General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 357
February Session, 2014 *_____SB00357ENV___041614____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 357
February Session, 2014
*_____SB00357ENV___041614____*
AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO ENERGY STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (g) of section 16a-48 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):
(g) Manufacturers of any new products set forth in subsection (b) of this section [or designated by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection] for which (1) no efficiency standards exist in California, and (2) the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection adopts efficiency standards, shall certify to the commissioner that such products are in compliance with the provisions of this section, except that certification is not required for single voltage external AC to DC power supplies and walk-in refrigerators and walk-in freezers. All single voltage external AC to DC power supplies shall be labeled as described in the January 2006 California Code of Regulations, Title 20, Section 1607 (9). The commissioner shall promulgate regulations governing the certification of such products. The commissioner shall publish an annual list of [such] any new products set forth in subsection (b) of this section on the department's Internet web site that designates which such products are certified in California and which such products not certified in California have demonstrated compliance with efficiency standards adopted by the commissioner pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision (3) of subsection (d) of this section.
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) (a) NuPower Thermal, LLC, with such persons that shall be associated with it and each other for that purpose, are constituted a body politic and corporate by the name of "The Bridgeport Thermal Limited Liability Company" and shall constitute a thermal energy transportation company, as defined in subsection (a) of section 16-1 of the general statutes.
(b) The Bridgeport Thermal Limited Liability Company shall be located in the city of Bridgeport.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute or any special act, The Bridgeport Thermal Limited Liability Company is authorized and empowered either directly or through the agency of its parent, a subsidiary or an affiliate: (1) To furnish from a plant or plants located in the city of Bridgeport, heat or air conditioning or both, by means of hot or chilled water or other medium; (2) to lay, install and maintain mains, pipes or other conduits, and to erect such other fixtures and improvements as are or may be necessary or convenient in and on the streets, highways and public grounds of said city or other public highways and rights-of-way, for the purpose of carrying heated or chilled water or other medium from such plant or plants to the locations to be served and returning the same; and (3) to lease to one or more corporations or limited liability companies formed under the general law or specially chartered for the purpose of furnishing heat or air conditioning, or both, one or more of such plants or distribution systems, or both, owned by it and constructed or adapted for either or both of such purposes.
(d) The amount of authorized membership units of The Bridgeport Thermal Limited Liability Company and the required capital contribution of each member shall be determined by the members of said limited liability company in its operating agreement.
(e) The duration of The Bridgeport Thermal Limited Liability Company shall be unlimited.
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 16a-40g of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Energy improvements" means (A) participation in a district heating and cooling system by qualifying commercial real property, (B) participation in a microgrid, as defined in section 16-243y, including any related infrastructure for such microgrid, by qualifying commercial real property, provided such microgrid and any related infrastructure incorporate clean energy, as defined in section 16-245n, as amended by this act, (C) any renovation or retrofitting of qualifying commercial real property to reduce energy consumption, [(C)] (D) installation of a renewable energy system to service qualifying commercial real property, or [(D)] (E) installation of a solar thermal or geothermal system to service qualifying commercial real property, provided such renovation, retrofit or installation described in subparagraph [(B),] (C), [or] (D) or (E) of this subdivision is permanently fixed to such qualifying commercial real property;
(2) "District heating and cooling system" means a local system consisting of a pipeline or network providing hot water, chilled water or steam from one or more sources to multiple buildings;
(3) "Qualifying commercial real property" means any commercial or industrial property, regardless of ownership, that meets the qualifications established for the commercial sustainable energy program;
(4) "Commercial or industrial property" means any real property other than a residential dwelling containing less than five dwelling units;
(5) "Benefited property owner" means an owner of qualifying commercial real property who desires to install energy improvements and provides free and willing consent to the benefit assessment against the qualifying commercial real property;
(6) "Commercial sustainable energy program" means a program that facilitates energy improvements and utilizes the benefit assessments authorized by this section as security for the financing of the energy improvements;
(7) "Municipality" means a municipality, as defined in section 7-369;
(8) "Benefit assessment" means the assessment authorized by this section;
(9) "Participating municipality" means a municipality that has entered into a written agreement, as approved by its legislative body, with the authority pursuant to which the municipality has agreed to assess, collect, remit and assign, benefit assessments to the authority in return for energy improvements for benefited property owners within such municipality and costs reasonably incurred in performing such duties; and
(10) "Authority" means the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank.
Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1, 2015, the Connecticut Green Bank shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy. Such report shall assess the potential success and need for a residential property assessed clean energy program, including, but not limited to, an evaluation of (1) potential consistency between such a program and the commercial property assessed clean energy program, as described in section 16a-40g of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and similar programs on the national level, (2) the legal framework for a residential property assessed clean energy program, and (3) the need for such a program, in light of similar current or developing programs at the state or federal level.
Sec. 5. Section 16-245n of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) For purposes of this section, "clean energy" means solar photovoltaic energy, solar thermal, geothermal energy, wind, ocean thermal energy, wave or tidal energy, fuel cells, landfill gas, hydropower that meets the low-impact standards of the Low-Impact Hydropower Institute, hydrogen production and hydrogen conversion technologies, low emission advanced biomass conversion technologies, alternative fuels, used for electricity generation including ethanol, biodiesel or other fuel produced in Connecticut and derived from agricultural produce, food waste or waste vegetable oil, provided the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection determines that such fuels provide net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption, usable electricity from combined heat and power systems with waste heat recovery systems, thermal storage systems, other energy resources and emerging technologies which have significant potential for commercialization and which do not involve the combustion of coal, petroleum or petroleum products, municipal solid waste or nuclear fission, financing of energy efficiency projects, projects that seek to deploy electric, electric hybrid, natural gas or alternative fuel vehicles and associated infrastructure, any related storage, distribution, manufacturing technologies or facilities and any Class I renewable energy source, as defined in section 16-1.
(b) On and after July 1, 2004, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall assess or cause to be assessed a charge of not less than one mill per kilowatt hour charged to each end use customer of electric services in this state which shall be deposited into the Clean Energy Fund established under subsection (c) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, receipts from such charges shall be disbursed to the resources of the General Fund during the period from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, unless the authority shall, on or before October 30, 2003, issue a financing order for each affected distribution company in accordance with sections 16-245e to 16-245k, inclusive, to sustain funding of renewable energy investment programs by substituting an equivalent amount, as determined by the authority in such financing order, of proceeds of rate reduction bonds for disbursement to the resources of the General Fund during the period from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005. The authority may authorize in such financing order the issuance of rate reduction bonds that substitute for disbursement to the General Fund for receipts of both charges under this subsection and subsection (a) of section 16-245m and also may in its discretion authorize the issuance of rate reduction bonds under this subsection and subsection (a) of section 16-245m that relate to more than one electric distribution company. The authority shall, in such financing order or other appropriate order, offset any increase in the competitive transition assessment necessary to pay principal, premium, if any, interest and expenses of the issuance of such rate reduction bonds by making an equivalent reduction to the charges imposed under this subsection, provided any failure to offset all or any portion of such increase in the competitive transition assessment shall not affect the need to implement the full amount of such increase as required by this subsection and sections 16-245e to 16-245k, inclusive. Such financing order shall also provide if the rate reduction bonds are not issued, any unrecovered funds expended and committed by the electric distribution companies for renewable resource investment through deposits into the Clean Energy Fund, provided such expenditures were approved by the authority following August 20, 2003, and prior to the date of determination that the rate reduction bonds cannot be issued, shall be recovered by the companies from their respective competitive transition assessment or systems benefits charge, except that such expenditures shall not exceed one million dollars per month. All receipts from the remaining charges imposed under this subsection, after reduction of such charges to offset the increase in the competitive transition assessment as provided in this subsection, shall be disbursed to the Clean Energy Fund commencing as of July 1, 2003. Any increase in the competitive transition assessment or decrease in the renewable energy investment component of an electric distribution company's rates resulting from the issuance of or obligations under rate reduction bonds shall be included as rate adjustments on customer bills.
