Amendment #594 to H3400

Preserving Critical In-State Generation Facilities for Reliability and Cost

[Sponsors] [Amendment Text]

Mr. Keenan of Salem moves to amend the bill by inserting after section xx the following section:

SECTION    .  Section 19 of Chapter 25 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after subparagraph c, the following subparagraph:

(d)  The Department shall not approve or permit a utility to charge ratepayers in the Commonwealth for any cost associated with a transmission line or transmission upgrade which effectively replaces or substitutes supply for an existing generation facility when such facility is operating or has operated within the past five years provided that the generation facility is more cost effective than transmission. The Department shall consult with ISO-NE to insure that all available existing or recently retired generation shall first be considered for supplying the grid prior to the approval of additional transmission lines.