H958 - Electric Utilities/Allow and Study RTE

• The North Carolina Utilities Commission is authorized to require electric utilities serving at least 150,000 retail customers to participate in or establish a Regional Transmission Entity (RTE) upon finding it serves the public interest and provides reliable service.

• The Commission must establish requirements ensuring reliable transmission system operation, pricing and access that are nondiscriminatory, consistency with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission standards, and promotion of economic and reliable transmission service.

• The Commission shall establish authority over retail electric sales, transmission line construction within North Carolina, and distribution investments, which remain unaffected by RTE participation.

• The Commission must hire an independent third party to conduct a study on RTE participation benefits by March 1, 2020, addressing cost savings, reliability improvements, renewable energy integration, consumer rates, and other relevant factors, with $750,000 appropriated for this purpose.

• The Commission must open proceedings within 30 days of the study's submission to determine if RTE participation is in the public interest and issue a final determination by September 31, 2020.