To Washington DC and Back Again

For most of this past week I have been in Washington DC with representatives from NREA's member-systems participating in the NRECA Legislative Rally. Unfortunately both the House and Senate were in recess so we were not able to meet directly with our Congressional delegation. All was not lost...we had very productive meetings with key staff members in each of Nebraska's Senate and House offices.

Key issues that we discussed were:
1. Preserving Tax Exempt Financing and ask the Nebraska Delegation to oppose changing a necessary funding tool that has been in place for the last 200 years.
2. Asking our Congressional delegation to oppose the efforts to designate Coal Combustion Residuals (Coal Ash) as a hazardous material and remind the members of the beneficial recycling of the leftover product from coal generation.
3. Ask our Congressional Delegation to support the $4 billion in funding for the Rural Utility Service (RUS) Loan Program, but oppose the efforts to to limit the loan program and prohibit RUS loans for distribution and transmission development. We reminded our Delegation that the RUS Loan Program actually generated revenue for the federal government!
4. Ask our Congressional Delegation to oppose efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to regulate pole attachments for Electric Cooperatives and Rural Public Power Districts.
5. Ask our Congressional Delegation to direct the Department of Energy to allow for long-term waivers from the energy efficiency standards for electric resistance water heaters that are used in demand response (load control) programs.

We left beautiful 70 degree weather to return to Nebraska in a snowstorm!

Yesterday (May 1) the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 154, NREA's bill to add utility vehicles to the "move over" law. The vote passed unanimously with the members that were present. Now the bill will move over to the Governor's desk and await his signature. The bill will officially become law three months following the end of the session. We very much appreciate the efforts of Senator Dubas to bring this bill forward.

The legislative dam has started to break, but we still have many controversial issues to discuss. When the Nebraska Legislature returns from their long weekend off they will begin the state budget General File discussion. Seven budget bills are on the agenda early for Tuesday, May 7. Following the budget discussion will be the continuation of the debate on school financing. I'm making no predictions at this point if they have a chance to move that far on Tuesday.

While things are moving along at a bit quicker pace, it is apparent that some Senator Priority Bills will not be heard this year. There are 18 days left to complete their business and enough work to keep them busy for months!







Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:State Capitol

Lengthy Floor Debate Continues

As I type this I am listening to the floor debate on the Medicaid expansion bill LB 577. The debate started at 10 am this morning and it will be the only topic they discuss today and the conversation may very well continue tomorrow. It is after 5:00 pm and senators remain cordial and the debate seems meaningful. The reality is that battle lines are drawn in this debate as to whether to expand Medicaid to at least 54,000 Nebraskans, and very few votes will be changed based on the extended discussion. While bill sponsors feel they have the 25 votes to pass the bill, there is not the same confidence that they have the 30 votes to override a veto by Governor Dave Heineman.

As slow as the process has been, LB 388, the Right of First Refusal Bill has bucked the trend of extended debate. Last Wednesday (April 10) the bill came up on a special Select File agenda at the end of the day. After a brief, obligatory introduction of the bill, senators advanced the bill from Select File to Final Reading on a voice vote. In less than 30 seconds the bill is one step closer to becoming law.

Well today's debate ended at a reasonable 5:15 p.m., there must be an event on the legislative calendar that requires their attention so the conversation will wait until tomorrow morning (April 17). The agenda for April 17 begins with LB 577, once again. While not required by the rules, it is typical for senators to wait until eight hours of debate have taken place before making a Cloture motion. A cloture motion is a motion that suggests that sufficient debate has taken place and it is time to take action on the bill. If there are 33 votes in agreement, then debate will end and senators will vote first on any pending amendment and then on advancement of the bill with no additional discussion.


Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:State Capitol

Slow Moving Process

The agenda continues to move at a very slow pace. Filibustering is the name of the game. While we do hear the voice of one senator more often than others, the filibuster game is being played by many members.

