Wyoming committee advances bill letting cities build wholesale generation, with PSC safeguards added

The Joint Interim Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee advanced legislation on Tuesday that would allow Wyoming cities and towns to establish, construct and sell electricity from generation facilities on municipally owned property.

The bill, 25 LSO 027, as amended, clarifies that municipalities may construct electric-light and power plants and sell electricity wholesale, but only pursuant to a commission‑regulated agreement with the certificated public utility serving that territory. Committee counsel Josh Anderson described the draft as a clarifying measure that would also allow municipalities to issue revenue bonds for such projects and state that municipal operations would not be treated as public utilities or as customer‑generators for net‑metering statutes.

Why it matters: supporters said the change would give smaller municipalities a tool to convert underused land—such as closed landfills—into revenue‑generating assets and to partner with local utilities on projects that can attract grants and economic development. Mayor Patrick Collins of Cheyenne told the committee, “It was my hope when I proposed this legislation that we could take nonproductive pieces of land like our closed landfill and make it financially productive by constructing a solar farm on that land.” He said any city‑owned facility would need an agreement with the local utility and that the bill’s amendment protects existing municipal utilities such as Gillette and Torrington.

Support and concerns: the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and several municipal officials backed the bill as a pathway for local revenue. Consumer and industrial advocates, and some utilities and cooperatives, urged guardrails to preserve the Public Service Commission’s ability to review whether contracts and any rates the utility seeks to recover are prudent. Thor Nelson, representing Wyoming Industrial Energy Consumers, warned the original draft could be read to exempt contracts from PSC review and recommended language explicitly preserving commission jurisdiction over costs and avoided‑cost determinations.

Changes adopted: the committee voted to accept an amendment offered by Mayor Collins that restored protections for municipal utilities and inserted new subsection language enabling partnerships with certificated utilities. Members also adopted an amendment suggested by Mr. Nelson to the effect that municipal wholesale sales be conducted pursuant to a “commission‑regulated agreement,” preserving the PSC’s oversight of costs to be recovered by utilities.

Vote: Representative Yen moved the bill; Representative Barlow seconded. On roll call the measure passed the committee as amended, 9 ayes to 5 noes. The clerk recorded individual votes during the roll call.

What’s next: committee leadership set a short recess and said additional drafting and follow‑up could occur ahead of the legislative session. The committee invited stakeholders to continue working on language to clarify PSC review and ensure municipal projects do not inappropriately shift costs to other customers.