79-6-303. Legislative findings — Forced retirement of electrical generation facilities.
| (1) |
As used in this section:
Terms Used In Utah Code 79-6-303- Office: means the Office of Energy Development created in Section 79-6-401. See Utah Code 79-6-102
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
| (a) |
“Dispatchable” means available for use on demand and generally available to be delivered at a time and quantity of the operator’s choosing. |
| (b) |
“Electrical generation facility” means a facility that generates electricity for provision to customers. |
| (c) |
“Forced retirement” means the closure of an electrical generation facility as a result of a federal regulation that either directly mandates the closure of an electrical generation facility or where the costs of compliance are so high as to effectively force the closure of an electrical generation facility. |
| (d) |
“Qualified utility” means the same as that term is defined in Section 54-17-801. |
| (e) |
“Reliable” means supporting a system generally able to provide a continuous supply of electricity at the proper voltage and frequency and the resiliency to withstand sudden or unexpected disturbances. |
| (f) |
“Secure” means protected against disruption, tampering, and external interference. |
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| (2) |
The Legislature finds that:
| (a) |
affordable, reliable, dispatchable, and secure energy resources are important to the health, safety, and welfare of the state‘s citizens; |
| (b) |
the state has invested substantial resources in the development of affordable, reliable, dispatchable, and secure energy resources within the state; |
| (c) |
the early retirement of an electrical generation facility that provides affordable, reliable, dispatchable, and secure energy is a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the state’s citizens; |
| (d) |
the state’s police powers, reserved to the state by the United States Constitution, provide the state with sovereign authority to make and enforce laws for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the state’s citizens; |
| (e) |
the state has a duty to defend the production and supply of affordable, reliable, dispatchable, and secure energy from external regulatory interference; and |
| (f) |
the state’s sovereign authority with respect to the retirement of an electrical generation facility for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the state’s citizens is primary and takes precedence over any attempt from an external regulatory body to mandate, restrict, or influence the early retirement of an electrical generation facility in the state. |
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| (3) |
A qualified utility that receives notice of any federal regulation that may result in the forced retirement of the qualified utility’s electrical generation facility shall inform the Office of the Attorney General of the regulation within 30 days after the receipt of notice. |
| (4) |
After being informed as described in Subsection (3), the Office of the Attorney General may take any action necessary to defend the interest of the state with respect to electricity generation by the qualified utility, including filing an action in court or participating in administrative proceedings. |
Enacted by Chapter 195, 2023 General Session
