Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LAW WITHOUT
                                                                  GOVERNOR'S                CHAPTER
                                                                  SIGNATURE
                                                                                                 222
                                                                  JUNE 18, 2023            PUBLIC LAW
                                  STATE OF MAINE
                                           _____
                           IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                      TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE
                                           _____
                                   H.P. 467 - L.D. 698
An Act to Reduce the Cost of Energy in Maine and Reduce Greenhouse Gas
    Emissions Through the Effective Use of Renewably Sourced Gas
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §1903, as amended by PL 2015, c. 445, §§3 and 4, is repealed.
    Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §1909-A is enacted to read:
§1909-A. Regional natural gas monitoring; commission intervention
    1. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings. The commission shall:
    A. Monitor proceedings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission related to
    interstate natural gas transportation capacity in New England and the Northeast; and
    B. If the commission believes that intervention and participation in a proceeding
    described in paragraph A will best represent the interests of the State's electric and gas
    ratepayers, intervene and participate in the proceeding and seek to achieve a result that
    will ensure the lowest possible natural gas and electricity prices for consumers in the
    State.
    2. Report. By December 31st of any year in which the commission has intervened and
participated in a proceeding pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph B, the commission shall
submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over
energy and utility matters summarizing its participation.
    Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §1912, as amended by PL 2017, c. 22, §1, is repealed.
    Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §4701-A is enacted to read:
§4701-A. Renewably sourced gas; authorized with commission approval
    1. Definition. For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise indicates,
the following term has the following meaning.
    A. "Renewably sourced gas" means gas that the commission finds has been processed
    to meet pipeline, equipment and appliance quality standards to blend with or substitute
    for geologically derived natural gas and may include gas that:
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        (1) Is produced by anaerobic digestion or gasification of agricultural waste, dairy
        or animal residual materials or landfill biomass material;
        (2) Is produced by wastewater treatment or other waste processes; or
        (3) Has a lower carbon content than natural gas, including but not limited to
        hydrogen gas.
    2. Renewably sourced gas. Any gas utility may be authorized, subject to commission
approval in accordance with subsection 3, to buy, sell, furnish, transport, store, distribute,
dispose of or otherwise deal in renewably sourced gas with the same rights, privileges and
limitations conferred or imposed upon it with respect to geologically or conventionally
sourced natural gas and within the same territorial limitations within which it is authorized
to deal in manufactured gas.
    3. Commission approval. A gas utility may petition the commission to utilize
renewably sourced gas in accordance with subsection 2. The commission may authorize
the use of renewably sourced gas upon a finding that:
    A. The gas utility will utilize the renewably sourced gas in a manner that is safe and
    reliable;
    B. The renewably sourced gas will be provided to customers at a just and reasonable
    rate; and
    C. Granting the authorization may reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help to meet
    the greenhouse gas emissions reduction levels set forth in Title 38, section 576-A.
    Sec. 5. Requests for information; Public Utilities Commission. The Public
Utilities Commission, after consultation with the Office of the Public Advocate, the
Governor's Energy Office and the Efficiency Maine Trust, shall issue a request for
information to appropriate stakeholders, organizations or other entities identified by the
commission for the following information:
    1. Whether there are any reasonable opportunities for the commission to explore and
consider engaging in the execution of an energy cost reduction contract or a physical energy
storage contract in accordance with the principles of beneficial electrification and the
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, chapter 19; and
    2. Identification of existing and near-term replacement energy sources for natural gas
in commercial and industrial uses, including when the replacement energy sources are
expected to be available, the cost of those replacement energy sources and the steps needed
to develop a cost-effective and reliable supply of such replacement energy sources.
    By February 1, 2024, the commission shall submit a report to the Joint Standing
Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology that includes a summary of the responses
the commission received from its request for information, any actions the commission has
taken, if any, as a result of the information submitted by respondents to the commission's
request for information and any recommendations. The committee may report out a bill to
the Second Regular Session of the 131st Legislature.
                                    Page 2 - 131LR2238(03)
Statutes affected: 
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 222: 35-A.1903, 35-A.1912