Montana Public Service Commission vice chair testifies on proposed PURPA law
Representing the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), Travis Kavulla, vice chair of the Montana Public Service Commission, testified at the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy hearing on a bill to reform the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1978.
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) recently introduced the PURPA Modernization Act of 2017, which would reform current PURPA conditions.
The legislation would lower the mandatory purchase obligation threshold to 2.5 megawatts (MW) allow for relief from the obligations if the appropriate state regulatory agency determines that the electric utility does not have the need to purchase the output of a small power production facility or uses integrated resource planning. It would also create a list of factors that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must consider when determining whether two facilities are located on the site in regard to the one-mile rule.
The current policy “takes a dated approach to renewable energy,” Kavulla said in a filed testimony. He added that NARUC supports “modernization efforts that will encourage competition as a means toward renewable development.”
NARUC also recently advocated for PURPA reform in a letter to FERC, which identified three propositions to modernize the law. Of most importance to NARUC, the association said, are the provisions to change the rules surrounding mandatory purchase obligations.