(c) There is hereby created a Clean Energy Fund which shall be within the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank. The fund may receive any amount required by law to be deposited into the fund and may receive any federal funds as may become available to the state for clean energy investments. Upon authorization of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank established pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, any amount in said fund may be used for expenditures that promote investment in clean energy in accordance with a comprehensive plan developed by it to foster the growth, development and commercialization of clean energy sources, related enterprises and stimulate demand for clean energy and deployment of clean energy sources that serve end use customers in this state and for the further purpose of supporting operational demonstration projects for advanced technologies that reduce energy use from traditional sources. Such expenditures may include, but not be limited to, providing low-cost financing and credit enhancement mechanisms for clean energy projects and technologies, reimbursement of the operating expenses, including administrative expenses incurred by the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank and Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, and capital costs incurred by the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank in connection with the operation of the fund, the implementation of the plan developed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section or the other permitted activities of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank, disbursements from the fund to develop and carry out the plan developed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, grants, direct or equity investments, contracts or other actions which support research, development, manufacture, commercialization, deployment and installation of clean energy technologies, and actions which expand the expertise of individuals, businesses and lending institutions with regard to clean energy technologies.
(d) (1) (A) There is established the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank, which shall be within Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, for administrative purposes only. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank is hereby established and created as a body politic and corporate, constituting a public instrumentality and political subdivision of the state of Connecticut established and created for the performance of an essential public and governmental function. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall not be construed to be a department, institution or agency of the state.
(B) The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall (i) develop separate programs to finance and otherwise support clean energy investment in residential, municipal, small business and larger commercial projects and such others as the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank may determine; (ii) support financing or other expenditures that promote investment in clean energy sources in accordance with a comprehensive plan developed by it to foster the growth, development and commercialization of clean energy sources and related enterprises; and (iii) stimulate demand for clean energy and the deployment of clean energy sources within the state that serve end-use customers in the state.
(C) The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority shall constitute a successor agency to Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, for the purposes of administering the Clean Energy Fund in accordance with section 4-38d. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall constitute a successor agency to the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority for purposes of administering the Clean Energy Fund in accordance with section 4-38d. The Connecticut Green Bank shall have all the privileges, immunities, tax exemptions and other exemptions of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, with respect to said fund. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall be subject to suit and liability solely from the assets, revenues and resources of said [authority] bank and without recourse to the general funds, revenues, resources or other assets of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank may provide financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, loan guarantees or debt and equity investments, as approved in accordance with written procedures adopted pursuant to section 1-121. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank may assume or take title to any real property, convey or dispose of its assets and pledge its revenues to secure any borrowing, convey or dispose of its assets and pledge its revenues to secure any borrowing, for the purpose of developing, acquiring, constructing, refinancing, rehabilitating or improving its assets or supporting its programs, provided each such borrowing or mortgage, unless otherwise provided by the board or said [authority] bank, shall be a special obligation of said [authority] bank, which obligation may be in the form of bonds, bond anticipation notes or other obligations which evidence an indebtedness to the extent permitted under this chapter to fund, refinance and refund the same and provide for the rights of holders thereof, and to secure the same by pledge of revenues, notes and mortgages of others, and which shall be payable solely from the assets, revenues and other resources of said [authority] bank and such bonds may be secured by a special capital reserve fund contributed to by the state. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall have the purposes as provided by resolution of said [authority's] bank's board of directors, which purposes shall be consistent with this section. No further action is required for the establishment of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank, except the adoption of a resolution for said [authority] bank.
(2) (A) The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank may seek to qualify as a Community Development Financial Institution under Section 4702 of the United States Code. If approved as a Community Development Financial Institution, said [authority] bank would be treated as a qualified community development entity for purposes of Section 45D and Section 1400N(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(B) Before making any loan, loan guarantee, or such other form of financing support or risk management for a clean energy project, the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall develop standards to govern the administration of said [authority] bank through rules, policies and procedures that specify borrower eligibility, terms and conditions of support, and other relevant criteria, standards or procedures.
