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Committee advances HB 201 to tighten how integrated resource plans account for capacity, firming and demand management
Summary
The committee passed the first substitute to HB 201 on a 9‑1 vote. The bill would require utilities and the Public Service Commission to distinguish between load reductions and firm capacity when evaluating integrated resource plans, and to ensure firming costs for variable resources are fully attributed.
The House Public Utilities and Energy Standing Committee on Oct. 12 voted 9‑1 to pass the first substitute to House Bill 201, a measure that would change how utilities and regulators evaluate integrated resource plans (IRPs) by clarifying how capacity, energy and demand‑management programs are counted.
Representative Colin Jack, chair of the committee and sponsor of the bill, said the bill is designed to ensure that utilities properly attribute the full cost of backup or firming resources to variable energy supplies such as wind and solar and to keep demand‑management programs voluntary and accounted for on the load side rather than treated as firm capacity.
"You can do all of these programs to improve load factor, but you still have to meet the demand," Representative Jack said, summarizing the bill’s core principle that utilities must plan adequate capacity to serve customers when they need it.
The first substitute makes three main changes, the sponsor told the committee: it…
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