Connecticut 2019 2019 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00961 Introduced / Bill

Filed 02/27/2019

                        
 
LCO No. 5047  	1 of 17 
  
General Assembly  Raised Bill No. 961  
January Session, 2019  
LCO No. 5047 
 
 
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY  
 
 
Introduced by:  
(ET)  
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING MU NICIPAL ELECTRIC UTILITIES AND 
MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC ENERGY COOPERATIVES. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Section 2-90 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2 
(a) The Auditors of Public Accounts shall organize the work of their 3 
office in such manner as they deem most economical and efficient and 4 
shall determine the scope and frequency of any audit they conduct. 5 
(b) Said auditors, with the Comptroller, shall, at least annually and 6 
as frequently as they deem necessary, audit the books and accounts of 7 
the Treasurer, including, but not limited to, trust funds, as defined in 8 
section 3-13c, and certify the results to the Governor. The auditors 9 
shall, at least annually and as frequently as they deem necessary, audit 10 
the books and accounts of the Comptroller and certify the results to the 11 
Governor. They shall examine and prepare certificates of audit with 12 
respect to the financial statements contained in the annual reports of 13 
the Treasurer and Comptroller, which certificates shall be made part of 14  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	2 of 17 
 
such annual reports. In carrying out their responsibilities under this 15 
section, said auditors may retain independent auditors to assist them. 16 
(c) Said auditors shall audit, on a biennial basis if deemed most 17 
economical and efficient, or as frequently as they deem necessary, the 18 
books and accounts of each officer, department, commission, board 19 
and court of the state government, all institutions supported by the 20 
state and all public and quasi-public bodies, politic and corporate, 21 
created by public or special act of the General Assembly and not 22 
required to be audited or subject to reporting requirements, under the 23 
provisions of chapter 111. Each such audit may include an examination 24 
of performance in order to determine effectiveness in achieving 25 
expressed legislative purposes. The auditors shall report their findings 26 
and recommendations to the Governor, the State Comptroller and the 27 
joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance 28 
of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies.  29 
(d) The Auditors of Public Accounts may enter into such contractual 30 
agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of their duties. Any 31 
audit or report which is prepared by a person, firm or corporation 32 
pursuant to any contract with the Auditors of Public Accounts shall 33 
bear the signature of the person primarily responsible for the 34 
preparation of such audit or report. As used in this subsection, the 35 
term "person" means a natural person. 36 
(e) (1) If the Auditors of Public Accounts discover, or if it should 37 
come to their knowledge, that any unauthorized, illegal, irregular or 38 
unsafe handling or expenditure of state funds or quasi-public agency 39 
funds or any breakdown in the safekeeping of any resources of the 40 
state or a quasi-public agency has occurred or is contemplated, they 41 
shall forthwith report the facts to the Governor, the State Comptroller, 42 
the clerk of each house of the General Assembly and the Attorney 43 
General, except that if a matter reported to the Auditors of Public 44 
Accounts pursuant to section 4-33a is still under investigation by a 45 
state or quasi-public agency, the Auditors of Public Accounts may give 46 
the agency a reasonable amount of time to conduct such investigation 47  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	3 of 17 
 
prior to the auditors reporting the matter to said officials. (2) If the 48 
Auditors of Public Accounts decide to delay reporting such matter in 49 
accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection, the auditors shall 50 
immediately notify the Attorney General of such decision. (3) Any 51 
Auditor of Public Accounts neglecting to make the report required 52 
under subdivision (1) of this subsection, or any agent of the auditors 53 
neglecting to report to the Auditors of Public Accounts any such 54 
matter discovered by such agent or coming to such agent's knowledge, 55 
shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned not 56 
more than six months, or both. 57 
(f) All reports issued or made pursuant to this section shall be 58 
retained in the offices of the Auditors of Public Accounts for a period 59 
of not less than five years. The auditors shall file one copy of each such 60 
report with the State Librarian. 61 
(g) Each state agency shall keep its accounts in such form and by 62 
such methods as to exhibit the facts required by said auditors and, the 63 
provisions of any other general statute notwithstanding, shall make all 64 
records and accounts available to them or their agents, upon demand. 65 
(h) Where there are statutory requirements of confidentiality with 66 
regard to such records and accounts or examinations of 67 
nongovernmental entities which are maintained by a state agency, 68 
such requirements of confidentiality and the penalties for the violation 69 
thereof shall apply to the auditors and to their authorized 70 
representatives in the same manner and to the same extent as such 71 
requirements of confidentiality and penalties apply to such state 72 
agency. In addition, the portion of (1) any audit or report prepared by 73 
the Auditors of Public Accounts that concerns the internal control 74 
structure of a state information system or the identity of an employee 75 
who provides information regarding alleged fraud or weaknesses in 76 
the control structure of a state agency that may lead to fraud, or (2) any 77 
document that may reveal the identity of such employee, shall not be 78 
subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined 79 
in section 1-200. 80  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	4 of 17 
 
