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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7088
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5496
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduced by:
(ET)
AN ACT REQUIRING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY
AUTHORITY TO STUDY ALTERNATIVE ENERGY DELIVERY
METHODS, DEVELOP A CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUNDING
MECHANISM AND INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF RATE
ADJUSTMENT PROCEEDINGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) Not later than January 1, 1
2026, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall initiate a 2
proceeding to study alternative energy delivery methods, including 3
direct-bill remote energy generation and municipal or regional energy 4
aggregation. On or before July 1, 2026, the authority shall submit a 5
report of the findings of such study, in accordance with the provisions 6
of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee 7
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 8
energy and technology. 9
Sec. 2. Section 16-244aa of the general statutes is repealed and the 10
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 11
(a) (1) For the purposes of this section, "electric distribution company" 12
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has the same meaning as provided in section 16-1 and "emergency" has 13
the same meaning as provided in section 16-32e. 14
(2) "Resilience" means the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing 15
conditions and withstand and recover rapidly from deliberate attacks, 16
accidents or naturally occurring threats or incidents, including, but not 17
limited to, threats or incidents associated with the impacts of climate 18
change. 19
(b) Not later than June 1, 2021, the Public Utilities Regulatory 20
Authority shall initiate a proceeding to investigate, develop and adopt 21
a framework for implementing performance-based regulation of each 22
electric distribution company. Such framework adopted by the 23
authority shall: (1) Establish standards and metrics for measuring such 24
electric distribution company's performance of objectives that are in the 25
interest of ratepayers or benefit the public, which may include, but not 26
be limited to, safety, reliability, emergency response, cost efficiency, 27
affordability, equity, customer satisfaction, municipal engagement, 28
resilience and advancing the state's environmental and policy goals, 29
including, but not limited to, those goals established in section 22a-200a, 30
in the Integrated Resources Plan approved pursuant to section 16a-3a 31
and in the Comprehensive Energy Strategy prepared pursuant to 32
section 16a-3d; (2) identify the manner, including the timeframe and 33
extent, in which such standards and metrics shall be used to apply the 34
principles and guidelines set forth in section 16-19e and to determine 35
the relative adequacy of the company's service and the reasonableness 36
and adequacy of rates proposed and considered pursuant to section 16-37
19a; [and] (3) identify specific mechanisms to be implemented to align 38
utility performance with the standards and metrics adopted pursuant to 39
this section and subsection (b) of section 16-19a, including, but not 40
limited to, reviewing the effectiveness of the electric distribution 41
company's revenue decoupling mechanism; and (4) identify a forward-42
looking capital investment funding mechanism to provide cost recovery 43
for capital investments necessary for the safe and reliable operation of 44
the electric grid, which mechanism shall include (A) criteria and 45
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processes for the timely recovery of capital investments not less 46
frequently than annually, and (B) a defined standard of review of the 47
prudency of a capital investment with objective standards that provide 48
for stable and predictable regulation for the purpose of aligning capital 49
investment strategies with the needs of electric customers. The authority 50
may also initiate a proceeding to investigate, develop and adopt a 51
framework for implementation of performance-based regulation for gas 52
and water companies, as defined by section 16-1, consistent with the 53
requirements and provisions of this section. 54
Sec. 3. Subsection (d) of section 4-181 of the general statutes is 55
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 56
1, 2025): 57
(d) The provisions of this section apply from the date the matter 58
pending before the agency becomes a contested case to and including 59
the effective date of the final decision. Except as may be otherwise 60
provided by regulation, each contested case shall be deemed to have 61
commenced on the date designated by the agency for that case, but in 62
no event later than the date of hearing. The provisions of this section 63
shall not apply to uncontested cases and do not prohibit 64
communications between parties to a proceeding or the clerks, staff or 65
commissioners of the agency concerning matters relating to uncontested 66
proceedings. 67
Sec. 4. Subsection (h) of section 16-19b of the general statutes is 68
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 69
1, 2025): 70
(h) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall continually 71
monitor and oversee the application of the purchased gas adjustment 72
clause, the energy adjustment clause, and the transmission rate 73
adjustment clause. The authority shall hold a public hearing thereon 74
whenever the authority deems it necessary or upon application of the 75
Office of Consumer Counsel, [but no less frequently than annually,] 76
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reconcile such rate components based on forecasted revenues and 77
expenses not less frequently than once every six months and undertake 78
such other proceeding thereon to determine whether charges or credits 79
made under such clauses reflect the actual prices paid for purchased gas 80
or energy and the actual transmission costs and are computed in 81
accordance with the applicable clause. If the authority finds that such 82
charges or credits do not reflect the actual prices paid for purchased gas 83
or energy, and the actual transmission costs or are not computed in 84
accordance with the applicable clause, it shall recompute such charges 85
or credits and shall direct the company to take such action as may be 86
required to insure that such charges or credits properly reflect the actual 87
prices paid for purchased gas or energy and the actual transmission 88
costs and are computed in accordance with the applicable clause for the 89
applicable period. 90
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) Not later than January 1, 2026, 91
the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall initiate a proceeding to 92
investigate, study and develop innovative rate plans to stabilize 93
customer electric bills. Such proceeding shall include the electric 94
distribution companies, the Office of Consumer Counsel, the 95
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and any other 96
person, group or entity selected by the authority to participate in such 97
proceeding. On or before July 1, 2026, the authority shall submit a report 98
of the findings of such study, in accordance with the provisions of 99
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of 100
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy 101
and technology. 102
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than July 1, 2025, 103
the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall open an uncontested 104
proceeding, or amend the notice of proceeding in an active proceeding, 105
to evaluate the criteria and standards related to appropriate protections 106
from service termination for customers of a regulated gas company or 107
electric distribution company, as those terms are defined in section 16-1 108
of the general statutes, with a serious illness or life-threatening medical 109
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condition. Such evaluation shall include, but need not be limited to: 110
(1) Reviewing protections for customers with a serious illness and 111
life-threatening medical condition, and making recommendations on 112
appropriate standards for conditioning protections to such customers 113
on their ability to pay; 114
(2) Evaluating whether additional notice requirements prior to 115
shutoff would be appropriate for customers with a serious illness and 116
life-threatening medical condition; 117
(3) Evaluating the current procedures and practices and the relevant 118
information collected for verification of hardship status; 119
(4) Evaluating the impact on the ratepayers; and 120
(5) Evaluating the requirement for a medical hardship customer to 121
enroll in a payment plan. 122
(b) Not later than February 4, 2026, the chairperson of the Public 123
Utilities Regulatory Authority shall submit a report, in accordance with 124
the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 125
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 126
matters relating to energy, summarizing the results of said proceeding 127
and providing recommendations regarding service termination policies, 128
and procedures evaluated in said proceeding. 129
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 16-244aa
Sec. 3 October 1, 2025 4-181(d)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2025 16-19b(h)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 6 from passage New section
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Statement of Purpose:
To require the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to (1) study
alternative energy delivery methods, (2) develop a capital investment
funding mechanism, (3) increase the frequency of rate adjustment
proceedings, (4) study innovative rate plans to stabilize customer
electric bills, and (5) study service termination protections for persons
with serious illnesses or life-threatening medical conditions.
[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.]