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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill requires the Public Service Commissions to conduct a study with respect to
10 regional transmission organizations.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 ▸ defines terms;
14 ▸ requires the Public Service Commission to study the costs and benefits of joining a
15 Regional Transmission Organization;
16 ▸ describes the required contents of the study; and
17 ▸ establishes a deadline by which the Public Service Commission shall present the
18 study to the Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Interim Committee.
19 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20 None
21 Other Special Clauses:
22 None
23 Utah Code Sections Affected:
24 ENACTS:
25 54-1-14, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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27 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28 Section 1. Section 54-1-14 is enacted to read:
29 54-1-14. Regional transmission organization study.
30 (1) As used in this section:
31 (a) "Commission" means the Public Service Commission, established in Section
32 54-1-1.
33 (b) "Regional Transmission Organization (RTO)" means an organized wholesale
34 market established for the purpose of coordinating and efficiently managing the dispatch and
35 transmission of electricity among public utilities on a multi-state or regional basis.
36 (2) The commission shall conduct a study of the costs and benefits the state may
37 experience in developing or joining an RTO.
38 (3) The study described in Subsection (2) shall include:
39 (a) a review of relevant literature relating to RTOs;
40 (b) a survey of steps that states on the Pacific coast and the mountain west have taken
41 to create or to join an RTO;
42 (c) input from stakeholders and subject experts, including:
43 (i) the Department of Commerce;
44 (ii) the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity; and
45 (iii) the Office of Energy Development;
46 (d) a description of the steps required to comply with federal regulations regarding the
47 formation of RTOs; and
48 (e) the commission's analysis of the potential impact, if Utah were to join an RTO, on:
49 (i) ratepayers;
50 (ii) wholesale electrical rates;
51 (iii) retail electrical rates;
52 (iv) the state's economic development; and
53 (v) the resiliency of the state's energy grid.
54 (4) The commission shall present the study to the Public Utilities, Energy, and
55 Technology Interim Committee on or before July 1, 2023.