Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
Senator MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Henry
SYNOPSIS
“Grid Reliability Protection Act”; prohibits State agencies from decommissioning electric generation facilities in State under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the decommissioning of electric generation facilities in the State and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Grid Reliability Protection Act.”
2. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Ensuring the reliability, affordability, and adequacy of New Jersey’s electrical grid is a fundamental responsibility of the State, especially as energy demand rises and older generation resources face pressure to retire;
b. The regional transmission organization, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., has issued repeated warnings that the accelerated retirement of generation facilities may outpace the addition of new generation sources, putting grid reliability at risk;
c. New Jersey no longer has coal-fired electric generation and now relies heavily on natural gas and nuclear energy to provide reliable, around the clock electricity, particularly during periods of peak demand or limited renewable output; and
d. Premature closure of power plants without fully built and tested replacement generation sources poses unacceptable risks, including, but not limited to: grid system strain during weather events or outages, increased costs to ratepayers through reliance on expensive imports, and greater risk of blackouts and brownouts that endanger public health and economic activity.
e. The Legislature therefore determines that it is appropriate and in the public interest to ensure electric generation facilities in the State are not erroneously decommissioned by State agencies and to protect current electrical generation facilities in the State.
3. a. As used in this section:
“Board” means the Board of Public Utilities.
“Covered facility” means any electric generation facility in the State that is connected to the electric grid serving New Jersey.
“PJM” or “PJM Interconnection” means the same term as defined by section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
“State agency” means any State department, division, agency, commission, or authority.
b. No State agency shall mandate, incentivize, or otherwise compel the retirement, decommissioning, or shutdown of a covered facility, unless:
(1) PJM Interconnection certifies, in writing, that the facility’s deactivation will not negatively impact regional grid reliability, capacity adequacy, or energy market prices; and
(2) the Board conducts a public rate impact analysis showing that the deactivation will not materially increase costs to ratepayers.
c. Except as otherwise provided by subsection b of this section, a covered facility may be deactivated without PJM certification only if the facility’s operator or a State agency determines, in writing, that continued operation of the facility poses an immediate threat to public health or safety, due to:
(1) structural damage or mechanical failure that cannot be mitigated; or
(2) hazardous environmental or radiological conditions that make the continued operation of the facility impossible to operate in accordance with federal or State public health and safety regulations.
d. At least 12 months prior to a proposed deactivation of a covered facility, the owner or operator the facility shall provide the public notice of the deactivation and file a letter of intent with the Board. The public notice shall include the date of the proposed deactivation, a PJM certification noting the deactivation will not negatively impact regional grid reliability, capacity adequacy, or energy market prices and a rate impact analysis conducted by the Board.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill, to be known as the “Grid Reliability Protection Act,” would prohibit State agencies from mandating the retirement of electric generation facilities in the State under certain circumstances.
Under the bill, a State agency is prohibited from mandating, incentivizing, or otherwise compelling any electric generation facility in the State connected to the State’s electrical grid from deactivating unless: (1) PJM Interconnection certifies, in writing, that the facility’s deactivation will not negatively impact regional grid reliability, capacity adequacy, or energy market prices; and (2) the Board of Public Utilities conducts a public rate impact analysis showing the deactivation will not materially increase costs to ratepayers. The bill also provides an exception if the electric generation facility poses a risk to public health and safety. Finally, the bill provides certain public notice requirements for any deactivation of an electric generation facility in the State connected to the electric grid serving New Jersey.