(i) Said auditors shall audit, in accordance with the provisions of 81 
section 10-91g, the records and accounts of any private provider of 82 
special education services, as defined in said section. Any private 83 
provider of special education services being audited by said auditors 84 
shall provide any information said auditors deem necessary to conduct 85 
such audit.  86 
(j) Said auditors shall audit, in accordance with the provisions of 87 
chapter 101a, the records and accounts of any municipal electric 88 
energy cooperative, as defined in said chapter. Any municipal electric 89 
energy cooperative being audited by said auditors shall provide any 90 
information said auditors deem necessary to conduct such audit. 91 
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 7-121f of the general statutes is 92 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 93 
passage): 94 
(a) There is established a Municipal Electric Consumer Advocate to 95 
act as an independent advocate for consumer interests in all matters 96 
which may affect municipal electric energy cooperative consumers, 97 
including, but not limited to, electric rates. Costs related to the 98 
Municipal Electric Consumer Advocate, including, but not limited to, 99 
hourly fees, [and] necessary expenses and fees for consultants hired by 100 
the Municipal Electric Consumer Advocate as needed, shall be paid for 101 
by all municipal electric energy cooperatives. The annual amount of 102 
such costs (1) for such consultants shall not exceed thirty thousand 103 
dollars, and (2) for all other fees and expenses that are not for 104 
consultants shall not exceed seventy thousand dollars for the first 105 
[year] six years and fifty thousand dollars for each year thereafter, 106 
unless there is a demonstration of substantial need made by the 107 
Municipal Electric Consumer Advocate and approved by the 108 
cooperative utility boards of all municipal electric energy cooperatives. 109 
Sec. 3. Section 7-221 of the general statutes is repealed and the 110 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 111 
(a) The books and accounts pertaining to the business authorized by 112  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	5 of 17 
 
this chapter shall be kept in a form to be prescribed by the board of 113 
commissioners, and the accounts shall be closed on the last day of July 114 
in each year, so that a balance sheet of that date can be taken therefrom 115 
and included in the report of such board, as provided in section 7-216, 116 
which report shall further contain an account of the financial condition 117 
of such business, the amount of indebtedness authorized or existing on 118 
account thereof and a list of the salaried officers employed therein and 119 
the amount of salary paid to each, and shall be accompanied with a 120 
statement, to be signed and sworn to by the clerk and superintendent 121 
mentioned in section 7-216, of the income and expenses of such 122 
business, in such detail as the board of commissioners requires. The 123 
selectmen of a town, the mayor of a city or the warden and burgesses 124 
of a borough may direct any additional returns to be made by the 125 
board of commissioners or by the superintendent and clerk at such 126 
times and in such detail as they order.  127 
(b) Any municipality or board of commissioners appointed 128 
pursuant to this section shall seek to recover any legal fees and costs 129 
such municipality or board of commissioners incurs arising out of the 130 
criminal defense of any officer or employee of such board of 131 
commissioners or a municipal electric energy cooperative of which it is 132 
a member from such officer or employee where (1) such officer or 133 
employee has a judgment entered against him or her in a criminal 134 
court of law, or (2) such officer or employee enters into a plea 135 
agreement concerning criminal charges. 136 
(c) Any municipality or board of commissioners appointed pursuant 137 
to this section shall annually disclose its capital and operating budgets, 138 
provided no municipality or board of commissioners appointed 139 
pursuant to this section may redact any portion of such budgets. A 140 
municipality or board of commissioners appointed pursuant to this 141 
section shall post on its Internet web site such budgets not later than 142 
forty-eight hours after such budgets are approved by such 143 
municipality or board of commissioners. 144 
(d) A municipality or board of commissioners appointed pursuant 145  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	6 of 17 
 
