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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 123
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 4332
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduced by:
(ET)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY
AUTHORITY, THE REGULATION OF ELECTRIC RATES AND STATE
PUBLIC POLICY CONCERNING ELECTRICITY GENERATION.
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2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, 2023): 3
(b) In any rate case initiated on or after [July 8, 2013] October 1, 2023, 4
or in a pending rate case for which a final decision has not been issued 5
prior to [July 8, 2013] October 1, 2023, the Public Utilities Regulatory 6
Authority [shall] may order the state's gas and electric distribution 7
companies to decouple distribution revenues from the volume of 8
natural gas and electricity sales. [For electric distribution companies, the 9
decoupling mechanism shall be the adjustment of actual distribution 10
revenues to allowed distribution revenues. For gas distribution 11
companies, the decoupling mechanism shall be a mechanism that does 12
not remove the incentive to support the expansion of natural gas use 13
pursuant to the 2013 Comprehensive Energy Strategy, such as a 14
mechanism that decouples distribution revenue based on a use-per-15
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customer basis. In making its determination on this matter, the authority 16
shall consider the impact of decoupling on the gas or electric 17
distribution company's return on equity and make any necessary 18
adjustments thereto.] The authority shall have the discretion to 19
determine the decoupling mechanism and methodology used in 20
decoupling orders made pursuant to this subsection. In making such 21
determination, the authority shall consider factors, including, but not 22
limited to, (1) whether the decoupling mechanism and methodology is 23
in the best interest of ratepayers, and (2) whether the decoupling 24
mechanism and methodology will reduce service outages. 25
Sec. 2. Section 16-19jj of the general statutes is repealed and the 26
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 27
(a) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall, whenever it 28
deems appropriate, [encourage] permit the use of proposed settlements 29
produced by alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve 30
contested cases and proceedings. 31
(b) The effective period of any provision in a proposed settlement 32
shall be expressly limited to a duration not longer than the duration of 33
the rate plan existing at the time the settlement is proposed. 34
(c) Any settlement of a proceeding to amend rates shall not constitute 35
a general rate hearing and shall not satisfy the requirements for periodic 36
review of gas and electric distribution companies' rates pursuant to 37
section 16-19a. 38
(d) Parties or intervenors to a contested proceeding may propose a 39
settlement by filing a motion, which shall be filed after the close of the 40
evidentiary record but not later than three weeks prior to the scheduled 41
issuance date of the proposed final decision in the proceeding. Motions 42
made pursuant to this subsection shall include: (1) A detailed analysis 43
outlining any increases to components of rates resulting from the 44
proposed settlement and the causal relationship of particular rate 45
component increases to provisions in the proposed settlement; (2) 46
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prefiled testimony sponsored by at least one witness representing each 47
settling party and, if applicable, each intervenor; and (3) a statement of 48
the position of nonsettling parties and intervenors on the proposed 49
settlement, such as "support", "oppose" or "no position". 50
(e) The provisions of any proposed settlement shall be supported 51
with detailed citations to the evidentiary record. 52
(f) The provisions of any proposed settlement shall be provided to 53
any nonsettling parties or intervenors at least three business days before 54
the filing of a motion pursuant to this section, with a request that the 55
party or intervenor provide a position on the proposed settlement for 56
reference in the motion. 57
(g) The authority may hold evidentiary hearings and may order briefs 58
to be filed related to any proposed settlement. 59
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 16-245d of the general statutes is 60
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 61
passage): 62
(a) (1) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall, by regulations 63
adopted pursuant to chapter 54, develop a standard billing format that 64
enables customers to compare pricing policies and charges among 65
electric suppliers. The authority shall alter or repeal any relevant 66
regulation in conjunction with the implementation of a redesigned 67
standard billing format described in subdivision [(2)] (3) of this 68
subsection. The authority shall adopt regulations, in accordance with 69
the provisions of chapter 54, to provide that an electric supplier shall 70
provide direct billing and collection services for electric generation 71
services and related federally mandated congestion charges that such 72
suppliers provide to their customers or may choose to obtain such 73
billing and collection service through an electric distribution company 74
and pay its pro rata share in accordance with the provisions of 75
subsection (f) of section 16-244c, as amended by this act. Any customer 76
of an electric supplier, which is choosing to provide direct billing, who 77
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paid for the cost of billing and other services to an electric distribution 78
company shall receive a credit on their monthly bill. 79
(2) On or before July 1, 2014, the authority shall initiate a docket to 80
redesign (A) the standard billing format for residential customers 81
implemented pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection to better 82
enable such residential customers to compare pricing policies and 83
charges among electric suppliers, and (B) the account summary page of 84
a residential customer located on the electric distribution company's 85
Internet web site. The authority shall issue a final decision on such 86
docket not later than six months after its initiation. Such final decision 87
shall include the placement of the following items on the first page of 88
each bill for each residential customer receiving electric generation 89
service from an electric supplier: (i) The electric generation service rate; 90
(ii) the term and expiration date of such rate; (iii) any change to such rate 91
effective for the next billing cycle; (iv) the cancellation fee, if applicable, 92
provided there is such a change; (v) notification that such rate is 93
variable, if applicable; (vi) the standard service rate; (vii) the term and 94
expiration date of the standard service rate; (viii) the dollar amount that 95
would have been billed for the electric generation services component 96
had the customer been receiving standard service; and (ix) an electronic 97
link or Internet web site address to the rate board Internet web site 98
described in section 16-244d and the toll-free telephone number and 99
other information necessary to enable the customer to obtain standard 100
service. Such final decision shall also include the feasibility of (I) an 101
electric distribution company transferring a residential customer 102
receiving electric generation service from an electric supplier to a 103
different electric supplier in a timely manner and ensuring that the 104
electric distribution company and the relevant electric suppliers provide 105
timely information to each other to facilitate such transfer, and (II) 106
allowing residential customers to choose how to receive information 107
related to bill notices, including United States mail, electronic mail, text 108
message, an application on a cellular telephone or a third-party 109
notification service approved by the authority. On or before July 1, 2015, 110
the authority shall implement, or cause to be implemented, the 111
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redesigned standard billing format and Internet web site for a 112
customer's account summary. On or before July 1, 2020, and every five 113
years thereafter, the authority shall reopen such docket to ensure the 114
standard billing format and Internet web site for a customer's account 115
summary remains a useful tool for customers to compare pricing 116
policies and charges among electric suppliers. 117
(3) Not later than August 1, 2023, the Public Utilities Regulatory 118
Authority shall initiate a docket to redesign the standard billing format 119
for all end use customers of electric distribution companies. In the 120
docket, the authority shall identify each charge comprising the electric 121
rate and determine which category the charge falls into using the 122
following categories: (A) Supply; (B) distribution; (C) transmission; and 123
(D) public policy. The authority shall require that each electric 124
distribution company's standard billing format identify each charge and 125
corresponding category in accordance with the authority's 126
determinations. Not later than January 1, 2024, the authority shall report 127
on the status of the docket to the joint standing committee of the General 128
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy and 129
technology. 130
[(3)] (4) An electric supplier that chooses to provide billing and 131
collection services shall, in accordance with the billing format 132
developed by the authority, include the following information in each 133
customer's bill: (A) The total amount owed by the customer, which shall 134
be itemized to show (i) the electric generation services component and 135
any additional charges imposed by the electric supplier, and (ii) 136
federally mandated congestion charges applicable to the generation 137
services; (B) any unpaid amounts from previous bills, which shall be 138
listed separately from current charges; (C) the rate and usage for the 139
current month and each of the previous twelve months in bar graph 140
form or other visual format; (D) the payment due date; (E) the interest 141
rate applicable to any unpaid amount; (F) the toll-free telephone number 142
of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for questions or complaints; 143
and (G) the toll-free telephone number and address of the electric 144
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supplier. On or before October 1, 2013, the authority shall conduct a 145
review of the costs and benefits of suppliers billing for all components 146
of electric service, and report, in accordance with the provisions of 147
section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 148
having cognizance of matters relating to energy regarding the results of 149
such review. Any such report may be submitted electronically. 150
[(4)] (5) An electric distribution company shall, in accordance with 151
the billing format developed by the authority, include the following 152
information in each customer's bill: (A) The total amount owed by the 153
customer, which shall be itemized [to show, (i) the electric generation 154
services component if the customer obtains standard service or last 155
resort service from the electric distribution company, (ii) the distribution 156
charge, including all applicable taxes and the systems benefits charge, 157
as provided in section 16-245l, (iii) the transmission rate as adjusted 158
pursuant to subsection (d) of section 16-19b, (iv) the competitive 159
transition assessment, as provided in section 16-245g, (v) federally 160
mandated congestion charges, and (vi) the conservation and renewable 161
energy charge, consisting of the conservation and load management 162
program charge, as provided in section 16-245m, and the renewable 163
energy investment charge, as provided in section 16-245n] using the 164
categories identified in subdivision (3) of this subsection; (B) any unpaid 165
amounts from previous bills which shall be listed separately from 166
current charges; (C) except for customers subject to a demand charge, 167
the rate and usage for the current month and each of the previous twelve 168
months in the form of a bar graph or other visual form; (D) the payment 169
due date; (E) the interest rate applicable to any unpaid amount; (F) the 170
toll-free telephone number of the electric distribution company to report 171
power losses; (G) the toll-free telephone number of the Public Utilities 172
Regulatory Authority for questions or complaints; and (H) if a customer 173
has a demand of five hundred kilowatts or less during the preceding 174
twelve months, a statement about the availability of information 175
concerning electric suppliers pursuant to section 16-245p. 176
Sec. 4. Section 16-1 of the general statutes is repealed and the 177
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 178
(a) Terms used in this title and in chapters 244, 244a, 244b, 245, 245a 179
and 245b shall be construed as follows, unless another meaning is 180
expressed or is clearly apparent from the language or context: 181
(1) "Authority" means the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and 182
"department" means the Department of Energy and Environmental 183
Protection; 184
(2) "Utility commissioner" means a member of the Public Utilities 185
Regulatory Authority; 186
(3) "Public service company" includes electric distribution, gas, 187
telephone, pipeline, sewage, water and community antenna television 188
companies and holders of a certificate of cable franchise authority, 189
owning, leasing, maintaining, operating, managing or controlling plants 190
