Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H6047 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2023 -- H 6047
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7	7	LC002223
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9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
16	16	Introduced By: Representative Tina L. Spears
17	17	Date Introduced: March 03, 2023
18	18	Referred To: House Corporations
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21	21	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
22	22	SECTION 1. Section 39-1-27.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-1 entitled "Public 1
23	23	Utilities Commission" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
24	24	39-1-27.3. Electric distribution companies required to provide retail access, standard 3
25	25	offer and last-resort service. 4
26	26	(a) To promote economic development and the creation and preservation of employment 5
27	27	opportunities within the state, each electric distribution company, except Pascoag Utility District 6
28	28	and the Block Island Utility District, a quasi-municipal corporation, district, and subdivision of the 7
29	29	state (“electric distribution company”), shall offer retail access from nonregulated power producers 8
30	30	to all customers. 9
31	31	(b) Through year 2009, and effective July 1, 2007, through year 2020, each electric 10
32	32	distribution company shall arrange for a standard power-supply offer (“standard offer”) to 11
33	33	customers that have not elected to enter into power-supply arrangements with other nonregulated 12
34	34	power suppliers. The rates that are charged by the electric distribution company to customers for 13
35	35	standard-offer service shall be approved by the commission and shall be designed to recover the 14
36	36	electric distribution company’s costs and no more than the electric distribution company’s costs; 15
37	37	provided, that the commission may establish and/or implement a rate that averages the costs over 16
38	38	periods of time. The electric distribution company shall not be entitled to recover any profit margin 17
39	39	on the sale of standard-offer power, except with approval of the commission as may be necessary 18
40	40	to implement, fairly and effectively, system reliability and least-cost procurement. The electric 19
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43	43	LC002223 - Page 2 of 5
44	44	distribution company will be entitled to recover its costs incurred from providing the standard offer 1
45	45	arising out of: (1) Wholesale standard-offer supply agreements with power suppliers in effect prior 2
46	46	to January 1, 2002; (2) Power-supply arrangements that are approved by the commission after 3
47	47	January 1, 2002; (3) Power-supply arrangements made pursuant to §§ 39-1-27.3.1 and 39-1-27.8; 4
48	48	and (4) Any other power-supply-related arrangements prudently made after January 1, 2002, to 5
49	49	provide standard-offer supply or to mitigate standard-offer supply costs, including costs for system 6
50	50	reliability, procurement, and least-cost procurement, as provided for in § 39-1-27.7. Subject to 7
51	51	commission approval, the electric distribution company may enter into financial contracts designed 8
52	52	to hedge fuel-related or other variable costs associated with power-supply arrangements and the 9
53	53	costs of any such financial contracts shall be recoverable in standard-offer rates. The electric 10
54	54	distribution company’s standard-offer revenues and its standard-offer costs shall be accounted for 11
55	55	and reconciled with interest at least annually. Except as otherwise may be directed by the 12
56	56	commission in order to accomplish purposes established by law, any over recoveries shall be 13
57	57	refunded to customers in a manner directed by the commission, and any under recoveries shall be 14
58	58	recovered by the electric distribution company through a uniform adjustment factor approved by 15
59	59	the commission. The commission shall have the discretion to apply such adjustment factor in any 16
60	60	given instance to all customers or to such specific class of customers that the commission deems 17
61	61	equitable under the circumstances provided that the distribution company recovers any under 18
62	62	recovery in its entirety. Once a customer has elected to enter into a power-supply arrangement with 19
63	63	a nonregulated power producer, the electric distribution company shall not be required to arrange 20
64	64	for the standard offer to such customer except as provided in § 39-1-27.3.1. No customer who 21
65	65	initially elects the standard offer and then chooses an alternative supplier shall be required to pay 22
66	66	any withdrawal fee or penalty to the provider of the standard offer unless such a penalty or 23
67	67	withdrawal fee was agreed to as part of a contract; however, no residential customer shall be 24
68	68	required to pay a penalty or withdrawal fee for choosing an alternative supplier. Nothing in this 25
69	69	subsection shall be construed to restrict the right of any nonregulated power producer to offer to 26
70	70	sell power to customers at a price comparable to that of the standard offer specified pursuant to this 27
71	71	subsection. The electric distribution company may not terminate an existing standard-offer 28
72	72	wholesale supply agreement without the written consent of the division. 29
73	73	(c) In recognition that electricity is an essential service, each electric distribution company 30
74	74	shall arrange for a last-resort power supply for customers who have left the standard offer for any 31
75	75	reason and are not otherwise receiving electric service from nonregulated power producers. The 32
76	76	electric distribution company shall procure last-resort service supply from wholesale power 33
77	77	suppliers. Prior to acquiring last-resort supply, the electric distribution company will file with the 34
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81	81	commission a supply acquisition plan or plans that include the acquisition procedure, the pricing 1
