§ 37-2-133 — Exemption for purchase of coal fired generation facilities that would otherwise have been retired; public utility purchase requirements; conditions for exemption

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
provisions of this chapter and chapters 1 and 3 of this title
shall not apply to a person who operates a coal fired electric
generation facility purchased under an agreement approved by the
commission under W.S. 37-3-117.
(b) Electric public utilities, other than cooperative
electric utilities, shall be obligated to purchase electricity
generated from a coal fired electric generation facility
purchased under agreement approved by the commission under W.S.
37-3-117 provided that:
(i) The person purchasing the otherwise retiring coal
fired electric generation facility offers to sell some or all of
the electricity from the facility to an electric public utility;
(ii) The electricity is sold at a price that is no
greater than the purchasing electric utility's avoided cost as
may be determined by the commission;
(iii) The electricity is sold under a power purchase
agreement with a specified term length and such other terms and
conditions as may be approved by the commission; and
(iv) The commission approves a one hundred percent
(100%) cost recovery in rates for the cost of the power purchase
agreement and the agreement is one hundred percent (100%)
allocated to the public utility's Wyoming customers unless
otherwise agreed to by the public utility.
(c) In determining an electric public utility's avoided
costs under this section, the commission may consider:
(i) The value of the electric energy and capacity
generated from the facility;
(ii) The value of any reliability benefits associated
with the operation of the facility; and
(iii) Any other factor deemed appropriate by the
commission.
(d) The commission may elect to set the avoided cost price
and other terms and conditions for the purchase of electricity
from an otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation
facility in advance of the facility's proposed retirement date
to permit potential purchasers to know the avoided cost price
and other terms and conditions for sales from that facility
prior to entering into an agreement to purchase the facility.
(e) As used in this section, "avoided cost" means the
incremental costs to an electric utility of electric energy or
capacity or both which, but for the purchase from the otherwise
retiring coal fired electric generation facility, the utility
would generate itself or incur in a purchase from another
source. As may be determined by the commission, avoided costs
may change over the course of an approved power purchase
agreement at specified intervals set forth in the power purchase
agreement.
(f) A person purchasing an otherwise retiring coal fired
electric generation facility may sell electricity generated by
the facility to the electric public utility selling the
otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation facility,
except for a cooperative or municipal public utility, for the
benefit of a retail customer located in the existing service
territory of that electric public utility provided that the
customer has more than one (1) megawatt average demand and takes
service at a primary or transmission voltage level.
(g) If an electric utility purchases electricity from the
owner of an otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation
facility for the benefit of an eligible retail customer, the
utility serving that eligible retail customer shall purchase the
electricity at a cost and under terms and conditions that are
acceptable to and negotiated between the customer and the owner
of the otherwise retiring coal fired electric generation
facility. The electric public utility shall pass that cost
through to the customer without markup or modification except:
(i) For the collection of applicable taxes and the
appropriate assessment, which shall be collected pursuant to
W.S. 37-2-106 through 37-2-109;
(ii) To ensure other Wyoming customers are not
negatively impacted by the arrangement provided for in this
subsection and subsection (f) of this section, the commission
shall also authorize the utility to impose additional charges on
participating retail customers to the extent the commission
determines that a sale of electricity under this subsection and
subsection (f) of this section will result in the utility
experiencing incremental stranded generation capacity costs or
other incremental costs except for the cost of any undepreciated
investments associated with the otherwise retiring coal fired
electric generation facility.
(h) An eligible retail customer under subsection (g) of
this section shall only receive electricity as provided in
subsection (g) of this section from the owner of an otherwise
retiring coal fired electric generation facility if the customer
also purchases partial requirements or equivalent service from
the electric public utility under rates, terms and conditions
set by the commission to compensate the public utility for its
costs.