to this section shall annually disclose any executed agreements, 146 
including contracts, that it enters into that are not related to matters of 147 
personnel. Provisions of any such agreements shall not be considered 148 
trade secrets pursuant to section 1-210. Such municipality or board of 149 
commissioners shall post on its Internet web site such agreements not 150 
later than forty-eight hours after such agreements are approved by the 151 
municipality or board of commissioners appointed pursuant to this 152 
section. 153 
Sec. 4. Subsection (d) of section 7-233c of the general statutes is 154 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 155 
passage): 156 
(d) (1) Upon appointment of its representatives by the member 157 
municipal electric utilities and legislative bodies of the municipalities 158 
in which such member municipal electric utilities operate, the 159 
cooperative utility board shall organize, select its chairman and vice-160 
chairman from among said board and proceed to consider those 161 
matters which have been recommended to it by the several members 162 
of the municipal electric energy cooperative.  163 
(2) The cooperative utility board may hold such meetings and 164 
public hearings as it deems desirable and the powers of the municipal 165 
electric energy cooperative shall be vested in the representatives 166 
thereof in office from time to time. The cooperative utility board shall 167 
hold any such meetings and public hearings in the state. The 168 
municipal electric energy cooperative shall post on its Internet web site 169 
and provide to participants notice of and the agenda for each meeting 170 
and public hearing, and any changes made thereto, not later than five 171 
days before such meeting or public hearing. Each participant shall post 172 
on its Internet web site and provide to the municipality in which it 173 
operates such notice, agenda and changes not later than four days 174 
before such meeting or public hearing. Each such municipality shall 175 
post on its Internet web site such notice, agenda and changes not later 176 
than three days before such meeting or public hearing.  177  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	7 of 17 
 
(3) A majority of the entire authorized number of representatives of 178 
the municipal electric energy cooperative shall constitute a quorum at 179 
any meeting thereof. Action may be taken, motions voted and 180 
resolutions adopted by the municipal electric energy cooperative at 181 
any meeting of the cooperative utility board by vote of a majority of 182 
the representatives present, unless in any case the bylaws of a 183 
municipal electric energy cooperative or an amendment to such 184 
bylaws shall require [a larger number for adoption or any 185 
representative of the cooperative utility board requests that the vote be 186 
based on megawatt-hour purchases. If such a request is made, (A) each 187 
representative shall have a number of votes equal to the total number 188 
of megawatt-hours purchased from the municipal electric energy 189 
cooperative during the preceding completed calendar year by the 190 
member municipal electric utility which appointed such representative 191 
or which operates in the municipality whose legislative body 192 
appointed such representative, provided, if the municipal electric 193 
energy cooperative includes a new member municipal electric utility 194 
which purchased part or all of its power and energy from a supplier or 195 
suppliers other than the municipal electric energy cooperative during 196 
such year, each representative appointed by such new member 197 
municipal electric utility or the legislative body of the municipality in 198 
which such new member municipal electric utility operates shall have 199 
a number of votes equal to the total megawatt-hours purchased by 200 
such new member from such other suppliers during such year plus the 201 
total number of megawatt-hours purchased from the municipal electric 202 
energy cooperative during such year, and (B) any action, motion or 203 
resolution taken, voted or adopted by the municipal electric energy 204 
cooperative at such meeting shall be by a favorable vote of sixty-seven 205 
per cent or more of the total of such votes of the representatives who 206 
are present at the meeting and who vote, provided at least a majority 207 
of the members of the municipal electric energy cooperative approves 208 
such action, motion or resolution] a majority vote of the entire 209 
cooperative utility board. Notwithstanding any provision of this 210 
subsection or of subsection (g) of this section to the contrary, a 211 
unanimous vote of all of the representatives of the municipal electric 212  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	8 of 17 
 
