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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5203
February Session, 2022
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY
AUTHORITY'S POWERS, UTILITY ADVERTISING DISCLOSURES,
AND ELECTRIC BILL COMPONENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 16-19tt of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2022): 3
(b) [In any rate case initiated on or after July 8, 2013, or in a pending 4
rate case for which a final decision has not been issued prior to July 8, 5
2013, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall order the state's gas 6
and electric distribution companies to decouple distribution revenues 7
from the volume of natural gas and electricity sales. For electric 8
distribution companies, the decoupling mechanism shall be the 9
adjustment of actual distribution revenues to allowed distribution 10
revenues. For gas distribution companies, the decoupling mechanism 11
shall be a mechanism that does not remove the incentive to support the 12
expansion of natural gas use pursuant to the 2013 Comprehensive 13
Energy Strategy, such as a mechanism that decouples distribution 14
revenue based on a use-per-customer basis. In making its determination 15
on this matter, the authority shall consider the impact of decoupling on 16
the gas or electric distribution company's return on equity and make any 17 Substitute Bill No. 5203
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necessary adjustments thereto.] In any rate case initiated on or after 18
October 1, 2022, or in a pending rate case for which a final decision has 19
not been issued prior to October 1, 2022, the Public Utilities Regulatory 20
Authority may order the state's gas and electric distribution companies 21
to decouple distribution revenues from the volume of natural gas and 22
electricity sales. The authority shall have the discretion to determine the 23
decoupling mechanism and methodology used in decoupling orders 24
made pursuant to this subsection. 25
Sec. 2. Section 16-19jj of the general statutes is repealed and the 26
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 27
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall, whenever it deems 28
appropriate, [encourage] permit the use of proposed settlements 29
produced by alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve 30
contested cases and proceedings. In order to approve a settlement of a 31
proceeding to amend rates under section 16-19, the authority shall 32
determine that the resulting rates and other terms of such settlement 33
conform to the principles and guidelines set forth in section 16-19e. The 34
term of any provision in a settlement of a proceeding to amend rates 35
under section 16-19 shall not extend more than three years from its 36
approval by the authority. Any settlement of a proceeding to amend 37
rates under section 16-19 subsequent to an approved settlement of a 38
proceeding to amend rates shall not constitute a general rate hearing for 39
purposes of section 16-19a. 40
Sec. 3. Section 16-19bb of the general statutes is repealed and the 41
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 42
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall require that any funds 43
held by an electric distribution company in excess of the company's 44
authorized return on equity, which funds are intended by the authority 45
to offset future rate increases in lieu of a present rate decrease, shall be 46
applied to such rate increases or shall be refunded to the company's 47
customers, [within one year of receipt] in a manner determined by the 48
authority, not later than the conclusion of the company's next 49 Substitute Bill No. 5203
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proceeding conducted pursuant to section 16-19a. 50
Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 16-19d of the general statutes is 51
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 52
1, 2022): 53
(c) [A public service company shall make application to the authority 54
for determination that equipment meets the requirements of 55
subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section. The authority shall, to 56
the extent practicable, make such determination within one hundred 57
twenty days of such filing. All reasonable and proper expenses, required 58
by the authority and the Office of Consumer Counsel, including, but not 59
limited to, the costs associated with analysis, testing, evaluation and 60
testimony at a public hearing or other proceeding, shall be borne by the 61
company and shall be paid by the company at such times and in such 62
manner as the authority directs.] On or before February first each year, 63
any gas company or electric distribution company that recovered 64
advertising costs against ratepayers during the previous year shall file a 65
public disclosure report with the authority. For each advertisement, the 66
report shall delineate the dollar amount, source of funding, primary 67
purpose of the advertisement, communications medium or platform 68
and approximate dates during which the advertisement was displayed 69
or transmitted to the public, broken down by type of advertising, by 70
month and by year, and by advertising campaign. Failure to provide 71
complete and accurate data in the report shall constitute a violation for 72
which the authority may levy civil penalties against such company 73
pursuant to section 16-41. 74
Sec. 5. (Effective July 1, 2022) The chairperson of the Public Utilities 75
Regulatory Authority shall prepare a report that outlines and analyzes 76
the public policy components of the delivery side of the electric bill for 77
customers of each electric distribution company. The chairperson shall 78
submit such report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 79
of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 80
Assembly having cognizance of matters related to energy on or before 81
January 15, 2023. 82 Substitute Bill No. 5203
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2022 16-19tt(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2022 16-19jj
Sec. 3 October 1, 2022 16-19bb
Sec. 4 October 1, 2022 16-19d(c)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2022 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
The title was changed for accuracy.
ET Joint Favorable Subst.