(C) Funding sources specifically authorized include, but are not limited to:
(i) Funds repurposed from existing programs providing financing support for clean energy projects, provided any transfer of funds from such existing programs shall be subject to approval by the General Assembly and shall be used for expenses of financing, grants and loans;
(ii) Any federal funds that can be used for the purposes specified in subsection (c) of this section;
(iii) Charitable gifts, grants, contributions as well as loans from individuals, corporations, university endowments and philanthropic foundations;
(iv) Earnings and interest derived from financing support activities for clean energy projects backed by the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank;
(v) If and to the extent that the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank qualifies as a Community Development Financial Institution under Section 4702 of the United States Code, funding from the Community Development Financial Institution Fund administered by the United States Department of Treasury, as well as loans from and investments by depository institutions seeking to comply with their obligations under the United States Community Reinvestment Act of 1977; and
(vi) The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank may enter into contracts with private sources to raise capital. The average rate of return on such debt or equity shall be set by the board of directors of said [authority] bank.
(D) The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank may provide financing support under this subsection if said [authority] bank determines that the amount to be financed by said [authority] bank and other nonequity financing sources do not exceed eighty per cent of the cost to develop and deploy a clean energy project or up to one hundred per cent of the cost of financing an energy efficiency project.
(E) The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank may assess reasonable fees on its financing activities to cover its reasonable costs and expenses, as determined by the board.
(F) The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall make information regarding the rates, terms and conditions for all of its financing support transactions available to the public for inspection, including formal annual reviews by both a private auditor conducted pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (f) of this section and the Comptroller, and providing details to the public on the Internet, provided public disclosure shall be restricted for patentable ideas, trade secrets, proprietary or confidential commercial or financial information, disclosure of which may cause commercial harm to a nongovernmental recipient of such financing support and for other information exempt from public records disclosure pursuant to section 1-210.
(3) No director, officer, employee or agent of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank, while acting within the scope of his or her authority, shall be subject to any personal liability resulting from exercising or carrying out any of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority's] Connecticut Green Bank's purposes or powers.
(e) The powers of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall be vested in and exercised by a board of directors, which shall consist of eleven voting and two nonvoting members each with knowledge and expertise in matters related to the purpose and activities of said [authority] bank appointed as follows: The Treasurer or the Treasurer's designee, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or the commissioner's designee and the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development or the commissioner's designee, each serving ex officio, one member who shall represent a residential or low-income group appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives for a term of four years, one member who shall have experience in investment fund management appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives for a term of three years, one member who shall represent an environmental organization appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate for a term of four years, and one member who shall have experience in the finance or deployment of renewable energy appointed by the minority leader of the Senate for a term of four years. Thereafter, such members of the General Assembly shall appoint members of the board to succeed such appointees whose terms expire and each member so appointed shall hold office for a period of four years from the first day of July in the year of his or her appointment. The Governor shall appoint four members to the board as follows: Two for two years who shall have experience in the finance of renewable energy; one for four years who shall be a representative of a labor organization; and one who shall have experience in research and development or manufacturing of clean energy. Thereafter, the Governor shall appoint members of the board to succeed such appointees whose terms expire and each member so appointed shall hold office for a period of four years from the first day of July in the year of his or her appointment. The president of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall be elected by the members of the board. The president of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank and a member of the board of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, appointed by the chairperson of the corporation shall serve on the board in an ex-officio, nonvoting capacity. The Governor shall appoint the chairperson of the board. The board shall elect from its members a vice chairperson and such other officers as it deems necessary and shall adopt such bylaws and procedures it deems necessary to carry out its functions. The board may establish committees and subcommittees as necessary to conduct its business.
(f) (1) The board shall issue annually a report to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reviewing the activities of the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank in detail and shall provide a copy of such report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy and commerce. The report shall include a description of the programs and activities undertaken during the reporting period jointly or in collaboration with the Energy Conservation and Load Management Funds established pursuant to section 16-245m.
(2) The Clean Energy Fund shall be audited annually. Such audits shall be conducted with generally accepted auditing standards by independent certified public accountants certified by the State Board of Accountancy. Such accountants may be the accountants for the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank.
