HB 2646 Summary

• Adds Article 13 to Arizona law defining "forced retirement" of electric generation facilities as closure or decommissioning resulting from federal law/regulation that either directly mandates closure before planned retirement or makes compliance costs prohibitively high.

• Requires public service corporations and public power entities to notify the president of the senate, speaker of the house, relevant legislative committee chairs, and the Arizona power authority director within six months of deciding to close or decommission a facility, including details on timing, facility description, replacement power plans, and closure reasons.

• Prohibits initiating closure, decommissioning, or disposal of an electric generation facility within five years after providing written notice.

• Permits conversion or repurposing of coal, petroleum, oil, or natural gas facilities to facilities powered by natural gas, biomass, nuclear, or hydrogen, and allows installation of emission reduction controls without triggering the five-year restriction.

• Requires public service corporations and public power entities to notify the attorney general, Arizona power authority, and corporation commission within 30 days of receiving notice of federal laws or regulations that may force facility retirement, authorizing these state entities to take legal action to defend the state's interests.