energy cooperative shall be required before said municipal electric 213 
energy cooperative can exercise the power of condemnation or 214 
eminent domain provided in this chapter.  215 
(4) The municipal electric energy cooperative shall post on its 216 
Internet web site and provide to participants the minutes of such 217 
meeting or public hearing, including any actions taken, motions voted 218 
and resolutions adopted, not later than five days after such meeting or 219 
public hearing described in subdivision (2) of this subsection. Each 220 
participant shall post on its Internet web site and provide to the 221 
municipality in which it operates such minutes not later than six days 222 
after such meeting or public hearing. Each municipality shall post such 223 
minutes on its Internet web site not later than seven days after such 224 
meeting or public hearing.  225 
(5) The cooperative utility board may appoint and employ a chief 226 
executive officer, a treasurer, a secretary, a general counsel and such 227 
officers, advisors, consultants and other agents and employees as it 228 
may deem necessary, and the cooperative utility board shall determine 229 
their qualifications, terms of office, duties and compensation. 230 
(6) The municipal electric energy cooperative shall seek to recover 231 
any legal fees and costs such municipal electric energy cooperative 232 
incurs arising out of the criminal defense of any officer or employee of 233 
the municipal electric energy cooperative from such officer or 234 
employee where (A) such officer or employee has a judgment entered 235 
against him or her in a criminal court of law, or (B) such officer or 236 
employee enters into a plea agreement concerning criminal charges. 237 
Sec. 5. Subsection (h) of section 7-233c of the general statutes is 238 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 239 
passage): 240 
(h) A municipal electric energy cooperative shall cause a forensic 241 
examination to be conducted by a certified forensic auditor which shall 242 
include a review of the revenue and expenditures of a municipal 243 
electric energy cooperative for the preceding five years. The auditor 244  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	9 of 17 
 
shall submit a report that includes a review of whether such municipal 245 
electric energy cooperative's operating procedures conform with the 246 
provisions of chapter 101a and the bylaws of the municipal electric 247 
energy cooperative, and any recommendations for any corrective 248 
actions needed to ensure such conformance. The auditor shall not be 249 
required to perform a full financial audit of the five-year period or 250 
submit an opinion regarding the financial statements or a management 251 
letter. The municipal electric energy cooperative shall incorporate any 252 
such recommendations for corrective actions into its operating 253 
procedures. The municipal electric energy cooperative shall post on its 254 
Internet web site and provide to participants such reports not later 255 
than seven days after such reports are received by the municipal 256 
electric energy cooperative. Each participant shall post on its Internet 257 
web site and provide to the municipality in which it operates such 258 
reports not later than five days after such reports are received from the 259 
municipal electric energy cooperative. Each such municipality shall 260 
post on its Internet web site such reports not later than five days after 261 
such reports are received from the participant. 262 
Sec. 6. Section 7-233c of the general statutes is amended by adding 263 
subsections (k) to (m), inclusive, as follows (Effective from passage): 264 
(NEW) (k) The Auditors of Public Accounts shall conduct a financial 265 
audit and performance audit of each municipal electric energy 266 
cooperative in the state at least once every three years. The Auditors of 267 
Public Accounts, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, 268 
shall report their findings to the joint standing committee of the 269 
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy. 270 
(NEW) (l) A municipal electric energy cooperative shall submit a 271 
report once per quarter to the Department of Revenue Services that 272 
details the amounts and deposits, withdrawals and expenditures from 273 
each account such municipal electric energy cooperative holds for any 274 
municipal electric utilities. 275 
(NEW) (m) (1) A municipal electric energy cooperative shall 276  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	10 of 17 
 