(3) Any entity that receives financing for a clean energy project from the fund shall provide the board an annual statement, certified as correct by the chief financial officer of the recipient of such financing, setting forth all sources and uses of funds in such detail as may be required by the authority of such project. The [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank shall maintain any such audits for not less than five years. Residential projects for buildings with one to four dwelling units are exempt from this and any other annual auditing requirements, except that residential projects may be required to grant their utility companies' permission to release their usage data to the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank.
(g) There shall be a joint committee of the Energy Conservation Management Board and the [Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority] Connecticut Green Bank board of directors, as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of section 16-245m.
(h) (1) (A) Wherever the term "Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority" is used in the following general statutes, the term "Connecticut Green Bank" shall be substituted in lieu thereof: 1-79, 1-120, 1-124, 1-125, 7-233z, 16-244c, 16-245m, 16-245aa, 16-245bb, 16-245ee, 16-245ff, 16-245hh, 16-245kk, 16-245ll, 16-245mm, 16a-40d to 16a-40g, inclusive, as amended by this act, 16a-40l, 16a-40m, 22a-200c and 32-141.
(B) Wherever the term "authority" is used in the following general statutes, the term "bank" shall be substituted in lieu thereof: 16-245aa, 16-245ff, 16-245hh, 16-245kk, 16-245ll, 16-245mm and 16a-40e to 16a-40g, inclusive, as amended by this act.
(2) Wherever the term "Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority" is used in any public or special act of 2014, the term "Connecticut Green Bank" shall be substituted in lieu thereof.
(3) The Legislative Commissioners' Office shall, in codifying the provisions of this section, make such technical, grammatical and punctuation changes as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 16-243p of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) An electric distribution company may recover its costs and investments that have been prudently incurred as well as its revenues lost resulting from the provisions of sections 16-1, 16-19ff, 16-50k, 16-50x, 16-243h to 16-243q, inclusive, 16-244c, 16-244e, 16-244u, 16-245d, 16-245m, 16-245n, as amended by this act, 16-245z, [and] 16-262i and 16a-40m and section 21 of public act 05-1 of the June special session. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall, after a hearing held pursuant to the provisions of chapter 54, determine the appropriate mechanism to obtain such recovery in a timely manner which mechanism may be one or more of the following: (1) Approval of rates as provided in sections 16-19 and 16-19e; (2) the energy adjustment clause as provided in section 16-19b; or (3) the federally mandated congestion charges, as defined in section 16-1.
Sec. 7. Section 16a-3f of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
On or after January 1, 2013, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, in consultation with the procurement manager identified in subsection (l) of section 16-2, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the Attorney General, [may] shall, in coordination with other states in the region of the regional independent system operator, as defined in section 16-1, or on the commissioner's own, solicit proposals, in one solicitation or multiple solicitations, from providers of Class I renewable energy sources, as defined in section 16-1, constructed on or after January 1, 2013. If the commissioner finds such proposals to be in the interest of ratepayers including, but not limited to, the delivered price of such sources, and consistent with the requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with section 22a-200a, and in accordance with the policy goals outlined in the Comprehensive Energy Strategy, adopted pursuant to section 16a-3d, the commissioner [may] shall select proposals from such resources to meet up to four per cent of the load distributed by the state's electric distribution companies. The commissioner [may] shall direct the electric distribution companies to enter into power purchase agreements for energy, capacity and environmental attributes, or any combination thereof, for periods of not more than twenty years. Certificates issued by the New England Power Pool Generation Information System for any Class I renewable energy sources procured under this section shall be sold in the New England Power Pool Generation Information System renewable energy credit market to be used by any electric supplier or electric distribution company to meet the requirements of section 16-245a. Any such agreement shall be subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which review shall commence upon the filing of the signed power purchase agreement with the authority. The authority shall issue a decision on such agreement not later than thirty days after such filing. In the event the authority does not issue a decision within thirty days after such agreement is filed with the authority, the agreement shall be deemed approved. The net costs of any such agreement shall be recovered through a fully reconciling component of electric rates for all customers of electric distribution companies. Such costs may include reasonable costs incurred by electric distribution companies pursuant to this section.