82	82	options being sought, and a proposed term of service for which last-resort service will be acquired. 2
83	83	The term of service may be short- or long-term and acquisitions may occur from time to time and 3
84	84	for more than one supplier for segments of last-resort service load over different terms, if 4
85	85	appropriate. All the components of the acquisition plans, however, shall be subject to commission 5
86	86	review and approval. Once an acquisition plan is approved by the commission, the electric 6
87	87	distribution company shall be authorized to acquire last-resort service supply consistent with the 7
88	88	approved acquisition plan and recover its costs incurred from providing last-resort service pursuant 8
89	89	to the approved acquisition plan. The commission may periodically review the acquisition plan to 9
90	90	determine whether it should be prospectively modified due to changed market conditions. The 10
91	91	commission shall have the authority and discretion to approve special tariff conditions and rates 11
92	92	proposed by the electric distribution company that the commission finds are in the public interest, 12
93	93	including without limitation: (1) Short- or long-term optional service at different rates; (2) Term 13
94	94	commitments or notice provisions before individual customers leave last-resort service; (3) Last-14
95	95	resort service rates for residential or any other special class of customers that are different than the 15
96	96	rates for other last-resort customers; and/or (4) Last-resort service rates that are designed to 16
97	97	encourage any class of customers to return to the market. The electric distribution company’s last-17
98	98	resort service revenues and its last-resort service costs shall be accounted for and reconciled with 18
99	99	interest at least annually. Any over recoveries shall be refunded and any under recoveries shall be 19
100	100	recovered by the electric distribution company through a uniform adjustment factor approved by 20
101	101	the commission. The commission shall have the discretion to apply such adjustment factor in any 21
102	102	given instance to all customers or to such specific class of customers that the commission deems 22
103	103	equitable under the circumstances provided that the distribution company recovers any under 23
104	104	recovery in its entirety. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an electric distribution 24
105	105	company from terminating service provided hereunder in accordance with commission rules and 25
106	106	regulations in the event of nonpayment of this service. The commission may promulgate 26
107	107	regulations to implement this section including the terms and conditions upon which last-resort 27
108	108	service is offered and provided to customers. 28
109	109	(d) If a customer being served by a nonregulated power producer pays any taxes assessed 29
110	110	for electric service to the electric distribution company and the electric distribution company 30
111	111	forwards such tax payment for the power portion of the bill to a nonregulated power producer for 31
112	112	payment by the nonregulated power producer to the state, neither the customer nor the electric 32
113	113	distribution company shall be liable for such taxes forwarded if the nonregulated power producer 33
114	114	fails to remit such taxes to the state for any reason. 34
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118	118	SECTION 2. Section 45-67-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-67 entitled "Block Island 1
119	119	Utility District Act of 2017" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
120	120	45-67-10. Exemptions. 3
121	121	(a) The exemption waiver provided by the public utilities commission to BIPCo from the 4
122	122	terms of § 39-1-27 shall also apply to the utility district and the public utilities commission shall 5
123	123	have the authority to provide such other waivers from this section as may be in the public interest. 6
124	124	(b) The utility district shall, from time to time, submit plans to the public utilities 7
125	125	commission on retail choice as defined in § 39-1-27.3. The public utilities commission shall have 8
126	126	the authority to approve those plans as may be in the interests of all ratepayers of the utility district, 9
127	127	including the option of not offering retail choice. Any waiver on retail choice granted by the public 10
128	128	utilities commission to BIPCo shall also apply to the utility district. 11
129	129	(c) The exemptions provided for the Pascoag utility district and BIPCo under §§ 39-1-12
130	130	27.3.1, 39-1-27.12, 39-2-1.2(b), 39-2-25, 39-26.1-1 through and including 39-26.1-6, and chapters 13
131	131	1.1, 26, 26.2, 26.4, and 26.6 of title 39 shall also apply to the Block Island utility district. The utility 14
132	132	district shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 18 of title 35. 15
133	133	(d) As long as the utility district has a waiver from the restructuring provisions of § 39-1-16
134	134	27, then the utility district shall also be granted a waiver from the provisions of § 39-1-27.6 such 17
135	135	that the employees of the utility district may be allowed to provide both electrical generation and 18
136	136	distribution services. 19
137	137	SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 20
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144	144	EXPLANATION
145	145	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
146	146	OF
147	147	A N A C T
148	148	RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
149	149	***
150	150	This act would include the Block Island Utility District as one of the electric companies 1
151	151	that are exempt from offering retail access from nonregulated power producers to all customers. 2
152	152	This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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154	154	LC002223
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