annually disclose its capital and operating budgets, provided no 277 
municipal electric energy cooperative may redact any portion of such 278 
budgets. The municipal electric energy cooperative shall post on its 279 
Internet web site such budgets not later than forty-eight hours after 280 
such budgets are approved by the cooperative utility board. 281 
(2) A municipal electric energy cooperative shall annually disclose 282 
any executed agreements, including contracts, that it enters into that 283 
are not related to matters of personnel. Provisions of any such 284 
agreements shall not be considered trade secrets pursuant to section 1-285 
210. The municipal electric energy cooperative shall post on its Internet 286 
web site such agreements not later than forty-eight hours after such 287 
agreements are approved by the cooperative utility board. 288 
Sec. 7. Section 7-233e of the general statutes is repealed and the 289 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 290 
(a) As used in this section, "person without the state" means a 291 
person located outside the state that complies with the standards for 292 
interconnection to the transmission or distribution facilities of the 293 
public utility to which such person is interconnected. 294 
(b) A municipal electric energy cooperative created in the manner 295 
provided in this chapter shall constitute a public body corporate and 296 
politic, and in furtherance of its purpose of providing facilities for the 297 
generation and transmission of electric power such municipal electric 298 
energy cooperative shall be deemed to be exercising an essential 299 
governmental function and shall have the following powers, subject to 300 
subsection (c) of this section, to wit: 301 
(1) To adopt and have a common seal and to alter the same; 302 
(2) To sue and be sued; 303 
(3) To contract and be contracted with; 304 
(4) To plan, acquire, construct, reconstruct, operate, maintain, 305 
repair, extend or improve one or more projects within or without the 306  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	11 of 17 
 
state; or to acquire any interest in or any right to capacity of such a 307 
project and to act as agent, or designate one or more of the other 308 
participants in such project to act as agent, for all the participants in 309 
such project in connection with the planning, acquisition, construction, 310 
reconstruction, operation, maintenance, repair, extension or 311 
improvement of such project; 312 
(5) To investigate the desirability of and necessity for additional 313 
sources and supplies of electric power, and to make such studies, 314 
surveys and estimates as may be necessary to determine the feasibility 315 
and cost of any such additional sources and supplies of electric power; 316 
(6) To cooperate with private electric utilities, member and 317 
nonmember municipal electric utilities and other public or private 318 
electric power entities, within and without the state, or with any 319 
person without the state, in the development of such sources and 320 
supplies of electric power; 321 
(7) To procure from the United States of America or any agency or 322 
instrumentality thereof, or from any state or agency or instrumentality 323 
thereof, any consents, authorizations or approvals that may be 324 
requisite to enable any project within its powers to be carried forward; 325 
(8) To do and perform any acts and things authorized by the act 326 
under, through or by means of its cooperative utility board, officers, 327 
agents or employees; 328 
(9) To acquire, hold, use and dispose of its income, revenues, funds 329 
and moneys; 330 
(10) To acquire, own, hire, use, operate and dispose of personal 331 
property; 332 
(11) To acquire, own, use, lease, operate and dispose of real 333 
property and interests in real property, and to make improvements 334 
thereon; 335 
(12) To grant the use, by lease or otherwise, and to make charges for 336  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	12 of 17 
 
the use, of any property or facility owned or controlled by it; 337 
(13) To borrow money and to issue its negotiable bonds or notes, 338 
and to enter into any agreements with the purchasers or holders of 339 
such bonds or notes or with others for their benefit; 340 
(14) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, to 341 
invest moneys of the municipal cooperative not required for 342 
immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds or notes, 343 
in such obligations, securities and other investments as the cooperative 344 
utility board shall deem prudent and in accordance with the laws of 345 
the state regarding the investment of public moneys; 346 
(15) To exercise the right of eminent domain, subject to the 347 
limitations contained herein; 348 
(16) To fix and determine the location and character of, and all other 349 
matters in connection with, any and all projects it may be authorized to 350 
acquire, hold, establish, effectuate, operate or control; 351 
(17) To contract with any electric utility, any member or nonmember 352 
municipal electric utility, any public or private electric power entity 353 
within or without the state, or any person without the state, for the 354 
sale, exchange or transmission of electric power or energy generated 355 
by any project, or any interest therein or any right to capacity thereof, 356 
on such terms and for such period of time as the cooperative utility 357 
board shall determine; 358 
(18) To purchase, sell, exchange or transmit electric power and 359 
energy within and without the state, to any electric utility, any 360 
member or nonmember municipal electric utility or any other public or 361 
private electric power entity, or any person without the state; and to 362 
enter into agreements with respect to such purchase, sale, exchange, or 363 
transmission to any electric utility, any member or nonmember 364 
municipal electric utility or any other public or private electric power 365 
entity; as one means of implementing the power granted by this 366 
subdivision, a municipal electric energy cooperative, if its cooperative 367  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	13 of 17 
 