When the hard copy NREA report went out last week I indicated that just past the halfway mark for the legislative session only 61 bills had been passed and approved by the Governor. Here we are on Day 53 and we still have only 61 bills that will become law. I don't see that number changing anytime soon.

Some of the bills being filibustered have managed to overcome a cloture vote (vote to end debate) on General File and advance, but only with the promise that the bill concerns will be worked out before the bill comes up in the next round of debate.

One benefit of the filibustering this year is that senators are now more aware that they need to be intimately familiar with their own bills and not just hope that their "good idea" will move forward with little discussion. Real answers are expected.

LB 388, the right of first refusal bill (ROFR), proved to be an exception to the trend of extensive debate. Today,within 45 minutes, the bill was advanced with the committee amendment, AM454, attached. LB 388 is considered by the electric industry to be a critical issue and necessary to pass this session. The Southwest Power Pool is expected to issue an order to construct new transmission later this year and without a ROFR law on the books, they would be required to put the transmission construction out to bid with no preference to incumbent transmission owners. The bill advanced with no dissenting votes. NREA Supports LB 388.

The Speaker of the Legislature has indicated that full day debate will be just that. It is his intention to continue floor debate until 6 or 6:30 in the evening instead of the usual 5 p.m. end time for the next three weeks. Beginning April 22, senators will work even later on Monday and Wednesday nights. The speaker also has promised late nights throughout the week as soon as the state budget comes out of Committee.

We are optimistically looking for the inclusion of a Consent Calendar to move some non-controversial legislation. It is the Speaker's discretion to offer a Consent Calendar. Consent Calendar is a special agenda consisting of non-controversial bills with no opposition in Committee. The bills will be given 15 minutes from introduction to advancement. Bills that are opposed or last longer the the allowed time limit will be removed from the agenda and will fall to the bottom of the list for future consideration. LB 154, NREA's bill to add utility vehicles to the state's "Move Over Law", is an excellent candidate for Consent Calendar.

Hopefully the blockage of legislation will subside and I will have more to discuss!


Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:State Capitol

Day 43

What I thought would be a slow week in Lincoln for the NREA has turned into quite a busy week.

I started my week in Washington DC, escaping the 11 inches of snow that fell on Sunday. My flight was delayed, but I did make it. I participated in the American Public Power Association's (APPA) Legislative Conference. While most of the issues that NREA is interested in are covered by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), one critical issue is not. That issue is Tax-Exempt Financing.

Federal Policy makers are constantly on the lookout for new revenue to either provide deficit reduction or reduce federal income tax. We have seen an increasing number of proposals to tax the interest on municipal (tax exempt) bonds. While such a change would most certainly increase the cash flow to the federal government, the impact would fall on state and local governments, including public power, through higher infrastructure costs.

Together with other members of the Nebraska public power industry, I was able to visit with our members of Congress on this important issue. We were also able to express our gratitude to Congressman Lee Terry for introducing a resolution that outlines continued support for use of tax exempt financing by public power systems.

Back in Lincoln on Thursday, I received word that the Natural Resources Committee was poised to advance LB 598, Senator Larson's bill to increase the mandated threshold for net metering from 25 kW to 100 kW. While the Committee wanted to create an amendment protecting rural electric providers, by creating an exemption for utilities where the distribution system is not able to accommodate the new generation for a variety of reasons, there was still interest in moving forward with 100 kW to support projects like Danny Kluthe's methane digester. Mark Van Skiver did an excellent job at the hearing explaining the concerns with placement of net metering generation this, no doubt, is why the Committee suggested an amendment.

I was able to visit with each of the Committee members except one and express our concerns with the advancement of the bill. Our managers and grassroots coordinators were contacted to call the committee members and express concern with the advancement of the bill. As a result, they did not vote on the bill and it remains in Committee. I wish I could say that we have stopped this issue entirely, but that is not the case. We have delayed the bill and it will not likely have a chance to pass this year, but there is still interest in it from some of the committee members. I will keep you updated!






Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:State Capitol

Net Metering and Solar Gardens

Today the Legislature made up for their snow day cancellations of hearings from Thursday February 21, 2013. LB 598, Senator Tyson Larson's bill that would increase the mandated threshold for net metering systems from 25 kW to 100 KW and LB 557, Senator McGill's bill that would authorize "solar gardens" and include them in the net metering law, were both heard by the Natural Resources Committee yesterday morning.

I provided testimony in opposition to LB 557 on behalf of NREA and the Nebraska Power Association. The proponent testimony primarily focused on the support of solar energy. There was little substantive discussion as to how the bill handled solar gardens and how it would be managed. I made a point that my testimony was not in opposition to solar energy or the concept of solar gardens, but in opposition to LB 557 and the fact that it would interfere with and contradict the intent of the existing net metering law. Net metering is intended for individuals to interconnect their own generation and offset their own energy use. Senator McGills bill go outside the scope of the original law and allows for subscriber organizations to develop solar gardens and sell shares of the garden to persons interested in green energy. The utility would be the bookkeeper and provide a credit to the customers based on the shares they purchased. You can read my testimony notes by clicking HERE.

I spent a considerable amount of time in the "hot seat" as Senator Haar and Senator Smith took turns asking questions from differing viewpoints. Senator Smith's questioning focused on the subsidy involved with the "virtual net metering" of solar gardens and Senator Haar focused on what he considered to be the benefits of the distributed generation.

Mark Van Skiver from Norris PPD provided the opposition testimony on LB 598 on behalf of the Nebraska Power Association. You can read Mark's Testimony. It was a more than a little frustrating to have Senator Haar question whether Mark drafted his testimony or if someone prepared it for him. I can assure you that the well written, accurate and thoughtful testimony was written by Mark! He did an excellent job with the testimony and addressed the questions from the Committee very thoroughly.

Senator Haar did not like to hear the the fact that net metering provided a subsidy to the customer generators. He preferred to refer to net metering interconnections as a utility benefit. I will leave it that we must agree to disagree with Senator Haar on this critical point.


Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:State Capitol

Hearings continue

It has been a busy week for the electric industry. As I type, I am sitting in the Natural Resources Committee hearing room listening to testimony regarding LB 402, Senator Mello's bill that modifies the Community Based Energy Development law. It is interesting that when the original C-Bed bill was passed in 2007 we were told that it would be a major tool to rapidly increase wind development in Nebraska and creating value added investments for farmers. The reality is only one C-Bed project has been built in the state. Now the argument is that we need to open up the sales tax exemption and decrease the Nebraska Based ownership provisions to make it work. LB 402 does both of those things. I think the real issue is that costs for development are still too high, and the need and energy demand is too low. It is difficult to make the investment work in a state with relatively low electric rates to begin with.

NPPD provided testimony in support of LB 402 on behalf of themselves and OPPD, stating that C-bed projects may be used to help each of them reach their internal renewable generation goals and that they believe changes are needed to ensure that the C-Bed model can be competitive and successful.

LB 567 is the next issue to be addressed by the Natural Resources Committee. The bill was introduced by Senator Ken Haar. LB 567 would add an evaluation of externalities,including the long term health impacts of new generation, to the application process. New generation applications would have to establish that the benefits outweigh the risks before the existing "most economical and feasible" standard can be applied.

During his introduction of the bill, Senator Haar indicated that he is not looking to advance LB 567 this year, but that he will ask for an interim study to look at the best way to add the evaluation of externalities to the approval process for new generation.

As drafted, LB 567 is very problematic. It is difficult, if not impossible, to isolate the impacts of a generation resource from the other impacting environmental factors to make the determination as to whether or not the benefits outweigh the risks.

The first testifiers in support of the bill identified climate change and global warming as the reason LB 567 needs to be passed. No actual discussion of the bill yet.

