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