utility board shall so determine, may enter into or become a participant 368 
in the New England Power Pool or become a market participant 369 
pursuant to rules and procedures of the regional independent system 370 
operator, as defined in section 16-1; and to acquire, own, hold and 371 
dispose of stock or other ownership interests in, or evidences of 372 
indebtedness of, any corporation or business entity that constructs 373 
electric power generation or transmission facilities or generates, 374 
produces, transmits, purchases, sells or exchanges electric power and 375 
energy to, or insures the liabilities of, public or private electric power 376 
entities located within or without the state, provided the outstanding 377 
stock of such corporation is owned in whole or in part by such public 378 
or private electric power entities; 379 
(19) To procure insurance against any losses in connection with its 380 
property, operations or assets in such amounts and from such insurers 381 
as the cooperative utility board deems desirable; 382 
(20) To contract for and to accept any gifts or grants or loans of 383 
funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from the United 384 
States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from 385 
any other source, and to comply, subject to the provisions of this 386 
chapter, with the terms and conditions thereof; 387 
(21) To mortgage, or otherwise hypothecate, any or all of its 388 
property or assets to secure the payment of its bonds, notes or other 389 
obligations; 390 
(22) To submit to arbitration any disputes with others or among its 391 
members; 392 
(23) To produce electric power by the use of cogeneration 393 
technology or renewable fuel resources, as defined in section 16-1; 394 
(24) To contract for the purchase or exchange of electricity produced 395 
by a person using cogeneration technology or renewable fuel 396 
resources, as defined in section 16-1, or for the sale or exchange of 397 
electricity produced by the municipal cooperative to such person, 398  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	14 of 17 
 
provided such purchase, sale or exchange is subject to the rates and 399 
conditions of service established in accordance with section 16-243a; 400 
(25) To provide in any agreement executed in connection with a 401 
project by or among a municipal cooperative and other participants in 402 
such project that, if one or more of such participants defaults in its 403 
obligations under such agreement including, without limitation, the 404 
payment of principal or interest on their indebtedness issued with 405 
respect to such project, the municipal cooperative and the other 406 
nondefaulting participants, if any, shall be required to pay such 407 
obligations, including the principal of and the interest on such 408 
indebtedness, for which the defaulting participant or participants were 409 
to have paid, upon such terms and conditions and with such 410 
limitations as the cooperative utility board may determine; 411 
(26) To guarantee, in connection with any project, the punctual 412 
payment of the principal of and interest on the indebtedness or other 413 
contractual obligations of any of the participants in such project; 414 
(27) (A) To enter into agreements with any entity to receive or 415 
procure the supply, or the prepayment of the supply, of natural gas for 416 
the sole benefit of its member, the City of Norwich Department of 417 
Public Utilities, a municipal gas utility, provided (i) such supply, or 418 
prepayment of supply, is consumed or used by said utility or by any 419 
retail customer of said utility entirely within the geographic 420 
boundaries of the city of Norwich or the town of Preston, and (ii) no 421 
part of such supply, or prepayment of supply, shall be consumed or 422 
used within or transported to any other municipality or utility, 423 
territory, land held in trust by the United States on behalf of a Native 424 
American tribe or land located within a Native American reservation 425 
or other jurisdiction; 426 
(B) No power granted to a municipal cooperative pursuant to this 427 
subdivision shall be exercised so as to impair any existing right, power 428 
or privilege of any gas company, as defined in section 16-1; 429 
(28) To exercise and perform all or part of its power and functions 430  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	15 of 17 
 
