Committee begins walkthrough of H.289, proposing Clean Energy Standard, ZECs and deadline changes

The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday began a detailed section‑by‑section walkthrough of H.289, a bill that would retitle the Renewable Energy Standard (RES) as the Clean Energy Standard (CES), add a statutory definition of “clean energy,” create tradable zero‑emission credits (ZECs), and change reporting and compliance timelines for retail electricity providers.

Ellen Shaikowski of the Office of Legislative Council led the legal walkthrough and explained numerous conforming changes the bill would make across Title 30. “Clean energy means both renewable energy as defined in this section, as well as electricity produced using a technology that does not emit greenhouse gases as a byproduct of energy generation,” Shaikowski said while reading a proposed definition in the draft.

The draft would create a new, transferable credit called a zero‑emission credit, or ZEC, defined similarly to renewable energy credits (RECs) but tied to attributes of energy generated by zero‑emission sources. Under the draft, retail electricity providers could meet required amounts of clean and renewable energy using tradable RECs, ZECs, or by owning and retiring eligible clean energy resources. Shaikowski said the bill’s language allows banking of ZECs in the same manner as existing RECs.

The bill restructures the current multi‑tier RES into a CES and retains the tier framework while changing some statutory percentages and deadlines: the draft discusses a requirement for total clean and renewable energy to be 63% of a provider’s annual load beginning Jan. 1, 2025, increasing by 7.4 percentage points each Jan. 1 thereafter until reaching 100% on and after Jan. 1, 2030. The draft separately sets the required amount of renewable energy at 55% beginning Jan. 1, 2027, increasing by 4 percentage points each Jan. 1 thereafter until reaching 75% on and after Jan. 1, 2032.

Members discussed how the bill would treat RECs and ZECs. Shaikowski read the draft language that allows a single unit of generation to produce environmental attributes that could be transferred and recorded separately; one committee member warned that a facility might generate both types of credits for the same megawatt‑hour and that market participants might prefer one credit over the other if it carried higher value. Shaikowski and members said the commission (the Public Utility Commission) would be directed to update rules and systems for tracking and verifying exclusive legal ownership of attributes.

The draft also includes language aimed at limiting development in transmission‑ or distribution‑constrained areas unless the costs of needed upgrades are not passed through to ratepayers. A retail electricity provider may petition the commission for relief from the subdivision’s requirements if it can demonstrate it cannot meet requirements without extensive upgrades that would be borne by ratepayers; if relief is granted the provider would be required to acquire new renewable generation that qualifies under the bill’s Tier 4 provisions instead.

Committee members asked clarifying legal questions throughout the walkthrough, including how the bill severs references between the state comprehensive energy plan and the climate action plan and how the changes would interact with the Global Warming Solutions Act language later in the draft. Shaikowski noted the bill’s language replaces some GWSA requirements with nonbinding goals in other sections.

No formal committee vote occurred on H.289 during the session; the committee paused the walkthrough as staffing constraints required an adjournment. Members said they had built flexibility into the schedule and planned to continue the walkthrough at a subsequent meeting.