Money’s Battery Storage Bill Keeps An Account Outside The Treasury

The text as introduced · 988 words

89R14812 SCR-D

By: Money
H.B. No. 4363

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to battery energy storage facilities; authorizing fees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 35, Utilities Code, is amended by adding

Subchapter F to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER F. BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE FACILITY PERMIT

Sec. 35.201. DEFINITIONS; APPLICABILITY. (a) In this

subchapter:

(1) "Battery energy storage facility" includes

lithium ion battery energy storage and a facility or equipment used

to support the operation of lithium ion battery energy storage,

including an underground or aboveground electrical transmission or

communications line, or an electric transformer.

(2) "Permit holder" means a person who holds a permit

issued under this subchapter.

(3) "Person" includes an electric cooperative and a

municipally owned utility.

(b) This subchapter applies only to a battery energy storage

facility that is intended to be used to sell energy or ancillary

services at wholesale.

Sec. 35.202. PERMIT REQUIRED. (a) A person may not

interconnect a battery energy storage facility to a transmission

facility unless the person holds a permit to operate a battery

energy storage facility issued by the commission under this

subchapter.

(b) The commission by rule shall require each permitted

battery energy storage facility to comply with the rules adopted by

the state fire marshal under Section 35.203.

(c) The commission by rule shall adopt a fee to be imposed on

each permit applicant to cover the commission's costs associated

with implementing this subchapter.

(d) For purposes of this subchapter:

(1) a provision of Subchapter B or E, Chapter 14, that

authorizes the commission to regulate a public utility also applies

to a person required to obtain a permit under this section,

including an electric cooperative or a municipally owned utility;

and

(2) a reference in Chapter 15 to a person includes a

person required to obtain a permit under this section, including an

electric cooperative or a municipally owned utility.

Sec. 35.203. FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS FOR BATTERY ENERGY

STORAGE FACILITIES. (a) The state fire marshal shall adopt and

periodically update fire safety standards for a battery energy

storage facility operating under a permit issued under this

subchapter. The standards must include:

(1) minimum distances between battery energy storage

facilities and buildings and critical infrastructure;

(2) requirements for fireproof barriers to protect

other structures and vegetation;

(3) minimum standards related to the installation,

design, and maintenance of battery energy storage facilities and

related electrical equipment, including ventilation and cooling;

(4) fire hazard management standards, including

standards for emergency shutdown systems;

(5) lithium ion battery safety standards, including

standards for specialized fire suppression equipment; and

(6) standards for signage near a battery energy

storage facility.

(b) Each permit holder that owns or operates a permitted

battery energy storage facility shall ensure that the facility

meets the fire safety standards adopted by the state fire marshal

under Subsection (a) at the time of interconnection.

Sec. 35.204. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS FOR BATTERY ENERGY

STORAGE FACILITIES. (a) A permit holder shall collaborate with

local fire departments to develop a site-specific emergency

operations plan for each battery energy storage facility owned or

operated by the permit holder, including emergency response and

communications protocols for an equipment failure incident.

(b) The permit holder shall offer to local fire departments

training regarding responding to a fire at the battery energy

storage facility, including specialized training for hazards

related to characteristics of lithium ion battery fires and related

to responding to a fire at a battery energy storage facility that is

integrated with a solar power generation facility.

Sec. 35.205. FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE FUNDING. (a) An

applicant for a permit under this subchapter shall obtain from the

fire department, as defined by Section 419.021, Government Code,

volunteer fire department, fire marshal, or other first responder

entity that may reasonably be expected to be the primary first

responder to a fire at the location of the battery energy storage

facility an estimate of the expenses required for the first

responder entity to adequately prepare to respond to a fire at the

battery energy storage facility during the first year after the

date the facility is installed.

(b) The estimated amount of expenses under Subsection (a)

may not include expenses the first responder entity would incur

regardless of the existence of the battery energy storage facility.

(c) The commission shall require the applicant to deposit

with the comptroller under Subsection (d) an amount of money the

commission determines is sufficient to compensate the first

responder entity for expenses required for the first responder

entity to adequately prepare to respond to a fire at the battery

energy storage facility during the first year after the date the

facility is installed. The applicant shall provide the estimate

described by Subsection (a) to the commission, who shall consider

the estimate in determining the amount of money required to be

deposited under Subsection (d).

(d) The comptroller shall deposit money received from an

applicant for the purposes of this section in a separate suspense

account to be held in trust for the first responder entity. The

suspense account is outside the state treasury and the comptroller

may make a payment authorized by this subchapter without the

necessity of an appropriation.

(e) After the commission approves the permit application:

(1) the commission shall notify the comptroller of the

approval; and

(2) the comptroller shall pay to the first responder

entity the amount deposited by the permit applicant for that first

responder entity.

Sec. 35.206. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. A permit holder

shall develop a public awareness campaign to educate the public in

the area of the permitted battery energy storage facility about

specific risks and safety measures related to the battery energy

storage facility.

SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

a battery energy storage facility interconnected on or after the

effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.