for the sole purpose of purchasing, selling, exchanging or transmitting 431 
electric power and energy on a wholesale basis, as provided in this 432 
chapter, through one or more wholly owned or partly ow ned 433 
corporations or other business entities; and 434 
(29) To exercise all other powers not inconsistent with the state 435 
Constitution or the United States Constitution, which may be 436 
reasonably necessary or appropriate for or incidental to the 437 
effectuation of its authorized purposes or to the exercise of any of the 438 
foregoing powers, and generally to exercise in connection with its 439 
property and affairs, and in connection with property within its 440 
control, any and all powers that might be exercised by a natural person 441 
or a private corporation in connection with similar property and 442 
affairs.  443 
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section and sections 7-444 
233j, 7-233q and 7-233x, no municipal electric energy cooperative may 445 
invest in anything other than the purchase of power that is deliverable 446 
to such municipal electric energy cooperative's customers. 447 
Sec. 8. Section 7-233m of the general statutes is repealed and the 448 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 449 
(a) A municipal electric energy cooperative shall prescribe and from 450 
time to time when necessary revise a schedule of all of its rates, fees, 451 
rentals or other charges, which shall comply with the terms of any 452 
resolution, contract or other agreement of the municipal electric energy 453 
cooperative and shall be such that the revenues of the municipal 454 
electric energy cooperative will at all times be adequate to pay the 455 
expenses of operation and maintenance of its project or projects, 456 
including all reserves, insurance, extension, and replacement costs and 457 
to pay the principal of and interest on any bonds or notes of the 458 
municipal electric energy cooperative issued under this chapter, and to 459 
maintain such reserves therefor as may be required by the terms of any 460 
resolution, contract or other agreement of the municipal electric energy 461 
cooperative or as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the 462  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	16 of 17 
 
municipal electric energy cooperative. Said schedule shall thus be 463 
prescribed and from time to time revised by the municipal electric 464 
energy cooperative after public hearing thereon which shall be held by 465 
the municipal electric energy cooperative at least seven days after 466 
notice thereof has been published at least once in the area of operation. 467 
A copy of the schedule of such rates, fees, rentals or other charges of 468 
the municipal electric energy cooperative then in effect shall at all 469 
times be kept on file at the principal office of the municipal electric 470 
energy cooperative and shall at all reasonable times be open to public 471 
inspection.  472 
(b) A municipal electric energy cooperative shall use the same 473 
standard billing format as developed by the Public Utilities Regulatory 474 
Authority pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 16-475 
245d and shall include, in accordance with such billing format, the 476 
same information that an electric distribution company includes in a 477 
customer's bill pursuant to subdivision (4) of said subsection. 478 
Sec. 9. Subsection (a) of section 7-233y of the general statutes is 479 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 480 
passage): 481 
(a) Each municipal electric utility created pursuant to chapter 101 or 482 
by special act shall, for investment in renewable energy sources and 483 
for conservation and load management programs pursuant to this 484 
section, accrue from each kilowatt hour of its metered firm electric 485 
retail sales, exclusive of such sales to United States government naval 486 
facilities in this state, no less than the following amounts during the 487 
following periods, in a manner conforming to the requirement of this 488 
section: (1) 1.0 mills on and after January 1, 2006; (2) 1.3 mills on and 489 
after January 1, 2007; (3) 1.6 mills on and after January 1, 2008; (4) 1.9 490 
mills on and after January 1, 2009; (5) 2.2 mills on and after January 1, 491 
2010; and (6) 2.5 mills on and after January 1, 2011, provided a 492 
municipal electric utility shall not accrue such amount from kilowatt 493 
hours of electricity that is produced by and consumed by a customer of 494 
such municipal electric utility.  495  Raised Bill No.  961 
 
 
 
LCO No. 5047   	17 of 17 
 
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 from passage 2-90 
Sec. 2 from passage 7-121f(a) 
Sec. 3 from passage 7-221 
Sec. 4 from passage 7-233c(d) 
Sec. 5 from passage 7-233c(h) 
Sec. 6 from passage 7-233c 
Sec. 7 from passage 7-233e 
Sec. 8 from passage 7-233m 
Sec. 9 from passage 7-233y(a) 
 
Statement of Purpose:   
To make various changes to the statutes concerning municipal electric 
utilities and municipal electric energy cooperatives. 
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, 
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is 
not underlined.]