or parts of plants or equipment, but shall not include towns, cities, 191
boroughs, any municipal corporation or department thereof, whether 192
separately incorporated or not, a private power producer, as defined in 193
section 16-243b, or an exempt wholesale generator, as defined in 15 USC 194
79z-5a; 195
(4) "Plant" includes all real estate, buildings, tracks, pipes, mains, 196
poles, wires and other fixed or stationary construction and equipment, 197
wherever located, used in the conduct of the business of the company; 198
(5) "Gas company" includes every person owning, leasing, 199
maintaining, operating, managing or controlling mains, pipes or other 200
fixtures, in public highways or streets, for the transmission or 201
distribution of gas for sale for heat or power within this state, or engaged 202
in the manufacture of gas to be so transmitted or distributed for such 203
purpose, but shall not include (A) a person manufacturing gas through 204
the use of a biomass gasification plant provided such person does not 205
own, lease, maintain, operate, manage or control mains, pipes or other 206
fixtures in public highways or streets, (B) a municipal gas utility 207
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established under chapter 101 or any other gas utility owned, leased, 208
maintained, operated, managed or controlled by any unit of local 209
government under any general statute or any public or special act, or 210
(C) an entity approved to submeter pursuant to section 16-19ff; 211
(6) "Water company" includes every person owning, leasing, 212
maintaining, operating, managing or controlling any pond, lake, 213
reservoir, stream, well or distributing plant or system employed for the 214
purpose of supplying water to fifty or more consumers. A water 215
company does not include homeowners, condominium associations 216
providing water only to their members, homeowners associations 217
providing water to customers at least eighty per cent of whom are 218
members of such associations, a municipal waterworks system 219
established under chapter 102, a district, metropolitan district, 220
municipal district or special services district established under chapter 221
105, chapter 105a or any other general statute or any public or special 222
act which is authorized to supply water, or any other waterworks 223
system owned, leased, maintained, operated, managed or controlled by 224
any unit of local government under any general statute or any public or 225
special act; 226
(7) "Consumer" means any private dwelling, boardinghouse, 227
apartment, store, office building, institution, mechanical or 228
manufacturing establishment or other place of business or industry to 229
which water is supplied by a water company; 230
(8) "Sewage company" includes every person owning, leasing, 231
maintaining, operating, managing or controlling, for general use in any 232
town, city or borough, or portion thereof, in this state, sewage disposal 233
facilities which discharge treated effluent into any waterway of this 234
state; 235
(9) "Pipeline company" includes every person owning, leasing, 236
maintaining, operating, managing or controlling mains, pipes or other 237
fixtures through, over, across or under any public land, water, 238
parkways, highways, parks or public grounds for the transportation, 239
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transmission or distribution of petroleum products for hire within this 240
state; 241
(10) "Community antenna television company" includes every person 242
owning, leasing, maintaining, operating, managing or controlling a 243
community antenna television system, in, under or over any public 244
street or highway, for the purpose of providing community antenna 245
television service for hire and shall include any municipality which 246
owns or operates one or more plants for the manufacture or distribution 247
of electricity pursuant to section 7-213 or any special act and seeks to 248
obtain or obtains a certificate of public convenience and necessity to 249
construct or operate a community antenna television system pursuant 250
to section 16-331 or a certificate of cable franchise authority pursuant to 251
section 16-331q. "Community antenna television company" does not 252
include a certified competitive video service provider; 253
(11) "Community antenna television service" means (A) the one-way 254
transmission to subscribers of video programming or information that 255
a community antenna television company makes available to all 256
subscribers generally, and subscriber interaction, if any, which is 257
required for the selection of such video programming or information, 258
and (B) noncable communications service. "Commun ity antenna 259
television service" does not include video service provided by a certified 260
competitive video service provider; 261
(12) "Community antenna television system" means a facility, 262
consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal 263
generation, reception and control equipment that is designed to provide 264
community antenna television service which includes video 265
programming and which is provided in, under or over any public street 266
or highway, for hire, to multiple subscribers within a franchise, but such 267
term does not include (A) a facility that serves only to retransmit the 268
television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (B) a 269
facility that serves only subscribers in one or more multiple unit 270
dwellings under common ownership, control or management, unless 271
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such facility is located in, under or over a public street or highway; (C) 272
a facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to the 273
provisions of Subchapter II of Chapter 5 of the Communications Act of 274
1934, 47 USC 201 et seq., as amended, except that such facility shall be 275
considered a community antenna television system and the carrier shall 276
be considered a public service company to the extent such facility is used 277
in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers; or (D) 278
a facility of an electric distribution company which is used solely for 279
operating its electric distribution company systems. "Community 280
antenna television system" does not include a facility used by a certified 281
competitive video service provider to provide video service; 282
(13) "Video programming" means programming provided by, or 283
generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a 284
television broadcast station; 285
(14) "Noncable communications service" means any 286
telecommunications service, as defined in section 16-247a, and which is 287
not included in the definition of "cable service" in the Communications 288
Act of 1934, 47 USC 522, as amended. Nothing in this definition shall be 289
construed to affect service which is both authorized and preempted 290
pursuant to federal law; 291
(15) "Cogeneration technology" means the use for the generation of 292
electricity of exhaust steam, waste steam, heat or resultant energy from 293
an industrial, commercial or manufacturing plant or process, or the use 294
of exhaust steam, waste steam or heat from a thermal power plant for 295
an industrial, commercial or manufacturing plant or process, but shall 296
not include steam or heat developed solely for electrical power 297
generation; 298
(16) "Renewable fuel resources" means energy sources described in 299
[subdivisions (20) and (21)] subdivision (20) of this subsection; 300
(17) "Telephone company" means a telecommunications company 301
that provides one or more noncompetitive or emerging competitive 302
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services, as defined in section 16-247a; 303
(18) "Domestic telephone company" includes any telephone company 304
which has been chartered by or organized or constituted within or 305
under the laws of this state; 306
(19) "Telecommunications company" means a person that provides 307
telecommunications service, as defined in section 16-247a, within the 308
state, but shall not mean a person that provides only (A) private 309
telecommunications service, as defined in section 16-247a, (B) the one-310
way transmission of video programming or other programming 311
services to subscribers, (C) subscriber interaction, if any, which is 312
required for the selection of such video programming or other 313
programming services, (D) the two-way transmission of educational or 314
instructional programming to a public or private elementary or 315
secondary school, or a public or independent institution of higher 316
education, as required by the authority pursuant to a community 317
antenna television company franchise agreement, or provided pursuant 318
to a contract with such a school or institution which contract has been 319
filed with the authority, or (E) a combination of the services set forth in 320
subparagraphs (B) to (D), inclusive, of this subdivision; 321
(20) "Class I renewable energy source" means (A) electricity derived 322
from (i) solar power, (ii) wind power, (iii) a fuel cell, (iv) geothermal, (v) 323
landfill methane gas, anaerobic digestion or other biogas derived from 324
biological sources, (vi) thermal electric direct energy conversion from a 325
certified Class I renewable energy source, (vii) ocean thermal power, 326
(viii) wave or tidal power, (ix) low emission advanced renewable energy 327
conversion technologies, including, but not limited to, zero emission 328
low grade heat power generation systems based on organic oil free 329
rankine, kalina or other similar nonsteam cycles that use waste heat 330
from an industrial or commercial process that does not generate 331
electricity, (x) [(I) a run-of-the-river hydropower facility that began 332
operation after July 1, 2003, and has a generating capacity of not more 333
than thirty megawatts, or (II) a run-of-the-river hydropower facility that 334
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received a new license after January 1, 2018, under the Federal Energy 335
Regulatory Commission rules pursuant to 18 CFR 16, as amended from 336
time to time, and provided a facility that applies for certification under 337
this clause after January 1, 2013, shall not be based on a new dam or a 338
dam identified by the commissioner as a candidate for removal, and 339
shall meet applicable state and federal requirements, including 340
applicable site-specific standards for water quality and fish passage, or] 341
hydropower, (xi) a biomass facility that uses sustainable biomass fuel 342
and has an average emission rate of equal to or less than .075 pounds of 343
nitrogen oxides per million BTU of heat input for the previous calendar 344
quarter, except that energy derived from a biomass facility with a 345
capacity of less than five hundred kilowatts that began construction 346
before July 1, 2003, may be considered a Class I renewable energy 347
source, (xii) nuclear power, or (xiii) a trash-to-energy facility that has 348
obtained a permit pursuant to section 22a-208a and section 22a-174-33 349
of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies, or (B) any electrical 350
generation, including distributed generation, generated from a Class I 351
renewable energy source, provided, on and after January 1, 2014, any 352
megawatt hours of electricity from a renewable energy source described 353
under this subparagraph that are claimed or counted by a load-serving 354
entity, province or state toward compliance with renewable portfolio 355
standards or renewable energy policy goals in another province or state, 356
other than the state of Connecticut, shall not be eligible for compliance 357
with the renewable portfolio standards established pursuant to section 358
16-245a, as amended by this act; 359
[(21) "Class II renewable energy source" means electricity derived 360
from a trash-to-energy facility that has obtained a permit pursuant to 361
section 22a-208a and section 22a-174-33 of the regulations of 362
Connecticut state agencies;] 363
[(22)] (21) "Electric distribution services" means the owning, leasing, 364
maintaining, operating, managing or controlling of poles, wires, 365
conduits or other fixtures along public highways or streets for the 366
distribution of electricity, or electric distribution-related services; 367
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[(23)] (22) "Electric distribution company" or "distribution company" 368
means any person providing electric transmission or distribution 369
services within the state, but does not include: (A) A private power 370
producer, as defined in section 16-243b; (B) a municipal electric utility 371
established under chapter 101, other than a participating municipal 372
electric utility; (C) a municipal electric energy cooperative established 373
under chapter 101a; (D) an electric cooperative established under 374
chapter 597; (E) any other electric utility owned, leased, maintained, 375
operated, managed or controlled by any unit of local government under 376
any general statute or special act; (F) an electric supplier; (G) an entity 377
approved to submeter pursuant to section 16-19ff; or (H) a municipality, 378
state or federal governmental entity authorized to distribute electricity 379
across a public highway or street pursuant to section 16-243aa; 380
[(24)] (23) "Electric supplier" means any person, including an electric 381
aggregator or participating municipal electric utility that is licensed by 382
the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in accordance with section 16-383
245, as amended by this act, that provides electric generation services to 384
end use customers in the state using the transmission or distribution 385
facilities of an electric distribution company, regardless of whether or 386
