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Panel advances HB 2065 to streamline interconnection studies for microgrids and community projects
Summary
The subcommittee adopted an amendment and moved House Bill 2065, which establishes rules for interconnecting microgrids and lets applicants choose party‑conducted interconnection studies while requiring utilities to respond within set timelines.
The Natural Resources subcommittee on June 11 adopted the dash A4 amendment and advanced House Bill 2065 to the Ways and Means full committee with a due‑pass recommendation. HB 2065 establishes a framework for interconnecting microgrids and community microgrids to transmission or distribution systems of PUC‑regulated public utilities.
Under the bill, applicants can choose whether interconnection studies are conducted by the utility or by a qualified third‑party consultant; utilities must provide technical data to support studies, respond to preliminary designs within 30 days, and issue decisions on qualified applications within 90 days. Utilities may only deny applications on safety, reliability or compliance grounds. The Public Utility Commission will adopt rules establishing procedures, cost recovery and timelines for party interconnection studies, the Legislative Fiscal Office said.
Why it matters: proponents said the bill addresses a workforce bottleneck — utilities do a high volume of connection studies and may not have the staffing to meet demand — and gives communities and project developers the option to hire qualified consultants to speed interconnection. Daniel William of Sustainable Northwest described the bill as a workforce capacity solution and emphasized that utilities retain final decision authority over accepting or denying studies.
"This bill would enable project developers or communities ... to hire a party consulting or expertise firm to do the connection study to the grid," Daniel William said. "Utilities ultimately will have the decision on whether to accept or deny those connection studies."
The committee adopted the amendment and moved HB 2065 to Ways and Means with a due‑pass recommendation.
