The Legislative Service Office presented an issue brief on state taxation of electricity generation and the Revenue Committee discussed options ranging from the existing per‑megawatt excise taxes to a broader gross‑receipts or gross‑earnings tax on electricity production.

LSO staff summarized current statute: an excise tax on electricity generated from wind at $1 per megawatt‑hour (cited to statute in the 39‑22 series) and a $5 per megawatt‑hour tax on electricity from nuclear reactors (cited to the 39‑23 series); both statutes include common exemptions such as federal/state/city/county‑owned facilities and a producer’s personal consumption exemption not exceeding 500 kilowatt‑hours in a 24‑hour period. LSO also explained an exemption for certain advanced nuclear reactors, including the statute’s condition that, beginning July 1, 2035, the exemption only applies if at least 80 percent of uranium used is sourced in the United States.

LSO and committee members discussed a previously drafted bill concept (House Bill 300 in materials) that would replace per‑megawatt taxes with a gross‑receipts‑style tax on electricity production while allowing credits for other taxes already paid (severance, ad valorem, sales/use and the existing wind tax). LSO summarized modeling from the prior draft: a $133 million new tax liability was estimated with $115 million in estimated credits, leaving an $18 million net annual effect roughly split between state and local governments in the prior estimate. LSO emphasized modeling sensitivity to chosen rates, credit definitions and distribution formulas.

Senator Case and legislative staff emphasized prior legal analysis showing states can tax electricity production so long as in‑state and out‑of‑state customers are treated equally; the committee discussed policy tools to offset impacts on in‑state ratepayers, including reducing or targeting the retail sales tax on electricity and using the new production tax revenues to reimburse local governments for lost sales tax distributions.

Industry witnesses urged caution. Kara Choquette (Power Company Wyoming/Anschutz) and wholesale providers including Basin Electric and Tri‑State told the committee that raising generation taxes without offsets would increase ratepayer bills and could reduce the competitiveness of Wyoming generation in regional markets. Basin Electric said any production tax would add cost to wholesale dispatch and could make some Wyoming plants less economical to run. Industry participants also highlighted the property‑tax and sales/use‑tax contributions of generation projects and noted steps to secure federal revenue sharing for renewables on federal lands (a recent federal change will return 25 percent to counties and 25 percent to states for certain federal fees related to renewables on federal land, beginning in 2026).

Committee action and next steps: lawmakers directed Legislative Service Office staff to prepare a bill draft that would update House Bill 300 material for the next committee meeting, and a separate, standalone draft to repeal the statutory tax exemption for advanced nuclear reactors (committee members asked for that standalone repeal to be prepared so it can be added or considered separately). The committee voted by voice to proceed with drafting those items.

What the committee discussed but did not decide: whether to impose a uniform per‑megawatt charge, a differentiated per‑megawatt charge by generation type (wind/solar/coal/gas), or a gross‑receipts approach; whether to offset increased generation taxation by lowering retail sales taxes on electricity for in‑state consumers and whether to reimburse local governments that would lose sales tax revenue.

Limitations: LSO said estimates depend heavily on the final design (tax base, rates, credits, and distribution rules) and recommended additional modeling to test rate impacts on in‑state consumers and the competitiveness of Wyoming generation in regional markets.