided solutions to help address our energy issues. \u00a0Already Texas is receiving <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/08\/dont-turn-the-lights-off-on-demand-response\/\">national attention<\/a> for our impeding energy shortages.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4211\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4211\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/river.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4211\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/river-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/river-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/river.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4211\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: www.lavacacountytaxpayers.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Water Legislation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the last minute, the House and Senate, after much back door negotiating and out front wrangling, approved a plan to fund the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twdb.state.tx.us\/waterplanning\/swp\/\">State Water Plan<\/a>. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.legis.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/Text.aspx?LegSess=83R&amp;Bill=HB4\">HB 4<\/a>, by Chairman Allan Ritter, set up two funding accounts to pay for water projects. \u00a0These accounts must be approved by voters, because the bills would amend Texas\u2019 Constitution to allow the plan to be initially funded with a portion of the <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/tag\/rainy-day\/\">Rainy Day Fund<\/a>.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The two accounts would give low-interest loans for different water projects chosen by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twdb.state.tx.us\/index.asp\">Texas Water Development Board<\/a> (TWDB), which would also manage the accounts. \u00a0TWDB would offer revolving loans, meaning that when loans are paid back, the money would go back into the account and then fund more projects.\u00a0 Using this strategy, the Rainy Day seed money is estimated to grow from $2 billion to $25 billion over the next 50 years.<\/p>\n<p>The bulk of the projects would be for infrastructure\u2014e.g., reservoirs, desalinization plants (where salt water is desalinated to produce fresh water for human consumption or irrigation)\u2014but 20 percent is set aside for water conservation projects. \u00a0While there is still a need for voters to approve the payment from the Rainy Day Fund, a <a href=\"http:\/\/tamutimes.tamu.edu\/2013\/04\/26\/survey-reveals-texans-concerns-about-water-issues\/\">recent poll<\/a> by Texas A&amp;M University shows that Texans are concerned about water issues and will likely vote in favor of it.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of other water-related bills worth mentioning are <a href=\"http:\/\/openstates.org\/tx\/bills\/83\/SB1169\/\">SB 1169<\/a> by Glenn Hegar and <a href=\"http:\/\/openstates.org\/tx\/bills\/83\/SB199\/\">SB 199<\/a> by Watson.\u00a0 SB 1169 requires that those who receive financing for water projects from the TWDB create a drought contingency plan (a plan that considers use, allocation and conservation of water in the event of a drought) and provide additional planning reports. \u00a0The second bill, SB 199, co-sponsored by Chairman Anch\u00eda, did not make it to the House floor, but was adjusted into SB 1169. \u00a0This rule will require power plants to conduct an annual water usage analysis and report all findings to the TWDB and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. This will be a great first step in collecting essential data needed to address the <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/texascleanairmatters\/2013\/03\/28\/new-thinking-is-critical-to-better-manage-water-and-electricity-resources-in-texas\/\">energy-water nexus<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog post is co-authored by Marita Mirzatuny and Kate Zerrenner. In addition to passing tax cuts and making pecan pie the official state pie of Texas, the 83rd Legislature heard numerous energy-related bills.\u00a0 As a solution to our Texas Energy Crunch efforts, EDF supported 13 bills that would have provided relief to Texas\u2019 resource &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38678,254,177,181],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-4207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-demand-response","category-energy-efficiency","category-renewable-energy","category-texas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Environmental Accomplishments And Missed Opportunities From The 83rd Texas Legislative Session - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/31\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Environmental Accomplishments And Missed Opportunities From The 83rd Texas Legislative Session - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This blog post is co-authored by Marita Mirzatuny and Kate Zerrenner. In addition to passing tax cuts and making pecan pie the official state pie of Texas, the 83rd Legislature heard numerous energy-related bills.\u00a0 As a solution to our Texas Energy Crunch efforts, EDF supported 13 bills that would have provided relief to Texas\u2019 resource ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/31\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-31T18:39:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/iStock_Row_Of_Wind_Turbines_jpg-300x199.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EDF Blogs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"EDF Blogs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/31\\\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/31\\\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"EDF Blogs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3\"},\"headline\":\"Environmental Accomplishments And Missed Opportunities From The 83rd Texas Legislative Session\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-31T18:39:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/31\\\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1026,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/31\\\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/iStock_Row_Of_Wind_Turbines_jpg-300x199.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Demand Response\",\"Energy Efficiency\",\"Renewable Energy\",\"Texas\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/31\\\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/31\\\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/31\\\/environmental-accomplishments-and-missed-opportunities-from-the-83rd-texas-legislative-session\\\/\",\"name\":\"Environmental Accomplishments And Missed Opportunities From The 83rd Texas Legislative Session - 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