not such person takes title to such generation services, but does not 387
include: (A) A municipal electric utility established under chapter 101, 388
other than a participating municipal electric utility; (B) a municipal 389
electric energy cooperative established under chapter 101a; (C) an 390
electric cooperative established under chapter 597; or (D) any other 391
electric utility owned, leased, maintained, operated, managed or 392
controlled by any unit of local government under any general statute or 393
special act; 394
[(25)] (24) "Electric aggregator" means (A) a person, municipality or 395
regional water authority that gathers together electric customers for the 396
purpose of negotiating the purchase of electric generation services from 397
an electric supplier, or (B) the Materials Innovation and Recycling 398
Authority, if it gathers together electric customers for the purpose of 399
negotiating the purchase of electric generation services from an electric 400
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supplier, provided such person, municipality or authority is not 401
engaged in the purchase or resale of electric generation services, and 402
provided further such customers contract for electric generation 403
services directly with an electric supplier, and may include an electric 404
cooperative established pursuant to chapter 597; 405
[(26)] (25) "Electric generation services" means electric energy, electric 406
capacity or generation-related services; 407
[(27)] (26) "Electric transmission services" means electric transmission 408
or transmission-related services; 409
[(28)] (27) "Generation entity or affiliate" means a corporate affiliate 410
or a separate division of an electric distribution company that provides 411
electric generation services; 412
[(29)] (28) "Participating municipal electric utility" means a municipal 413
electric utility established under chapter 101 or any other electric utility 414
owned, leased, maintained, operated, managed or controlled by any 415
unit of local government under any general statute or any public or 416
special act, that is authorized by the authority in accordance with section 417
16-245c to provide electric generation services to end use customers 418
outside its service area, as defined in section 16-245c; 419
[(30)] (29) "Person" means an individual, business, firm, corporation, 420
association, joint stock association, trust, partnership or limited liability 421
company; 422
[(31)] (30) "Regional independent system operator" means the "ISO - 423
New England, Inc.", or its successor organization as approved by the 424
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; 425
[(32)] (31) "Certified telecommunications provider" means a person 426
certified by the authority to provide intrastate telecommunications 427
services, as defined in section 16-247a, pursuant to sections 16-247f to 428
16-247h, inclusive; 429
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[(33)] (32) "Gas registrant" means a person registered to sell natural 430
gas pursuant to section 16-258a; 431
[(34)] (33) "Customer-side distributed resources" means (A) the 432
generation of electricity from a unit with a rating of not more than sixty-433
five megawatts on the premises of a retail end user within the 434
transmission and distribution system including, but not limited to, fuel 435
cells, photovoltaic systems or small wind turbines, or (B) a reduction in 436
the demand for electricity on the premises of a retail end user in the 437
distribution system through methods of conservation and load 438
management, including, but not limited to, peak reduction systems and 439
demand response systems; 440
[(35)] (34) "Federally mandated congestion charges" means any cost 441
approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as part of New 442
England Standard Market Design including, but not limited to, 443
locational marginal pricing, locational installed capacity payments, any 444
cost approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to reduce 445
federally mandated congestion charges in accordance with section 7-446
233y, this section, sections 16-32f, 16-50i, 16-50k, 16-50x, 16-243i to 16-447
243q, inclusive, 16-244c, as amended by this act, 16-245m, 16-245n and 448
16-245z, section 21 of public act 05-1 of the June special session*, 449
subsection (f) of section 16a-3j and reliability must run contracts; 450
[(36)] (35) "Combined heat and power system" means a system that 451
produces, from a single source, both electric power and thermal energy 452
used in any process that results in an aggregate reduction in electricity 453
use; 454
[(37)] (36) "Grid-side distributed resources" means the generation of 455
electricity from a unit with a rating of not more than sixty-five 456
megawatts that is connected to the transmission or distribution system, 457
which units may include, but are not limited to, units used primarily to 458
generate electricity to meet peak demand; 459
[(38)] (37) "Class III source" means the electricity output from 460
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combined heat and power systems with an operating efficiency level of 461
no less than fifty per cent that are part of customer-side distributed 462
resources developed at commercial and industrial facilities in this state 463
on or after January 1, 2006, a waste heat recovery system installed on or 464
after April 1, 2007, that produces electrical or thermal energy by 465
capturing preexisting waste heat or pressure from industrial or 466
commercial processes, or the electricity savings created in this state from 467
conservation and load management programs begun on or after January 468
1, 2006, provided on and after January 1, 2014, no such programs 469
supported by ratepayers, including programs overseen by the Energy 470
Conservation Management Board or third-party programs pursuant to 471
section 16-245m, shall be considered a Class III source, except that any 472
demand-side management project awarded a contract pursuant to 473
section 16-243m shall remain eligible as a Class III source for the term of 474
such contract; 475
[(39)] (38) "Sustainable biomass fuel" means biomass that is cultivated 476
and harvested in a sustainable manner. "Sustainable biomass fuel" does 477
not mean construction and demolition waste, as defined in section 22a-478
208x, finished biomass products from sawmills, paper mills or stud 479
mills, organic refuse fuel derived separately from municipal solid waste, 480
or biomass from old growth timber stands, except where (A) such 481
biomass is used in a biomass gasification plant that received funding 482
prior to May 1, 2006, from the Clean Energy Fund established pursuant 483
to section 16-245n, or (B) the energy derived from such biomass is 484
subject to a long-term power purchase contract pursuant to subdivision 485
(2) of subsection (j) of section 16-244c entered into prior to May 1, 2006; 486
[(40)] (39) "Video service" means video programming services 487
provided through wireline facilities, a portion of which are located in 488
the public right-of-way, without regard to delivery technology, 489
including Internet protocol technology. "Video service" does not include 490
any video programming provided by a commercial mobile service 491
provider, as defined in 47 USC 332(d), any video programming 492
provided as part of community antenna television service in a franchise 493
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area as of October 1, 2007, any video programming provided as part of 494
and via a service that enables users to access content, information, 495
electronic mail or other services over the public Internet; 496
[(41)] (40) "Certified competitive video service provider" means an 497
entity providing video service pursuant to a certificate of video 498
franchise authority issued by the authority in accordance with section 499
16-331e. "Certified competitive video service provider" does not mean 500
an entity issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity in 501
accordance with section 16-331 or the affiliates, successors and assigns 502
of such entity or an entity issued a certificate of cable franchise authority 503
in accordance with section 16-331p or the affiliates, successors and 504
assignees of such entity; 505
[(42)] (41) "Certificate of video franchise authority" means an 506
authorization issued by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority 507
conferring the right to an entity or person to own, lease, maintain, 508
operate, manage or control facilities in, under or over any public 509
highway to offer video service to any subscribers in the state; 510
[(43)] (42) "Certificate of cable franchise authority" means an 511
authorization issued by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority 512
pursuant to section 16-331q conferring the right to a community antenna 513
television company to own, lease, maintain, operate, manage or control 514
a community antenna television system in, under or over any public 515
highway to (A) offer community antenna television service in a 516
community antenna television company's designated franchise area, or 517
(B) use the public rights-of-way to offer video service in a designated 518
franchise area. The certificate of cable franchise authority shall be issued 519
as an alternative to a certificate of public convenience and necessity 520
pursuant to section 16-331 and shall only be available to a community 521
antenna television company under the terms specified in sections 16-522
331q to 16-331aa, inclusive; 523
[(44)] (43) "Thermal energy transportation company" means any 524
person authorized under any provision of the general statutes or special 525
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act to furnish heat or air conditioning or both, by means of steam, heated 526
or chilled water or other medium, to lay and maintain mains, pipes or 527
other conduits, and to erect such other fixtures necessary or convenient 528
in and on the streets, highways and public grounds of any municipality 529
to carry steam, heated or chilled water or other medium from such plant 530
to the location to be served and to return the same; 531
[(45)] (44) "The Connecticut Television Network" means the General 532
Assembly's state-wide twenty-four-hour state public affairs 533
programming service, separate and distinct from community access 534
channels; 535
[(46)] (45) "Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection" 536
means the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection 537
appointed pursuant to title 4, or the commissioner's designee; 538
[(47)] (46) "Large-scale hydropower" means any hydropower facility 539
that (A) began operation on or after January 1, 2003, (B) is located in the 540
New England Power Pool Generation Information System geographic 541
eligibility area in accordance with Rule 2.3 of said system or an area 542
abutting the northern boundary of the New England Power Pool 543
Generation Information System geographic eligibility area that is not 544
interconnected with any other control area that is not a part of the New 545
England Power Pool Generation Information System geographic 546
eligibility area, (C) delivers power into such geographic eligibility area, 547
and (D) has a generating capacity of more than thirty megawatts; 548
[(48)] (47) "Energy storage system" means any commercially available 549
technology that is capable of absorbing energy, storing it for a period of 550
time and thereafter dispatching the energy, and that is capable of either: 551
(A) Using mechanical, chemical or thermal processes to store electricity 552
that is generated at one time for use at a later time; (B) storing thermal 553
energy for direct use for heating or cooling at a later time in a manner 554
that avoids the need to use electricity at a later time; (C) using 555
mechanical, chemical or thermal processes to store electricity generated 556
from renewable energy sources for use at a later time; or (D) using 557
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mechanical, chemical or thermal processes to capture or harness waste 558
electricity and to store such electricity generated from mechanical 559
processes for delivery at a later time; 560
[(49)] (48) "Distributed energy resource" means any (A) customer-561
side distributed resource or grid-side distributed resource that 562
generates electricity from a Class I renewable energy source or Class III 563
source, and (B) customer-side distributed resource that reduces demand 564
for electricity through conservation and load management, energy 565
storage system which is located on the customer-side of the meter or is 566
connected to the distribution system or microgrid; and 567
[(50)] (49) "Grid-side system enhancement" means an investment in 568
distribution system infrastructure, technology and systems designed to 569
enable the deployment of distributed energy resources and allow for 570
grid management and system balancing, including, but not limited to, 571
energy storage systems, distribution system automation and controls, 572
intelligent field systems, advanced distribution system metering, and 573
communication and systems that enable two-way power flow. 574
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the terms 575
"utility", "public utility" and "public service company" shall be deemed 576
to include a community antenna television company and a holder of a 577
certificate of cable franchise authority, except (1) as otherwise provided 578
in sections 16-8, 16-27, 16-28 and 16-43, (2) that no provision of the 579
general statutes, including but not limited to, the provisions of sections 580
16-6b and 16-19, shall subject a community antenna television company 581
to regulation as a common carrier or utility by reason of providing 582