I find it unfortunate in this whole process that the impression presented is that the electric industry in Nebraska does not care about the environment, which is simply not the case. We live and raise our children in the same environment as the bill's proponents and we care very much about the environment. At the same time we have a very serious obligation to provide a reliable and necessary commodity to consumers. We work hard to balance the consumers demands and needs with as limited an impact on the environment as is possible.

5:25 p.m. and finally the Nebraska Power Association has the opportunity to provide testimony. The testimony that is being provided is on behalf of more than150 electric providers. An outline of the regulatory procedures in place that limit or eliminate negative environmental impacts was provided by Russ Baker from OPPD.

Gary Stauffer from the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, also provided testimony focusing on the demands of providing reliable electric service while maintaining high environmental standards. He identified the main problem with the bill is the vague evaluation requirements that may make it impossible to accomplish. He emphasized that the industry shares many of the concerns that the bill proponents expressed, but the need to provide affordable, reliable electric service is also a critical factor.

The Committee showed amazing patience and a maintained a high level of interest throughout this very long hearing. It's times like this that you really have to appreciate the commitment that our elected officials have made.






Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:State Capitol

Day 31

We are officially more than one-third of the way through the session!

Sad news was delivered to the Legislature last week. Former State Senator Ardyce Bohlke of Hastings passed away after a three year battle with a brain tumor. Ardyce was a senior member of the Legislature when I was a staffer...just a "few" years ago. She was a talented and driven person who certainly made her mark on the body and her contributions to education in the state will be hard to match. I consider both Ardyce and her husband John, friends of mine. The funeral is tomorrow, Tuesday, February 27, 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Hastings.

Tomorrow, LB 154, NREA's bill to add utility vehicles with flashing lights to the Move Over Law, will be heard by the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. The hearing will be at 1:30 in room 1113 in the State Capitol.

The Move Over Law was put into place to protect emergency vehicles and passengers when they are stopped along the side of the road, by requiring vehicles to pull over or slow down as they approach. Since utility work is often conducted along the road we felt our workers should be afforded the same protections. Senator Dubas, the Chair of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, agreed and she introduced the bill.

I will be heading to Hastings tomorrow to attend the funeral of Senator Ardyce Bohlke and will not be able to attend the hearing. NREA General Manager, Troy Bredenkamp, will step up to the plate and provide testimony on behalf of NREA and the Nebraska Power Association. For more information check out the NREA LB 154 Summary.

On Wednesday, the Government, Military and Veteran's Affairs Committee will hear LB 449. LB 449 adds airport authorities, public power districts and the metropolitan utilities district to the definition of high elective office.

Current law provides that no person serving in high elective office shall simultaneously serve in any other high elective office. Therefore, under this bill, members of the boards listed above will not be allowed to serve in any other high elective office at the same time. Right now, Members of the Legislature, elected members of a city, county, community college area, learning community or school district are all considered high elected office.

NREA members oppose making the change because it is often difficult in rural areas to find interested and qualified individuals to serve on publicly elected boards. LB 449 would reduce the pool of qualified individuals unnecessarily. NREA will testify in opposition to LB 449. For more information see the NREA LB 449 Summary.

NREA is concerned that LB 388, legislation introduced on behalf of the electric industry that will establish that incumbent transmission owners in the state have the first opportunity to build new transmission lines when required by a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO), is stalled in the Natural Resources Committee. The bill allows us to maintain our current public ownership model by allowing public utilities that currently own and operate transmission, the right of first refusal to build, own and operate, new mandated transmission expansion. We will keep you update on this important issue.

Friday the Natural Resources Committee will hear LB 567, Senator Haar's bill that requires the consideration of new "externalities" when approving generation projects and LB 402, Senator Mello's bill that weakens the Nebraska ownership provisions of the Community Based Energy Development law. I'll talk more on these issues later this week.




Kristen Gottschalk
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:State Capitol