First Regular Session of the 123rd General Assembly (2023)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
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between statutes enacted by the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
SENATE ENROLLED ACT No. 298
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 8-1-31-8, AS AMENDED BY P.L.91-2017,
SECTION 7, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 8. (a) Except as provided in subsection (d), an
eligible utility may file with the commission a petition setting forth rate
schedules establishing an amount that will allow the adjustment of the
eligible utility's basic rates and charges to provide for recovery of
infrastructure improvement costs. The adjustment:
(1) shall be calculated as a monthly fixed charge based upon
meter size;
(2) shall not include recovery of any infrastructure
improvement costs recovered by the eligible utility through
contributions in aid of construction (as defined in
IC 8-1-2-101.6); and
(3) in the case of a municipally owned utility or a
not-for-profit utility, shall be recovered over a twelve (12)
month period, regardless of the amount of time over which
the infrastructure improvement costs were incurred.
(b) The eligible utility shall serve the office of the utility consumer
counselor a copy of its filing at the time of its filing with the
commission.
(c) Publication of notice of the filing is not required.
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(d) An eligible utility may not file a petition under this section in the
same calendar year in which the eligible utility has filed a request for
a general increase in the basic rates and charges of the eligible utility.
SECTION 2. IC 8-1-31-9, AS AMENDED BY P.L.104-2016,
SECTION 2, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 9. (a) When a petition is filed under section
8 of this chapter, the commission shall conduct a hearing.
(b) The office of the utility consumer counselor may do the
following:
(1) Examine information of the eligible utility, to confirm: limited
to confirmation of the following:
(A) That the infrastructure improvements are in accordance
with section 5 of this chapter. and
(B) Proper calculation of the adjustment amount proposed
under section 8(a) of this chapter. and
(2) Submit a report, limited to confirmation of the information
described in subdivision (1), to the commission not later than
thirty (30) days after the petition is filed.
(c) The commission shall hold the hearing and issue its order not
later than sixty (60) days after the petition is filed.
(d) If the commission finds that a petition filed under section 8 of
this chapter complies with the requirements of this chapter, the
commission shall enter an order approving the petition. If the
commission finds that the adjustment amount has not been
calculated correctly, the commission shall:
(1) provide the correct calculation of the adjustment amount;
and
(2) allow the eligible utility to implement the corrected
adjustment amount.
SECTION 3. IC 8-1-31-11.5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.61-2022,
SECTION 6, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 11.5. In determining the amount of allowable
recovery of infrastructure improvement costs for a municipally owned
utility, the commission may consider the following factors:
(1) Adequate money for making extensions and replacements of
eligible infrastructure improvements, to the extent not provided
for through depreciation, as provided in IC 8-1.5-3-8(c).
(2) Debt service on funds borrowed to pay for eligible
infrastructure improvements.
(3) Depreciation expenses on eligible infrastructure
improvements based on the same rate or rates of depreciation
approved by the commission for the calculation of depreciation in
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the utility's most recent rate case.
(4) Other components expenses that the commission considers
appropriate, including money for the payment of any taxes that
may be assessed against the municipally owned utility.
SECTION 4. IC 8-1-31-11.6, AS AMENDED BY P.L.61-2022,
SECTION 7, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 11.6. In determining the amount of allowable
recovery of infrastructure improvement costs for a not-for-profit utility,
the commission may consider the following factors:
(1) Adequate money for making extensions and replacements of
eligible infrastructure improvements.
(2) Debt service on funds borrowed to pay for eligible
infrastructure improvements.
(3) Other components expenses that the commission considers
appropriate, including money for the payment of any taxes that
may be assessed against the not-for-profit utility or its
property.
SECTION 5. IC 8-1-31-13, AS AMENDED BY P.L.61-2022,
SECTION 8, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 13. (a) The commission may not approve a
petition filed under section 8 or 10 of this chapter to the extent it
would:
(1) for a public utility, produce total adjustment revenues
exceeding ten percent (10%) of the eligible utility's base
revenue level approved by the commission in the eligible
utility's most recent general rate proceeding; or
(2) for a municipally owned or not-for-profit utility, produce
total adjustment revenues exceeding over the course of each
twelve (12) month recovery period that exceed ten percent
(10%) of the eligible utility's base revenue level approved by the
commission in the eligible utility's most recent general rate
proceeding.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) infrastructure improvement costs associated with eligible
infrastructure improvements that are placed in service due to the
construction, reconstruction, or improvement of a highway, street,
or road (as defined in IC 8-23-1-23), including projects under
IC 8-25; or
(2) property taxes associated with eligible infrastructure
improvements.
SECTION 6. IC 8-1-31-14, AS AMENDED BY P.L.61-2022,
SECTION 9, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
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UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 14. An adjustment amount proposed under
section 8 of this chapter may be calculated based on a reasonable
estimate of meter size in the period in which the charge will be in
effect. At the end of each twelve (12) month recovery period following
the date on which the commission initially approves an adjustment
amount for an eligible utility following the eligible utility's most recent
general rate case, and using procedures approved by the commission,
the eligible utility shall reconcile the difference between adjustment
revenues and infrastructure improvement costs during that the
recovery period and recover or refund the difference, as appropriate,
through additional adjustments. In the case of an eligible utility that
is a municipally owned utility or a not-for-profit utility, the
adjustment amount shall be reset to zero (0) after all previously
approved infrastructure improvement costs have been collected,
with the exception of any amount necessary to reconcile the
difference between adjustment revenues and infrastructure
improvement costs.
SECTION 7. IC 8-1-31-15.5, AS ADDED BY P.L.61-2022,
SECTION 11, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 15.5. (a) This section applies only to an
eligible utility that is:
(1) a municipally owned utility; or
(2) a not-for-profit utility.
(b) An eligible utility's adjustment amount approved under section
8 or 10 of this chapter shall be reset to zero (0) upon the approval of
new basic rates and charges for the eligible utility by the commission
in a general rate case that results in the inclusion of eligible
infrastructure improvements in the eligible utility's basic rates and
charges. However, an adjustment amount approved under this
chapter shall not be reset to zero (0) to the extent infrastructure
improvement costs approved previously by the commission have
not been fully collected.
SECTION 8. An emergency is declared for this act.
SEA 298 President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
SEA 298