community antenna television service, other than noncable 583
communications service, as provided in Subchapter V-A of Chapter 5 of 584
the Communications Act of 1934, 47 USC 521 et seq., as amended, and 585
(3) that no provision of the general statutes, including but not limited to, 586
sections 16-6b and 16-19, shall apply to community antenna television 587
companies to the extent any such provision is preempted pursuant to 588
any other provision of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 USC 151 et 589
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seq., as amended, any other federal act or any regulation adopted 590
thereunder. 591
(c) An owner of an electric vehicle charging station, as defined in 592
section 16-19f, shall not be deemed to be a utility, public utility or public 593
service company solely by virtue of the fact that such owner is an owner 594
of an electric vehicle charging station. 595
Sec. 5. Subsections (b) to (h), inclusive, of section 16-244c of the 596
general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 597
thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 598
(b) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section regarding the 599
procurement of electric generation services under standard service, 600
section 16-244h or 16-245o, the Department of Energy and 601
Environmental Protection may, from time to time, direct an electric 602
distribution company to offer, through an electric supplier or electric 603
suppliers, one or more alternative standard service options. Such 604
alternative options shall include, but not be limited to, an option that 605
consists of the provision of electric generation services that exceed the 606
renewable portfolio standards established in section 16-245a, as 607
amended by this act, and may include an option that utilizes strategies 608
or technologies that reduce the overall consumption of electricity of the 609
customer. 610
(2) (A) The authority shall develop such alternative option or options 611
in a contested case conducted in accordance with the provisions of 612
chapter 54. The authority shall determine the terms and conditions of 613
such alternative option or options, including, but not limited to, (i) the 614
minimum contract terms, including pricing, length and termination of 615
the contract, and (ii) the minimum percentage of electricity derived from 616
Class I [or Class II] renewable energy sources, if applicable. The electric 617
distribution company shall, under the supervision of the authority, 618
subsequently conduct a bidding process in order to solicit electric 619
suppliers to provide such alternative option or options. 620
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(B) The authority may reject some or all of the bids received pursuant 621
to the bidding process. 622
(3) The authority may require an electric supplier to provide forms of 623
assurance to satisfy the authority that the contracts resulting from the 624
bidding process will be fulfilled. 625
(4) An electric supplier who fails to fulfill its contractual obligations 626
resulting from this subdivision shall be subject to civil penalties, in 627
accordance with the provisions of section 16-41, or the suspension or 628
revocation of such supplier's license or a prohibition on the acceptance 629
of new customers, following a hearing that is conducted as a contested 630
case, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. 631
(c) (1) On and after January 1, 2007, an electric distribution company 632
shall serve customers that are not eligible to receive standard service 633
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section as the supplier of last resort. 634
This subsection shall not apply to customers purchasing power under 635
contracts entered into pursuant to section 16-19hh. 636
(2) An electric distribution company shall procure electricity at least 637
every calendar quarter to provide electric generation services to 638
customers pursuant to this subsection. The Public Utilities Regulatory 639
Authority shall determine a price for such customers that reflects the 640
full cost of providing the electricity on a monthly basis. Each electric 641
distribution company shall recover the actual net costs of procuring and 642
providing electric generation services pursuant to this subsection, 643
provided such company mitigates the costs it incurs for the 644
procurement of electric generation services for customers that are no 645
longer receiving service pursuant to this subsection. 646
(d) On and after January 1, 2000, and until such time the regional 647
independent system operator implements procedures for the provision 648
of back-up power to the satisfaction of the Public Utilities Regulatory 649
Authority, each electric distribution company shall provide electric 650
generation services to any customer who has entered into a service 651
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contract with an electric supplier that fails to provide electric generation 652
services for reasons other than the customer's failure to pay for such 653
services. Between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2006, an electric 654
distribution company may procure electric generation services through 655
a competitive bidding process or through any of its generation entities 656
or affiliates. On and after January 1, 2007, such company shall procure 657
electric generation services through a competitive bidding process 658
pursuant to a plan submitted by the electric distribution company and 659
approved by the authority. Such company may procure electric 660
generation services through any of its generation entities or affiliates, 661
provided such entity or affiliate is the lowest qualified bidder and 662
provided further any such entity or affiliate is licensed pursuant to 663
section 16-245, as amended by this act. 664
(e) An electric distribution company is not required to be licensed 665
pursuant to section 16-245, as amended by this act, to provide standard 666
service pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, supplier of last resort 667
service pursuant to subsection (c) of this section or back-up electric 668
generation service pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. 669
(f) The electric distribution company shall be entitled to recover 670
reasonable costs incurred as a result of providing standard service 671
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or back-up electric generation 672
service pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. 673
(g) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall establish, by 674
regulations adopted pursuant to chapter 54, procedures for when and 675
how a customer is notified that his electric supplier has defaulted and 676
of the need for the customer to choose a new electric supplier within a 677
reasonable period of time or to return to standard service. 678
(h) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this 679
section regarding an alternative standard service option, an electric 680
distribution company providing standard service, supplier of last resort 681
service or back-up electric generation service in accordance with this 682
section shall contract with its wholesale suppliers to comply with the 683
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renewable portfolio standards. The Public Utilities Regulatory 684
Authority shall annually conduct an uncontested proceeding in order to 685
determine whether the electric distribution company's wholesale 686
suppliers met the renewable portfolio standards during the preceding 687
year. [On or before December 31, 2013, the authority shall issue a 688
decision on any such proceeding for calendar years up to and including 689
2012, for which a decision has not already been issued. Not later than 690
December 31, 2014, and annually thereafter, the authority shall, 691
following such proceeding,] Each year, following such proceeding, the 692
authority shall issue a decision as to whether the electric distribution 693
company's wholesale suppliers met the renewable portfolio standards 694
during the preceding year. An electric distribution company shall 695
include a provision in its contract with each wholesale supplier that 696
requires the wholesale supplier to pay the electric distribution company 697
an amount of [: (A) For calendar years up to and including calendar year 698
2017, five and one-half cents per kilowatt hour if the wholesale supplier 699
fails to comply with the renewable portfolio standards during the 700
subject annual period, (B) for calendar years commencing on January 1, 701
2018, up to and including the calendar year commencing on January 1, 702
2020, five and one-half cents per kilowatt hour if the wholesale supplier 703
fails to comply with the renewable portfolio standards during the 704
subject annual period for Class I renewable energy sources, and two and 705
one-half cents per kilowatt hour if the wholesale supplier fails to comply 706
with the renewable portfolio standards during the subject annual period 707
for Class II renewable energy sources, and (C) for calendar years 708
commencing on and after January 1, 2021,] four cents per kilowatt hour 709
if the wholesale supplier fails to comply with the renewable portfolio 710
standards during the subject annual period for Class I renewable energy 711
sources. [, and two and one-half cents per kilowatt hour if the wholesale 712
supplier fails to comply with the renewable portfolio standards during 713
the subject annual period for Class II renewable energy sources.] The 714
electric distribution company shall promptly [transfer] refund any 715
payment received from the wholesale supplier for the failure to meet the 716
renewable portfolio standards [to the Clean Energy Fund for the 717
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development of Class I renewable energy sources, provided, on and 718
after June 5, 2013, any such payment shall be refunded] to ratepayers by 719
using such payment to offset the costs to all customers of electric 720
distribution companies of the costs of contracts and tariffs entered into 721
pursuant to sections 16-244r, 16-244t and 16-244z. [, except that, on or 722
after January 1, 2023, any such payment that is attributable to a failure 723
to comply with the Class II renewable portfolio standards shall be 724
deposited in the sustainable materials management account established 725
pursuant to section 16-244bb.] Any excess amount remaining from such 726
payment shall be applied to reduce the costs of contracts entered into 727
pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, and if any excess amount 728
remains, such amount shall be applied to reduce costs collected through 729
nonbypassable, federally mandated congestion charges, as defined in 730
section 16-1, as amended by this act. 731
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section 732
regarding an alternative standard service option, an electric distribution 733
company providing transitional standard offer service, standard 734
service, supplier of last resort service or back-up electric generation 735
service in accordance with this section shall, not later than July 1, 2008, 736
file with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for its approval one 737
or more long-term power purchase contracts from Class I renewable 738
energy source projects with a preference for projects located in 739
Connecticut that receive funding from the Clean Energy Fund and that 740
are not less than one megawatt in size, at a price that is either, at the 741
determination of the project owner, (A) not more than the total of the 742
comparable wholesale market price for generation plus five and one-743
half cents per kilowatt hour, or (B) fifty per cent of the wholesale market 744
electricity cost at the point at which transmission lines intersect with 745
each other or interface with the distribution system, plus the project cost 746
of fuel indexed to natural gas futures contracts on the New York 747
Mercantile Exchange at the natural gas pipeline interchange located in 748
Vermillion Parish, Louisiana that serves as the delivery point for such 749
futures contracts, plus the fuel delivery charge for transporting fuel to 750
the project, plus five and one-half cents per kilowatt hour. In its 751
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approval of such contracts, the authority shall give preference to 752
purchase contracts from those projects that would provide a financial 753
benefit to ratepayers and would enhance the reliability of the electric 754
transmission system of the state. Such projects shall be located in this 755
state. The owner of a fuel cell project principally manufactured in this 756
state shall be allocated all available air emissions credits and tax credits 757
attributable to the project and no less than fifty per cent of the energy 758
credits in the Class I renewable energy credits program established in 759
section 16-245a, as amended by this act, attributable to the project. On 760
and after October 1, 2007, and until September 30, 2008, such contracts 761
shall be comprised of not less than a total, apportioned among each 762
electric distribution company, of one hundred twenty-five megawatts; 763
and on and after October 1, 2008, such contracts shall be comprised of 764
not less than a total, apportioned among each electrical distribution 765
company, of one hundred fifty megawatts. The Public Ut ilities 766
Regulatory Authority shall not issue any order that results in the 767
extension of any in-service date or contractual arrangement made as a 768
part of Project 100 or Project 150 beyond the termination date previously 769
approved by the authority established by the contract, provided any 770
