Texas Legislature Passes Bill Addressing Sale of Retail Power By General Land Office

An amended bill (SB 736) addressing the sale of retail power by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) has passed both houses of the Texas legislature and has been sent to the governor, but the final bill gutted the original proposal that would have banned such GLO retail power sales in favor of studying the issue

As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, SB 736 as introduced would have terminated the statutory grant of authority that currently allows the Texas General Land Office (GLO) to sell power to public retail customers

Currently, the GLO offers retail electricity supply to various public entities under the State Power Program (SPP), with Cavallo Energy Texas LLC (Champion Energy/Calpine) acting as the supplier. Public retail customers eligible for the program include schools, cities and counties, state agencies, and other public facilities.

SB 736 passed the Senate without major modification (only extending the deadline by which such sales must stop)

However, the House amended the bill (and the Senate concurred), and the bill no longer removes the GLO's authority to sell retail power. Instead, SB 736 as passed provides that the GLO shall collect information on the sale of electric power by the General Land Office.

Not later than September 1, 2018, the General Land Office shall provide to the legislature a report on such information

The report must include the following information for each year:

(1) number of participants;

(2) aggregate rates;

(3) general contract terms; and

(4) the extent of any fiscal impact on state resources of administering the program.

A statement of legislative intent indicates that the purpose of the study is to allow lawmakers to make informed decisions in the next session as they continue to review the issue.