Sec. 8. Section 16-345 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
As used in this chapter:
[(a)] (1) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or association, including a person engaged as a contractor by a public agency but excluding a public agency.
[(b)] (2) "Public agency" means the state or any political subdivision thereof, including any governmental agency.
[(c)] (3) "Public utility" means the owner or operator of underground facilities for furnishing electric, gas, telephone, telegraph, communications, pipeline, sewage, water, community television antenna, steam, [or] traffic signal, fire signal or similar service, including a municipal or other public owner or operator. A public utility does not include the owner of facilities for utility service solely for such owner's private residence.
[(d)] (4) "Central clearinghouse" means the [group of] organization organized and operated by public utilities [formed] pursuant to section 16-348, as amended by this act, for the purposes of receiving and giving notice of excavation, discharge of explosives and demolition activity within the state.
[(e)] (5) "Excavation" means an operation for the purposes of movement or removal of earth, rock or other materials in or on the ground, or otherwise disturbing the subsurface of the earth, by the use of powered or mechanized equipment, including but not limited to digging, blasting, auguring, back filling, test boring, drilling, pile driving, grading, plowing-in, hammering, pulling-in, trenching, [and] tunneling, dredging, reclamation processes and milling; excluding [the movement of earth by tools manipulated only by human or animal power and] the tilling of soil for agricultural purposes. For the purposes of this subdivision, dredging does not include dredging associated with the production and harvesting of aquaculture crops.
[(f)] (6) "Demolition" means the wrecking, razing, rending, moving or removing of any structure.
[(g)] (7) "Damage" includes, but is not limited to, the substantial weakening of structural or lateral support of a utility [line] facility such that the continued integrity of such utility facility is imperiled, penetration or destruction of any utility [line] facility protective coating, housing or other protective device or the severance, partial or complete, of any utility [line] facility.
[(h)] (8) ["Approximate location of underground facilities"] "Approximate location of an underground utility facility" means a strip of land not more than three feet wide centered on the actual location of an underground utility facility or a strip of land extending not more than one and one-half feet on either side of the actual location of an underground [facilities] utility facility.
Sec. 9. Section 16-346 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
No person, public agency or public utility shall engage in excavation, [or] discharge of explosives [at or near the location of a public utility underground facility or demolish a structure located at or near or containing a public utility facility] or demolition without having first ascertained the location of all underground facilities of public utilities in the area of such excavation, discharge or demolition in the manner prescribed in this chapter and in such regulations as the [authority] Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall adopt pursuant to section 16-357.
Sec. 10. Section 16-347 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
A public utility shall [file] register with the [Public Utilities Regulatory Authority the location of its] central clearinghouse the geographic areas in which it owns or operates underground facilities, [except facilities for storm sewers,] by reference to a standard [grid] mapping system, to be established by the [authority] central clearinghouse, and the title, address and telephone number of its representative designated to receive the notice required by section 16-349, as amended by this act.
Sec. 11. Section 16-348 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
The public utilities of the state shall, under the direction of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, organize and operate a central clearinghouse within the state for receiving and giving the notices required by section 16-349, as amended by this act. The authority shall apportion the cost of this service equitably among the public utilities, [for those underground facilities registered with the authority, as provided in section 16-347, except sanitary sewer or water facilities owned or operated by] except a city, town or borough that owns or operates only a sanitary sewer or water facilities.