party to such contract may provide a notice of termination in accordance 771
with the terms of, and to the extent permitted under, its contract, except 772
the authority shall grant, upon request, an extension of the latest of any 773
such in-service date by (i) twelve months for any project located in a 774
distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9p, with a population 775
of more than one hundred twenty-five thousand, and (ii) not more than 776
thirty-six months for any project having a capacity of less than five 777
megawatts, provided any such project (I) commences construction by 778
April 30, 2015, and (II) the authority has provided previous approval of 779
such contract. The cost of such contracts and the administrative costs for 780
the procurement of such contracts directly incurred shall be eligible for 781
inclusion in the adjustment to any subsequent rates for standard service, 782
provided such contracts are for a period of time sufficient to provide 783
financing for such projects, but not less than ten years, and are for 784
projects which began operation on or after July 1, 2003. Except as 785
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provided in this subdivision, the amount from Class I renewable energy 786
sources contracted under such contracts shall be applied to reduce the 787
applicable Class I renewable energy source portfolio standards. For 788
purposes of this subdivision, the authority's determination of the 789
comparable wholesale market price for generation shall be based upon 790
a reasonable estimate. On or before September 1, 2011, the authority, in 791
consultation with the Office of Consumer Counsel and the Connecticut 792
Green Bank, shall study the operation of such renewable energy 793
contracts and report its findings and recommendations to the joint 794
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 795
matters relating to energy. 796
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section 797
regarding an alternative standard service option, an electric distribution 798
company providing transitional standard offer service, standard 799
service, supplier of last resort service or back-up electric generation 800
service in accordance with this section that has within its service 801
territory a biomass facility that is a Class I renewable energy source and 802
began operation after December 1, 2013, shall, not later than July 1, 2018, 803
file with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for its approval a ten-804
year power purchase contract not to exceed nine cents per kilowatt hour 805
for energy and renewable energy certificates with such facility for 806
generation equivalent to seven and one-half megawatts of electric 807
capacity. The costs incurred by an electric distribution company 808
pursuant to this subdivision shall be recovered on a timely basis 809
through a nonbypassable fully reconciling component of electric rates 810
for all customers of such electric distribution company. 811
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 16-244bb of the general statutes is 812
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 813
1, 2023): 814
(a) There is established an account to be known as the sustainable 815
materials management account which shall be a separate, nonlapsing 816
account within the General Fund. [The account shall contain moneys 817
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collected by the alternative compliance payment for Class II renewable 818
portfolio standards pursuant to subsection (h) of section 16-244c and 819
subsection (k) of section 16-245.] The Commissioner of Energy and 820
Environmental Protection shall expend moneys from the account for the 821
purposes of the program established under this section. 822
Sec. 7. Subsection (k) of section 16-245 of the general statutes is 823
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 824
1, 2023): 825
(k) Any licensee who fails to comply with a license condition or who 826
violates any provision of this section, except for the renewable portfolio 827
standards contained in subsection (g) of this section, shall be subject to 828
civil penalties by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in accordance 829
with section 16-41, including direction that a portion of the civil penalty 830
be paid to a nonprofit agency engaged in energy assistance programs 831
named by the authority in its decision or notice of violation, the 832
suspension or revocation of such license and a prohibition on accepting 833
new customers following a hearing that is conducted as a contested case 834
in accordance with chapter 54. Notwithstanding the provisions of 835
subsection (b) of section 16-244c, as amended by this act, regarding an 836
alternative transitional standard offer option or an alternative standard 837
service option, the authority shall require a payment by a licensee that 838
fails to comply with the renewable portfolio standards in accordance 839
with subdivision (4) of subsection (g) of this section in the amount of [: 840
(1) For calendar years up to and including calendar year 2017, five and 841
one-half cents per kilowatt hour, (2) for calendar years commencing on 842
January 1, 2018, and up to and including the calendar year commencing 843
on January 1, 2020, five and one-half cents per kilowatt hour if the 844
licensee fails to comply with the renewable portfolio standards during 845
the subject annual period for Class I renewable energy sources, and two 846
and one-half cents per kilowatt hour if the licensee fails to comply with 847
the renewable portfolio standards during the subject annual period for 848
Class II renewable energy sources, and (3) for calendar years 849
commencing on and after January 1, 2021, four cents per kilowatt hour 850
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if the licensee fails to comply with the renewable portfolio standards 851
during the subject annual period for Class I renewable energy sources, 852
and two and one-half cents per kilowatt hour if the licensee fails to 853
comply with the renewable portfolio standards during the subject 854
annual period for Class II renewable energy sources. On or before 855
December 31, 2013, the authority shall issue a decision, following an 856
uncontested proceeding, on whether any licensee has failed to comply 857
with the renewable portfolio standards for calendar years up to and 858
including 2012, for which a decision has not already been issued] four 859
cents per kilowatt hour. On and after [June 5, 2013] October 1, 2023, the 860
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall annually conduct an 861
uncontested proceeding in order to determine whether any licensee has 862
failed to comply with the renewable portfolio standards during the 863
preceding year. [Not later than December 31, 2014, and annually 864
thereafter] Each year, the authority shall, following such proceeding, 865
issue a decision as to whether the licensee has failed to comply with the 866
renewable portfolio standards during the preceding year. The authority 867
shall [allocate] refund such payment [to the Clean Energy Fund for the 868
development of Class I renewable energy sources, provided, on and 869
after June 5, 2013, any such payment shall be refunded] to ratepayers by 870
using such payment to offset the costs to all customers of electric 871
distribution companies of the costs of contracts and tariffs entered into 872
pursuant to sections 16-244r, 16-244t and section 16-244z. [, except that, 873
on and after January 1, 2023, any such payment that is attributable to a 874
failure to comply with the Class II renewable portfolio standards shall 875
be deposited in the sustainable materials management account 876
established pursuant to section 16-244bb.] Any excess amount 877
remaining from such payment shall be applied to reduce the costs of 878
contracts entered into pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (j) of 879
section 16-244c, and if any excess amount remains, such amount shall be 880
applied to reduce costs collected through nonbypassable, federally 881
mandated congestion charges, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by 882
this act. 883
Sec. 8. Section 16-245a of the general statutes is repealed and the 884
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 885
(a) Subject to any modifications required by the Public Utilities 886
Regulatory Authority for retiring renewable energy certificates on 887
behalf of all electric ratepayers pursuant to subsection (h) of this section 888
and sections 16a-3f, 16a-3g, as amended by this act, 16a-3h, 16a-3i, as 889
amended by this act, 16a-3j, as amended by this act, 16a-3m, as amended 890
by this act, and 16a-3n, an electric supplier and an electric distribution 891
company providing standard service or supplier of last resort service, 892
pursuant to section 16-244c, as amended by this act, shall demonstrate: 893
[(1) On and after January 1, 2006, that not less than two per cent of 894
the total output or services of any such supplier or distribution company 895
shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an 896
additional three per cent of the total output or services shall be from 897
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 898
(2) On and after January 1, 2007, not less than three and one-half per 899
cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or distribution 900
company shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and 901
an additional three per cent of the total output or services shall be from 902
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 903
(3) On and after January 1, 2008, not less than five per cent of the total 904
output or services of any such supplier or distribution company shall be 905
generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an additional 906
three per cent of the total output or services shall be from Class I or Class 907
II renewable energy sources; 908
(4) On and after January 1, 2009, not less than six per cent of the total 909
output or services of any such supplier or distribution company shall be 910
generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an additional 911
three per cent of the total output or services shall be from Class I or Class 912
II renewable energy sources; 913
(5) On and after January 1, 2010, not less than seven per cent of the 914
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total output or services of any such supplier or distribution company 915
shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an 916
additional three per cent of the total output or services shall be from 917
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 918
(6) On and after January 1, 2011, not less than eight per cent of the 919
total output or services of any such supplier or distribution company 920
shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an 921
additional three per cent of the total output or services shall be from 922
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 923
(7) On and after January 1, 2012, not less than nine per cent of the total 924
output or services of any such supplier or distribution company shall be 925
generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an additional 926
three per cent of the total output or services shall be from Class I or Class 927
II renewable energy sources; 928
(8) On and after January 1, 2013, not less than ten per cent of the total 929
output or services of any such supplier or distribution company shall be 930
generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an additional 931
three per cent of the total output or services shall be from Class I or Class 932
II renewable energy sources; 933
(9) On and after January 1, 2014, not less than eleven per cent of the 934
total output or services of any such supplier or distribution company 935
shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an 936
additional three per cent of the total output or services shall be from 937
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 938
(10) On and after January 1, 2015, not less than twelve and one-half 939
per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 940
distribution company shall be generated from Class I renewable energy 941
sources and an additional three per cent of the total output or services 942
shall be from Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 943
(11) On and after January 1, 2016, not less than fourteen per cent of 944
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the total output or services of any such supplier or distribution company 945
shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an 946
additional three per cent of the total output or services shall be from 947
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 948
(12) On and after January 1, 2017, not less than fifteen and one-half 949
per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 950
distribution company shall be generated from Class I renewable energy 951
sources and an additional three per cent of the total output or services 952
shall be from Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 953
(13) On and after January 1, 2018, not less than seventeen per cent of 954
the total output or services of any such supplier or distribution company 955
shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and an 956
additional four per cent of the total output or services shall be from Class 957
I or Class II renewable energy sources; 958
(14) On and after January 1, 2019, not less than nineteen and one-half 959
per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 960
distribution company shall be generated from Class I renewable energy 961
sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 962
