Missouri Senate

House Committee Substitute

ENERGY CONNECTIONS (Section 67.309):

Under this act, no political subdivision shall adopt an ordinance, resolution, regulation, code or policy that prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, the connection or reconnection of a utility service based upon the type or source of energy to be delivered to an individual customer.

This provision is similar to SB 230 (2021) and to a provision contained in the perfected SS/SB 44 (2021).

RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS (Section 386.895):

This act requires the Public Service Commission to adopt rules for gas corporations to offer a voluntary renewable natural gas program. The Commission shall establish reporting requirements and a process for gas corporations to fully recover incurred costs that are prudent, just, and reasonable associated with a renewable natural gas program. Such recovery shall not be permitted until the project is operational.

Any costs incurred by a gas corporation that are prudent, just, and reasonable shall be recovered by means of an automatic adjustment clause.

An affiliate of a gas corporation shall not be prohibited from making a capital investment in a biogas production project if the affiliate is not a public utility as defined in statute.

This provision is identical to the perfected SS/SB 141 (2021) and substantially similar to HCS/HB 892 (2021).

CONSTRUCTION WORK IN PROGRESS (Section 393.135):

Current provisions of law prohibiting any charge made or demanded by an electrical corporation for service, or in connection therewith, which is based on the costs of construction work in progress, as such term is defined in the act, shall not apply to a clean baseload generating plant or a renewable source generating facility, as such terms are defined in the act.

This provision is identical to a provision contained in the perfected HB 261 (2021) and SB 832 (2020).

CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINES (Sections 393.170 & 523.262):

Under this act, the Public Service Commission shall not issue a certificate of convenience and necessity for a merchant line, as such term is defined in the act, until the entity requesting the certificate has provided the Commission with a resolution of support passed by the county commission of each county through which the merchant line will be built.

Additionally, no entity, which is defined as a utility company that does not provide service to end-use customers or provide retail service in Missouri, or does not collect its costs to provide service under a regional transmission organization tariff, regardless of whether it has received a certificate of convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission, shall have the power of eminent domain for the purpose of constructing above-ground merchant lines. This provision applies to any property or easement acquisition started on or after August 28, 2021. Further, this provision does not apply to rural electric cooperatives, or certain other corporations operating under a cooperative business plan.

These provisions are identical to HCS/HB 1415 (2021) and the perfected HCS/HB 527 (2021), and similar to SB 508 (2021), SCS/SBs 597 & 604 (2020), HCS/HB 2033 (2020), HCS/HB 2094 (2020), HB 1877 (2020), and SCS/HB 1062 (2019).

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES (Section 393.1025):

This act modifies the definition of "renewable energy resources" for the purposes of the Renewable Energy Standard by removing the requirement that hydropower has a nameplate rating of 10 megawatts or less.

This provision is identical to HB 159 (2021).

NUCLEAR CLEAN POWER ACT (Section 393.1250):

The act also creates the Missouri Nuclear Clean Power Act to enable the construction of clean baseload electric generating plants within the state or facilities that utilize renewable sources to produce energy. The Missouri Nuclear Clean Power Act shall not apply to clean baseload electric generating plants or renewable source generating facilities that are in commercial operation before August 28, 2020.

The Public Service Commission may authorize an electrical corporation to make or demand charges for service based in whole or in part on additional amortizations to maintain the electrical corporation's financial ratios that will, in the Commission's judgment, better enable the electrical corporation to cost-effectively construct a clean baseload generating plant or a renewable source generating facility.

This provision is identical to a provision contained in the perfected HB 261 (2021) and SB 832 (2020).

RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES (Section 394.120):

The board of directors of a rural electric cooperative shall have the power to set the time and place of the annual meeting and also to provide for voting by proxy, electronic means, by mail, or any combination thereof, and to prescribe the conditions under which such voting shall be exercised. The meeting requirement may be satisfied through virtual means.

This provision expires on August 28, 2022.

This provision is identical to a provision contained in the perfected SS/SB 333 (2021) and to a provision contained in the perfected SS#2/SCS/SB 202 (2021).

JAMIE ANDREWS