Sec. 12. Section 16-349 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
Except as provided in section 16-352, as amended by this act, a person, public agency or public utility responsible for excavating, [or] discharging explosives [at or near the location of public utility facilities] or demolishing [a structure containing a public utility facility] shall notify the central clearinghouse of such proposed excavation, discharge or demolition [, orally or in writing, at least two full days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, but not more than thirty days before commencing such excavation, demolition or discharge of explosives] in the manner prescribed by regulations adopted pursuant to section 16-357. Such notice shall include the name, address and telephone number of the [entity giving notice, the name of the] person, public agency or public utility performing the [work] excavation, discharge of explosives or demolition and the date, location and type of excavation, demolition or discharge of explosives. The central clearinghouse shall immediately transmit such information to the public utilities whose facilities may be affected. In the event the proposed excavation, demolition or discharge of explosives has not [commenced] been completed within [thirty days] the allotted time frame prescribed by regulation of such notification, or the excavation, demolition or discharge of explosives will be expanded outside of the location originally specified in such notification, the person, public agency or public utility responsible for such excavation, demolition or discharge of explosives shall again notify the central clearinghouse [at least two full days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, but not more than thirty days before commencing or expanding such excavation, demolition or discharge of explosives] in the manner prescribed by regulations adopted pursuant to section 16-357.
Sec. 13. Section 16-351 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
A public utility receiving notice pursuant to section 16-349, as amended by this act, shall inform the person, public agency or public utility proposing to excavate, discharge explosives or demolish [a structure] of the approximate location of its underground facilities in the area in such manner as will enable such person, public agency or public utility to establish the [precise] actual location of the underground facilities, and shall provide such other assistance in establishing the [precise] actual location of the underground facilities as the authority may require by [regulation] regulations adopted pursuant to section 16-357. Such person, public agency or public utility shall designate the area of the proposed excavation, demolition or discharge of explosives as the authority may prescribe by [regulation] regulations adopted pursuant to section 16-357. The public utility receiving notice shall mark the approximate location of its underground facilities in such manner and using such methods, including color coding, as the authority may prescribe by [regulation] regulations adopted pursuant to section 16-357. If the [precise] actual location of the underground facilities cannot be established, the person, public agency or public utility shall so notify the public utility whose facilities may be affected, which shall provide such further assistance as may be needed to determine the [precise] actual location of the underground facilities in advance of the proposed excavation, discharge of explosives or demolition.
Sec. 14. Section 16-352 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
(a) In case of emergency involving danger to life, health or property or which requires immediate correction to continue the operation of a major industrial plant, or to assure the continuity of public utility service, excavation or demolition without explosives may be made without [the two day] notice required by section 16-349, as amended by this act, provided notice thereof [by telephone] is given as soon as reasonably possible.
(b) In case of an emergency involving an immediate and substantial danger of death or serious personal injury, explosives may be discharged if notice thereof is given at any time before discharge.
Sec. 15. Section 16-354 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
A person, public agency or public utility responsible for excavating, discharging explosives or demolition shall exercise reasonable care when working in proximity to the underground facilities of any public utility and shall comply with such safety standards and other requirements as the authority shall prescribe by [regulation] regulations adopted pursuant to section 16-357. If the facilities are likely to be exposed, such support shall be provided as may be reasonably necessary for protection of the facilities. If [gas facilities are likely to be exposed] excavation is within the approximate location of facilities containing combustible or hazardous fluids or gases, only hand digging or soft digging shall be employed. As used in this section, "soft digging" means a nonmechanical and nondestructive process used to excavate and evacuate soils at a controlled rate, using high pressure water or air jet to break up the soil, often in conjunction with a high power vacuum unit to extract the soil without damaging the facilities.
Sec. 16. Section 16-355 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
When any contact is made with or any damage is suspected or done to any underground facility of a public utility, the person, public agency or public utility responsible for the operations causing the contact, suspected damage or damage shall immediately notify the public utility whose facilities have been affected, which shall dispatch its own personnel as soon as reasonably possible to inspect the underground facility and, if necessary, effect temporary or permanent repairs. If a serious electrical short is occurring or if dangerous fluids or gas are escaping from a broken line, the person, public agency or public utility responsible for the operations causing the damage shall alert all persons within the danger area and take all feasible steps to insure the public safety pending the arrival of repair personnel. As used in this section, "contact" includes, without limitation, the striking, scraping or denting, however slight, of any underground utility facility, [the structural or lateral support of an underground utility line and] including any underground utility [line] facility protective coating, housing or other protective device. "Contact" does not include damage, as defined in section 16-345, as amended by this act.