shall be from Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 963
(15) On and after January 1, 2020, not less than twenty-one per cent 964
of the total output or services of any such supplier or distribution 965
company shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and 966
an additional four per cent of the total output or services shall be from 967
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources, except that for any electric 968
supplier that has entered into or renewed a retail electric supply contract 969
on or before May 24, 2018, on and after January 1, 2020, not less than 970
twenty per cent of the total output or services of any such electric 971
supplier shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources; 972
(16) On and after January 1, 2021, not less than twenty-two and one-973
half per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 974
distribution company shall be generated from Class I renewable energy 975
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sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 976
shall be from Class I or Class II renewable energy sources; 977
(17) On and after January 1, 2022, not less than twenty-four per cent 978
of the total output or services of any such supplier or distribution 979
company shall be generated from Class I renewable energy sources and 980
an additional four per cent of the total output or services shall be from 981
Class I or Class II renewable energy sources;] 982
[(18)] (1) On and after January 1, 2023, not less than [twenty-six] thirty 983
per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 984
distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable energy 985
sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 986
shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources; 987
[(19)] (2) On and after January 1, 2024, not less than [twenty-eight] 988
thirty-two per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier 989
or distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable 990
energy sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or 991
services shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources; 992
[(20)] (3) On and after January 1, 2025, not less than [thirty] thirty-993
four per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 994
distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable energy 995
sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 996
shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources; 997
[(21)] (4) On and after January 1, 2026, not less than [thirty-two] 998
thirty-six per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 999
distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable energy 1000
sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 1001
shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources; 1002
[(22)] (5) On and after January 1, 2027, not less than [thirty-four] 1003
thirty-eight per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier 1004
or distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable 1005
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energy sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or 1006
services shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources; 1007
[(23)] (6) On and after January 1, 2028, not less than [thirty-six] forty 1008
per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 1009
distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable energy 1010
sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 1011
shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources; 1012
[(24)] (7) On and after January 1, 2029, not less than [thirty-eight] 1013
forty-two per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 1014
distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable energy 1015
sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 1016
shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources; 1017
[(25)] (8) On and after January 1, 2030, not less than [forty] forty-four 1018
per cent of the total output or services of any such supplier or 1019
distribution company shall be generated from Class I [renewable energy 1020
sources and an additional four per cent of the total output or services 1021
shall be from Class II] renewable energy sources. 1022
(b) [(1)] An electric supplier or electric distribution company may 1023
satisfy the requirements of this section (A) by purchasing certificates 1024
issued by the New England Power Pool Generation Information System, 1025
provided the certificates are for (i) energy produced by a generating unit 1026
using Class I [or Class II] renewable energy sources and the generating 1027
unit is located in the jurisdiction of the regional independent system 1028
operator, or (ii) energy imported into the control area of the regional 1029
independent system operator pursuant to New England Power Pool 1030
Generation Information System Rule 2.7(c), as in effect on January 1, 1031
2006; (B) for those renewable energy certificates under contract to serve 1032
end use customers in the state on or before October 1, 2006, by 1033
participating in a renewable energy trading program within said 1034
jurisdictions as approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority; 1035
or (C) by purchasing eligible renewable electricity and associated 1036
attributes from residential customers who are net producers. [(2) Not 1037
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more than one per cent of the total output or services of an electric 1038
supplier or electric distribution company shall be generated from Class 1039
I renewable energy sources eligible as described in subparagraph 1040
(A)(x)(II) of subdivision (20) of subsection (a) of section 16-1.] 1041
(c) Any supplier who provides electric generation services solely 1042
from a [Class II renewable energy source] trash-to-energy facility that 1043
has obtained a permit pursuant to section 22a-208a and section 22a-174-1044
33 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies shall not be required 1045
to comply with the provisions of this section. 1046
(d) An electric supplier or an electric distribution company shall base 1047
its demonstration of generation sources, as required under subsection 1048
(a) of this section on historical data, which may consist of data filed with 1049
the regional independent system operator. 1050
(e) The authority shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the 1051
provisions of chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section. 1052
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section and section 16-244c, 1053
as amended by this act, for periods beginning on and after January 1, 1054
2008, each electric distribution company may procure renewable energy 1055
certificates from Class I [, Class II] and Class III renewable energy 1056
sources through long-term contracting mechanisms. The electric 1057
distribution companies may enter into long-term contracts for not more 1058
than fifteen years to procure such renewable energy certificates. The 1059
electric distribution companies shall use any renewable energy 1060
certificates obtained pursuant to this section to meet their standard 1061
service and supplier of last resort renewable portfolio standard 1062
requirements. 1063
(g) On or before January 1, 2014, the Commissioner of Energy and 1064
Environmental Protection shall, in developing or modifying an 1065
Integrated Resources Plan in accordance with sections 16a-3a and 16a-1066
3e, establish a schedule to commence on January 1, 2015, for assigning a 1067
gradually reduced renewable energy credit value to all biomass or 1068
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landfill methane gas facilities that qualify as a Class I renewable energy 1069
source pursuant to section 16-1, as amended by this act, provided this 1070
subsection shall not apply to anaerobic digestion or other biogas 1071
facilities, and further provided any reduced renewable energy credit 1072
value established pursuant to this section shall not apply to any biomass 1073
or landfill methane gas facility that has entered into a power purchase 1074
agreement (1) with an electric supplier or electric distribution company 1075
in the state of Connecticut on or before June 5, 2013, or (2) executed in 1076
accordance with section 16a-3f or 16a-3h. The Commissioner of Energy 1077
and Environmental Protection may review the schedule established 1078
pursuant to this subsection in preparation of each subsequent Integrated 1079
Resources Plan developed pursuant to section 16a-3a and make any 1080
necessary changes thereto to ensure that the rate of reductions in 1081
renewable energy credit value for biomass or landfill methane gas 1082
facilities is appropriate given the availability of other Class I renewable 1083
energy sources. 1084
(h) The authority shall establish procedures for the disposition of 1085
renewable energy certificates purchased pursuant to section 16-244z, 1086
which may include procedures for selling renewable energy certificates 1087
consistent with section 16-244z or, if renewable energy certificates 1088
procured pursuant to section 16-244z are retired and never used for 1089
compliance in any other jurisdiction, reductions to the percentage of the 1090
total output or services of an electric supplier or an electric distribution 1091
company generated from Class I renewable energy sources required 1092
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Any such reduction shall be 1093
based on the energy production that the authority forecasts will be 1094
procured pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of section 16-244z. The 1095
authority shall determine any such reduction of an annual renewable 1096
portfolio standard not later than one year prior to the effective date of 1097
such annual renewable portfolio standard. An electric distribution 1098
company shall not be responsible for any administrative or other costs 1099
or expenses associated with any difference between the number of 1100
renewable energy certificates planned to be retired pursuant to the 1101
authority's reduction and the actual number of renewable energy 1102
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certificates retired. 1103
Sec. 9. Subsection (c) of section 16a-3j of the general statutes is 1104
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1105
1, 2023): 1106
(c) In any solicitation issued pursuant to this subsection, the 1107
commissioner shall seek proposals from (1) Class I renewable energy 1108
sources, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this act, having a 1109
nameplate capacity rating of twenty megawatts or more, and any 1110
associated transmission; and (2) verifiable large-scale hydropower, as 1111
defined in section 16-1, as amended by this act, and any associated 1112
transmission. The commissioner may also seek proposals for energy 1113
storage systems, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this act, 1114
having a nameplate capacity rating of twenty megawatts or more. 1115
Proposals under this subsection shall not have a contract term exceeding 1116
twenty years. [In soliciting Class I renewable energy sources, and any 1117
associated transmission, pursuant to this subsection, the commissioner 1118
may, for the purpose of balancing such Class I energy deliveries and 1119
improving the economic viability of such proposals, also seek proposals 1120
for electricity and capacity from Class II renewable energy sources, as 1121
defined in section 16-1, and existing hydropower resources other than 1122
those described under section 16-1, provided such resources are 1123
interconnected to such associated transmission and are located in the 1124
control area of the regional independent system operator or imported 1125
into the control area of the regional independent system operator from 1126
resources located in an adjacent regional independent system operator's 1127
control area.] 1128
Sec. 10. Subdivision (57) of section 12-81 of the general statutes is 1129
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1130
1, 2023): 1131
(57) (A) (i) Any Class I renewable energy source, as defined in section 1132
16-1, [or hydropower facility described in subdivision (21) of subsection 1133
(a) of section 16-1] as amended by this act, including any run-of-the-1134
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river hydropower facility that began operation after July 1, 2003, and 1135
has a generating capacity of not more than thirty megawatts, and any 1136
run-of-the-river hydropower facility that received a new license after 1137
January 1, 2018, under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules 1138
pursuant to 18 CFR 16, as amended from time to time, meets applicable 1139
state and federal requirements and site-specific standards for water 1140
quality and fish passage and is not based on a new dam or a dam 1141
identified by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 1142
Protection as a candidate for removal, but excluding any other 1143
hydropower facility, any trash-to-energy facility and any nuclear power 1144
generation facility, installed for the generation of electricity where such 1145
electricity is intended for private residential use or on a farm, as defined 1146
in subsection (q) of section 1-1, provided (I) such installation occurs on 1147
or after October 1, 2007, (II) the estimated annual production of such 1148
source or facility does not exceed the estimated annual load for the 1149
location where such source or facility is located, where such load and 1150
production are estimated as of the date of installation of the source or 1151
facility as indicated in the written application filed pursuant to 1152
