HB 402: Public Service Commission; establishment of renewable energy sources and renewable energy portfolio standard goals for electric service providers; provide

Georgia currently has no statewide renewable energy portfolio standard for electric utilities. This bill would require the Public Service Commission to establish, by July 1, 2026, renewable energy source goals for electric service providers (investor-owned utilities, electric membership corporations, and municipal electric providers) capped at 20 percent of each provider's annual net electricity sales. The commission would study current and forecasted costs and capacity for renewable generation before setting the goals, and providers would be 'encouraged' but not legally required to meet them. The bill also requires utilities to describe existing and planned renewable energy resources in their long-term integrated resource plans, and it updates definitions used by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority so that agency can finance, own, or help build renewable energy generation, storage, and transmission facilities, similar to how it already handles water and sewer projects. It sets up a reporting system so utilities disclose their renewable energy use and costs, and it defines terms like biomass material, low impact hydropower, and renewable energy sources for use across these programs.

• Requires the Public Service Commission to set renewable energy portfolio goals for electric utilities by July 1, 2026, capped at 20 percent of each provider's annual electricity sales.
• Makes meeting those renewable energy goals voluntary rather than mandatory, since the bill only 'encourages' providers to meet them.
• Adds a requirement that utility integrated resource plans describe existing and planned renewable energy resources and whether they meet the new goals.
• Authorizes the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority to finance, build, and operate renewable energy generation, battery storage, and transmission facilities.
• Creates new legal definitions for terms like biomass material, low impact hydropower, and renewable energy sources used throughout the new law.
• Requires the commission to adopt rules for annual reporting on renewable energy usage, costs, and pricing by electric service providers.

Electric utilities, electric membership corporations, and municipal electric providers operating in Georgia; the Public Service Commission, which must set goals and rules; the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, which gains new financing powers; and Georgia electricity customers whose rates and generation mix could be affected.

If enacted, Georgia utilities would face state-set renewable energy targets for the first time, though compliance would be voluntary, and a state authority could help finance new solar, wind, or storage projects, potentially shaping how the state's electricity is generated and priced in coming decades.

• Section 1 adds a new Part 6 to Title 46 creating O.C.G.A. § 46-3-69.5 through 46-3-69.8, stating legislative intent, defining renewable energy terms, and requiring the commission to set voluntary renewable portfolio goals by July 1, 2026, capped at 20 percent of sales.
• Section 1 also requires the commission to adopt rules by July 1, 2026 for a voluntary compliance reporting system and annual public reporting on renewable energy usage and costs.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 46-3A-1 to require integrated resource plans to describe existing and planned renewable energy resources and whether they meet the new portfolio goals.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 50-23-4 to expand the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority's definition of 'environmental facilities' to include renewable energy generation, storage, and transmission projects.
• Section 4 adds a new power letting the authority adopt rules and regulations to carry out its expanded chapter duties.
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 50-23-12 to extend personal liability protections for authority officers and employees to cover renewable energy systems owned by local governments.
• Section 6 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-13House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-02-13House Second Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-12House First Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-11House Hopper (House)

• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)Primary sponsor
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)
• Miriam Paris (D, HD-142)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)

• renewable energy
• Public Service Commission
• electric utilities
• energy policy
• Georgia Environmental Finance Authority