Sec. 17. Section 16-356 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
Any person, public agency or public utility which the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority determines, after notice and opportunity for a hearing as provided in section 16-41, to have failed to comply with any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted under section 16-357 shall forfeit and pay to the state a civil penalty of not more than forty thousand dollars, provided any violation involving the failure of a public utility to mark [the] any approximate location of an underground [facilities] utility facility correctly or within the timeframes prescribed by regulation, which violation did not result in any property damage or personal injury and was not the result of an act of gross negligence on the part of the public utility, shall not result in a civil penalty of more than one thousand dollars. Notwithstanding the provisions contained in subsection (d) of section 16-41, the person, public agency or public utility receiving a notice of violation pursuant to subsection (c) of section 16-41 shall have thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice in which to deliver to the authority a written application for a hearing.
Sec. 18. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may, upon application of a water company, as defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes, order such water company to extend its system to serve properties that the authority determines are served by a deficient well system, as described in subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 16-262n of the general statutes, as amended by this act, if the authority determines that the net costs of extending water service are reasonable. The cost recovery, rates and charges of such extension shall be treated in the same manner as provided for acquisitions pursuant to section 16-262o or 16-262s of the general statutes.
Sec. 19. Subsection (a) of section 16-262n of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) As used in this section, sections 16-262o to 16-262q, inclusive, and section 16-262s, "water company" means either (1) a corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, municipality, other entity or person, or lessee thereof, owning, leasing, maintaining, operating, managing or controlling any pond, lake, reservoir, stream, well or distributing plant or system employed for the purpose of supplying water to not less than two service connections or twenty-five persons, or (2) a deficient well system serving existing properties within a defined geographic area with not less than twenty-five persons served by private wells that (A) do not meet public health standards for potable water, (B) have had funding discontinued for filters provided pursuant to subsection (a) of section 22a-471 to respond to documented groundwater contamination, (C) are otherwise unable to serve the existing properties with adequate water quality, volume or pressure, or (D) limit the on-site resolution of documented wastewater disposal issues in the system.
Sec. 20. (Effective from passage) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall study the feasibility of allowing a nonprofit entity to aggregate electric meters that are billable to such entity. The study shall include, but not be limited to, potential costs and benefits to electric ratepayers for allowing such aggregation. On or before January 1, 2015, the authority shall report the findings of such study and any recommended statutory changes to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2014 16a-48(g)
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 from passage 16a-40g(a)
Sec. 4 from passage New section
Sec. 5 from passage 16-245n
Sec. 6 from passage 16-243p(a)
Sec. 7 from passage 16a-3f
Sec. 8 October 1, 2015 16-345
Sec. 9 October 1, 2015 16-346
Sec. 10 October 1, 2015 16-347
Sec. 11 October 1, 2015 16-348
Sec. 12 October 1, 2015 16-349
Sec. 13 October 1, 2015 16-351
Sec. 14 October 1, 2015 16-352
Sec. 15 October 1, 2015 16-354
Sec. 16 October 1, 2015 16-355
Sec. 17 October 1, 2015 16-356
Sec. 18 from passage New section
Sec. 19 from passage 16-262n(a)
Sec. 20 from passage New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2014
16a-48(g)
Sec. 2
from passage
New section
Sec. 3
from passage
16a-40g(a)
Sec. 4
from passage
New section
Sec. 5
from passage
16-245n
Sec. 6
from passage
16-243p(a)
Sec. 7
from passage
16a-3f
Sec. 8
October 1, 2015
16-345
Sec. 9
October 1, 2015
16-346
Sec. 10
October 1, 2015
16-347
Sec. 11
October 1, 2015
16-348
Sec. 12
October 1, 2015
16-349
Sec. 13
October 1, 2015
16-351
Sec. 14
October 1, 2015
16-352
Sec. 15
October 1, 2015
16-354
Sec. 16
October 1, 2015
16-355
Sec. 17
October 1, 2015
16-356
Sec. 18
from passage
New section
Sec. 19
from passage
16-262n(a)
Sec. 20
from passage
New section
ET Joint Favorable Subst.
ENV Joint Favorable
ET
Joint Favorable Subst.
ENV
Joint Favorable