subparagraph (E) of this subdivision, and (III) such installation is for a 1153
single family dwelling, a multifamily dwelling consisting of two to four 1154
units or a farm; (ii) any passive or active solar water or space heating 1155
system; or (iii) any geothermal energy resource. In the case of clause (i) 1156
of this subparagraph, the utilization of or participation in any net 1157
metering or tariff policy or program implemented by the state or 1158
ownership of such source or facility by a party other than the owner of 1159
the real property upon which such source or facility is installed shall not 1160
disqualify such source or facility from exemption pursuant to this 1161
section. In the case of clause (ii) or (iii) of this subparagraph, such 1162
exemption shall apply only to the amount by which the assessed 1163
valuation of the real property equipped with such system or resource 1164
exceeds the assessed valuation of such real property equipped with the 1165
conventional portion of the system or resource; 1166
(B) For assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2013, 1167
any solar thermal or geothermal renewable energy source or Class I 1168
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renewable energy source, as defined in section 16-1, [hydropower 1169
facility described in subdivision (21) of subsection (a) of section 16-1, or 1170
solar thermal or geothermal renewable energy source] as amended by 1171
this act, including any run-of-the-river hydropower facility that began 1172
operation after July 1, 2003, and has a generating capacity of not more 1173
than thirty megawatts, and any run-of-the-river hydropower facility 1174
that received a new license after January 1, 2018, under the Federal 1175
Energy Regulatory Commission rules pursuant to 18 CFR 16, as 1176
amended from time to time, meets applicable state and federal 1177
requirements and site-specific standards for water quality and fish 1178
passage and is not based on a new dam or a dam identified by the 1179
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection as a candidate 1180
for removal, but excluding any other hydropower facility, any trash-to-1181
energy facility and any nuclear power generation facility, installed for 1182
generation or displacement of energy, provided (i) such installation 1183
occurs on or after January 1, 2010, (ii) such installation is for commercial 1184
or industrial purposes, (iii) the nameplate capacity of such source or 1185
facility does not exceed the load for the location where such generation 1186
or displacement is located, and (iv) such source or facility is located in a 1187
distressed municipality, as defined in section 32-9p, with a population 1188
between one hundred twenty-five thousand and one hundred thirty-1189
five thousand; 1190
(C) For assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2013, 1191
any municipality may, upon approval by its legislative body or in any 1192
town in which the legislative body is a town meeting, by the board of 1193
selectmen, abate up to one hundred per cent of property tax for any solar 1194
thermal or geothermal renewable energy source or any Class I 1195
renewable energy source, as defined in section 16-1, [hydropower 1196
facility described in subdivision (21) of subsection (a) of section 16-1, or 1197
solar thermal or geothermal renewable energy source] as amended by 1198
this act, including any run-of-the-river hydropower facility that began 1199
operation after July 1, 2003, and has a generating capacity of not more 1200
than thirty megawatts, and any run-of-the-river hydropower facility 1201
that received a new license after January 1, 2018, under the Federal 1202
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Energy Regulatory Commission rules pursuant to 18 CFR 16, as 1203
amended from time to time, meets applicable state and federal 1204
requirements and site-specific standards for water quality and fish 1205
passage and is not based on a new dam or a dam identified by the 1206
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection as a candidate 1207
for removal, but excluding any other hydropower facility, any trash-to-1208
energy facility and any nuclear power generation facility, installed for 1209
generation or displacement of energy, provided (i) such installation 1210
occurs between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2013, (ii) such 1211
installation is for commercial or industrial purposes, (iii) the nameplate 1212
capacity of such source or facility does not exceed the load for the 1213
location where such generation or displacement is located, and (iv) such 1214
source or facility is not located in a municipality described in 1215
subparagraph (B) of this subdivision; 1216
(D) For assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2014, 1217
any (i) Class I renewable energy source, as defined in section 16-1, [(ii) 1218
hydropower facility described in subdivision (21) of subsection (a) of 1219
section 16-1, or (iii)] as amended by this act, including any run-of-the-1220
river hydropower facility that began operation after July 1, 2003, and 1221
has a generating capacity of not more than thirty megawatts, and any 1222
run-of-the-river hydropower facility that received a new license after 1223
January 1, 2018, under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules 1224
pursuant to 18 CFR 16, as amended from time to time, meets applicable 1225
state and federal requirements and site-specific standards for water 1226
quality and fish passage and is not based on a new dam or a dam 1227
identified by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 1228
Protection as a candidate for removal, but excluding any other 1229
hydropower facility, any trash-to-energy facility and any nuclear power 1230
generation facility, or (ii) solar thermal or geothermal renewable energy 1231
source, installed for generation or displacement of energy, provided (I) 1232
such installation occurs on or after January 1, 2014, (II) is for commercial 1233
or industrial purposes, (III) the nameplate capacity of such source or 1234
facility does not exceed the load for the location where such generation 1235
or displacement is located or the aggregated load of the beneficial 1236
Committee Bill No. 123
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accounts for any Class I renewable energy source participating in virtual 1237
net metering pursuant to section 16-244u, and (IV) in the case of clause 1238
[(iii)] (ii) of this subparagraph, such exemption shall apply only to the 1239
amount by which the assessed valuation of the real property equipped 1240
with such source exceeds the assessed valuation of such real property 1241
equipped with the conventional portion of the source; 1242
(E) Any person claiming the exemption provided in this subdivision 1243
for any assessment year shall, on or before the first day of November in 1244
such assessment year, file with the assessor or board of assessors in the 1245
town in which such [hydropower facility,] Class I renewable energy 1246
source, solar thermal or geothermal renewable energy source or passive 1247
or active solar water or space heating system or geothermal energy 1248
resource is located, a written application claiming such exemption. Such 1249
application shall be made on a form prepared for such purpose by the 1250
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, in consultation with 1251
the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers and the Connecticut 1252
Green Bank established pursuant to section 16-245n, and shall include, 1253
but not be limited to, a statement of the estimated annual load and 1254
production of a source or facility described in clause (i) of subparagraph 1255
(A) of this subdivision as of the date of the installation of such source or 1256
facility. Said secretary shall make such application available to the 1257
public on the Internet web site of the Office of Policy and Management. 1258
Failure to file such application in the manner and form as provided by 1259
the secretary within the time limit prescribed shall constitute a waiver 1260
of the right to such exemption for such assessment year. Such 1261
application shall not be required for any assessment year following that 1262
for which the initial application is filed, provided if such [hydropower 1263
facility,] Class I renewable energy source, solar thermal or geothermal 1264
renewable energy source or passive or active solar water or space 1265
heating system or geothermal energy resource is altered in a manner 1266
which would require a building permit, such alteration shall be deemed 1267
a waiver of the right to such exemption until a new application, 1268
applicable with respect to such altered source, is filed and the right to 1269
such exemption is established as required initially. In the event that a 1270
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person owns more than one such source or facility in a municipality, 1271
such person may file a single application identifying each source or 1272
facility; 1273
(F) For assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015, 1274
any municipality may, by vote of its legislative body or, in a 1275
municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, by vote of 1276
the board of selectmen, abate up to one hundred per cent of the property 1277
taxes due for any tax year, for not longer than the term of the power 1278
purchase agreement, with respect to any Class I renewable energy 1279
source, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this act, including any 1280
run-of-the-river hydropower facility that began operation after July 1, 1281
2003, and has a generating capacity of not more than thirty megawatts, 1282
and any run-of-the-river hydropower facility that received a new license 1283
after January 1, 2018, under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 1284
rules pursuant to 18 CFR 16, as amended from time to time, meets 1285
applicable state and federal requirements and site-specific standards for 1286
water quality and fish passage and is not based on a new dam or a dam 1287
identified by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 1288
Protection as a candidate for removal, but excluding any other 1289
hydropower facility, any trash-to-energy facility and any nuclear power 1290
generation facility, that is the subject of such power purchase agreement 1291
approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority pursuant to 1292
section 16a-3f; 1293
Sec. 11. Section 16a-3g of the general statutes is repealed and the 1294
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 1295
On or after July 1, 2013, the Commissioner of Energy and 1296
Environmental Protection, in consultation with the procurement 1297
manager identified in subsection (l) of section 16-2, the Office of 1298
Consumer Counsel and the Attorney General, may, in coordination 1299
with other states in the region of the regional independent system 1300
operator, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this act, or on the 1301
commissioner's own, solicit proposals, in one solicitation or multiple 1302
Committee Bill No. 123
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solicitations, from providers of Class I renewable energy sources, as 1303
defined in section 16-1, as amended by this act, [or] including verifiable 1304
large-scale hydropower, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this 1305
act. If the commissioner finds such proposals to be in the interest of 1306
ratepayers, including, but not limited to, the delivered price of such 1307
sources, and consistent with the requirements to reduce greenhouse gas 1308
emissions in accordance with section 22a-200a, and in accordance with 1309
the policy goals outlined in the Comprehensive Energy Strategy, 1310
adopted pursuant to section 16a-3d, and section 129 of public act 11-80*, 1311
including, but not limited to, base load capacity, peak load shaving and 1312
promotion of wind, solar and other renewable and low carbon energy 1313
technologies, the commissioner may select proposals from such 1314
resources to meet up to five per cent of the load distributed by the state's 1315
electric distribution companies. The commissioner may on behalf of all 1316
customers of electric distribution companies, direct the electric 1317
distribution companies to enter into power purchase agreements for 1318
energy, capacity and any environmental attributes, or any combination 1319
thereof, for periods of not more than (1) fifteen years, if any such 1320
agreement is with a provider of verifiable large-scale hydropower, or (2) 1321
twenty years, if any such agreement is with a provider of a Class I 1322
renewable energy source other than large-scale hydropower. 1323
Certificates issued by the New England Power Pool Generation 1324
Information System for any Class I renewable energy sources procured 1325
under this section shall be sold in the New England Power Pool 1326
Generation Information System renewable energy credit market to be 1327
used by any electric supplier or electric distribution company to meet 1328
the requirements of section 16-245a, as amended by this act. Any such 1329
agreement shall be subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities 1330
Regulatory Authority, which review shall (A) include a public hearing, 1331
and (B) be completed not later than sixty days after the date on which 1332
such agreement is filed with the authority. The net costs of any such 1333
agreement, including costs incurred by the electric distribution 1334
companies under the agreement and reasonable costs incurred by the 1335
electric distribution companies in connection with the agreement, shall 1336
Committee Bill No. 123
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be recovered through a fully reconciling component of electric rates for 1337
all customers of electric distribution companies. 1338
Sec. 12. Subsection (e) of section 16a-3i of the general statutes is 1339
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1340
1, 2023): 1341
(e) [Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 16-1342
245a, in the event that (1) for any calendar year commencing on or after 1343
January 1, 2014, there is such a presumption pursuant to subsection (a) 1344
of this section, (2) the commissioner finds material shortage of Class I 1345
renewable energy sources pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, (3) 1346
there is a determination of inadequacy pursuant to subsection (c) of this 1347
section, and (4) any contracts for Class I renewable energy sources 1348
approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority pursuant to 1349
subsection (d) of this section yield an amount of Class I renewable 1350
energy sources that is insufficient to rectify any projected shortage 1351
pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, then commencing on or after 1352
January 1, 2016, the commissioner may allow not more than one 1353
percentage point of the Class I renewable portfolio standards 1354
established pursuant to section 16-245a effective for the succeeding and 1355
subsequent calendar years to be satisfied by large-scale hydropower 1356
procured pursuant to section 16a-3g. The requirements applicable to 1357
electric suppliers and electric distribution companies pursuant to 1358
section 16-245a shall consequently be reduced by not more than one 1359
percentage point in proportion to the commissioner's action, provided 1360
(A) the] On and after October 1, 2023, the commissioner shall not allow 1361
a total of more than [five] fifteen percentage points of the Class I 1362
renewable portfolio standard to be met by large-scale hydropower, [by 1363
December 31, 2020, and (B) no such large-scale hydropower shall be 1364
eligible to trade in the New England Power Pool Generation 1365
Information System renewable energy credit market] as defined in 1366
section 16-1, as amended by this act. 1367
Sec. 13. Subsections (d) and (e) of section 16a-3m of the general 1368
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statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 1369
(Effective October 1, 2023): 1370
(d) After completing the appraisal, if the results of such appraisal 1371
demonstrate that action is necessary, the commissioner shall act and 1372
may issue one or more solicitations, in consultation with the 1373
procurement manager identified in subsection (l) of section 16-2 and the 1374
Office of Consumer Counsel established in section 16-2a, for zero-1375
carbon electricity generating resources, including, but not limited to, 1376
[eligible nuclear power generation facilities, hydropower,] Class I 1377
renewable energy sources, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this 1378
act, including eligible nuclear power generation facilities and 1379
hydropower, and energy storage systems, provided (1) the total annual 1380
energy output of any proposals selected, in the aggregate, shall be not 1381
more than twelve million megawatt hours of electricity, (2) any 1382
agreement entered into pursuant to this subdivision with an eligible 1383
nuclear power generation facility or hydropower shall be for a period of 1384
not less than three years and not more than ten years, and (3) any 1385
agreement entered into pursuant to this subdivision with (A) Class I 1386
renewable energy sources, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this 1387
act, other than an eligible nuclear power generation facility or 1388
hydropower, and (B) energy storage systems shall be for a period of not 1389
more than twenty years. On or before May 1, 2018, if the results of such 1390
appraisal demonstrate that one or more solicitations pursuant to this 1391
subsection are necessary, the commissioner shall initiate such 1392
solicitation process pursuant to this subsection, in accordance with 1393
subsection (e) of this section, provided any changes made, contracts 1394
entered into or agreements entered into are in the best interest of 1395
ratepayers. 1396
(e) (1) Any solicitation issued pursuant to subsection (d) of this 1397
section for zero-carbon electricity generating resources, including, but 1398
not limited to, [eligible nuclear power generation facilities, 1399
hydropower,] Class I renewable energy sources, as defined in section 1400
16-1, as amended by this act, including eligible nuclear power 1401
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generation facilities and hydropower, and energy storage systems, shall 1402
be for resources delivered into the control area of the regional 1403
independent system operator, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by 1404
this act, and any agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision (2) of 1405
this subsection shall be in the best interest of ratepayers. If the 1406
commissioner finds proposals received pursuant to such solicitations to 1407
be in the best interest of ratepayers, the commissioner may select any 1408
such proposal or proposals, provided (A) the total annual energy output 1409
of any proposals selected, in the aggregate, shall be not more than 1410
twelve million megawatt hours of electricity, (B) any agreement entered 1411
into pursuant to this subdivision with an eligible nuclear power 1412
generation facility or hydropower shall be for a period of not less than 1413
three years and not more than ten years, and (C) any agreement entered 1414
into pursuant to this subdivision with (i) Class I renewable energy 1415
sources, as defined in section 16-1, as amended by this act, other than an 1416
eligible nuclear power generation facility or hydropower, and (ii) 1417
energy storage systems shall be for a period of not more than twenty 1418
years. 1419
(2) If the commissioner has made the determination and finding 1420
pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, the commissioner shall, 1421
on behalf of all customers of electric distribution companies, direct the 1422
electric distribution companies to enter into agreements for energy, 1423
capacity and any environmental attributes, or any combination thereof, 1424
from proposals submitted pursuant to this subdivision. 1425
(3) Any agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision (2) of this 1426
subsection shall be subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities 1427
Regulatory Authority. The electric distribution company shall file an 1428
application for the approval of any such agreement with the authority. 1429
The authority's review shall commence upon the filing of the signed 1430
power purchase agreement with the authority. The authority shall 1431
approve agreements that it determines (A) provide for the delivery of 1432
adequate and reliable products and services, for which there is a clear 1433
public need, at a just and reasonable price, (B) are prudent and cost 1434
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effective, and (C) that the respondent to the solicitation has the technical, 1435
financial and managerial capabilities to perform pursuant to such 1436
agreement. The authority shall issue a decision not later than one 1437
hundred eighty days after such filing. If the authority does not issue a 1438
decision within one hundred eighty days after such filing, the 1439
agreement shall be deemed approved. The net costs of any such 1440
agreement, including costs incurred by the electric distribution 1441
company under the agreement and reasonable costs incurred by the 1442
electric distribution company in connection with the agreement, shall be 1443
recovered on a timely basis through a nonbypassable fully reconciling 1444
component of electric rates for all customers of the electric distribution 1445
company. Any net revenues from the sale of products purchased in 1446
accordance with long-term contracts entered into pursuant to this 1447
section shall be credited to customers through the same nonbypassable 1448
fully reconciling rate component for all customers of the contracting 1449
electric distribution company. 1450
Sec. 14. Subsection (a) of section 16a-51 of the general statutes is 1451
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1452
1, 2023): 1453
(a) As used in this section, (1) "qualifying project" means a combined 1454
heat and power system, as [described] defined in [subdivision (38) of 1455
subsection (a) of] section 16-1, as amended by this act, that (A) provides 1456
commercial, industrial or residential facilities with both electrical 1457
generation and heat output, (B) has a nameplate capacity of between 1458
five hundred and five thousand kilowatts, (C) is placed into service 1459
between January 1, 2012, and January 1, 2015, and (D) is not eligible 1460
under section 16-245hh or section 103 of public act 11-80, and (2) "electric 1461
distribution company" has the same meaning as provided in section 16-1462
1, as amended by this act. 1463
Sec. 15. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to 1464
study electric distribution companies' procurement of electric 1465
generation services for standard service. Such study shall include, but 1466
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need not be limited to, (1) reviewing electric distribution companies' 1467
procurement policies for standard service, (2) reviewing the procedures 1468
used by municipal electric utilities to procure electric generation 1469
services and identifying practices that could be adopted by electric 1470
distribution companies to lower rates for ratepayers in the state, (3) 1471
reviewing the procurement practices of electric distribution companies 1472
in other deregulated states and identifying practices that could result in 1473
lower rates for ratepayers in the state, (4) reviewing the process for 1474
power purchase agreements in the state and identifying best practices 1475
to increase stability in the market, and (5) reviewing the state's gas 1476
supply system and evaluating whether current supply and capacity is 1477
adequate to meet the energy needs of residences and power plants in 1478
the state. 1479
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 1480
(1) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who 1481
has expertise in energy procurement; 1482
(2) A representative of a municipal electric utility, who shall be 1483
appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 1484
(3) A representative of a municipal electric utility, who shall be 1485
appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 1486
(4) A representative of a customer advocacy organization, who shall 1487
be appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives; 1488
(5) A representative of an electric distribution company that has a 1489
service area of eighteen or more cities and towns, who shall be 1490
appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 1491
(6) A representative of an electric distribution company that has a 1492
service area of not more than seventeen cities and towns, who shall be 1493
appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; 1494
(7) The chairperson of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or 1495
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the chairperson's designee; 1496
(8) The procurement manager of the Public Utilities Regulatory 1497
Authority; 1498
(9) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or 1499
the commissioner's designee; 1500
(10) The Consumer Counsel; and 1501
(11) The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing 1502
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 1503
relating to energy. 1504
(c) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 1505
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 1506
be filled by the appointing authority. 1507
(d) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president 1508
pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force 1509
from among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall 1510
schedule the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later 1511
than sixty days after the effective date of this section. 1512
(e) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 1513
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy shall 1514
serve as administrative staff of the task force. 1515
(f) Not later than January 1, 2024, the task force shall submit a report 1516
on its findings and recommendations, including recommended 1517
legislation, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 1518
having cognizance of matters relating to energy, in accordance with the 1519
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall 1520
terminate on the date that it submits such report or January 1, 2024, 1521
whichever is later. 1522
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 16-19tt(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 16-19jj
Sec. 3 from passage 16-245d(a)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2023 16-1
Sec. 5 October 1, 2023 16-244c(b) to (h)
Sec. 6 October 1, 2023 16-244bb(a)
Sec. 7 October 1, 2023 16-245(k)
Sec. 8 October 1, 2023 16-245a
Sec. 9 October 1, 2023 16a-3j(c)
Sec. 10 October 1, 2023 12-81(57)
Sec. 11 October 1, 2023 16a-3g
Sec. 12 October 1, 2023 16a-3i(e)
Sec. 13 October 1, 2023 16a-3m(d) and (e)
Sec. 14 October 1, 2023 16a-51(a)
Sec. 15 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To lower the cost of energy for ratepayers in the state.
[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.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. FAZIO, 36th Dist.; REP. BUCKBEE, 67th Dist.
REP. DELNICKI, 14th Dist.; REP. ANDERSON, 62nd Dist.
S.B. 123