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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- S 0476 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001922 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senator Anthony P. DeLuca |
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| 17 | 17 | | Date Introduced: March 07, 2023 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred To: Senate Commerce |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. Section 39-1-27.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-1 entitled "Public 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Utilities Commission" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 39-1-27.3. Electric distribution companies required to provide retail access, standard 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | offer and last-resort service. 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) To promote economic development and the creation and preservation of employment 5 |
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| 27 | 27 | | opportunities within the state, each electric distribution company, except Pascoag Utility District, 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | a quasi-municipal corporation, district, and subdivision of the state (“electric distribution 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | company”), shall offer retail access from nonregulated power producers to all customers. 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (b) Through year 2009, and effective July 1, 2007, through year 2020, each electric 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | distribution company shall arrange for a standard power-supply offer (“standard offer”) to 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | customers that have not elected to enter into power-supply arrangements with other nonregulated 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | power suppliers. The rates that are charged by the electric distribution company to customers for 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | standard-offer service shall be approved by the commission and shall be designed to recover the 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | electric distribution company’s costs and no more than the electric distribution company’s costs; 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | provided, that the commission may establish and/or implement a rate that averages the costs over 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | periods of time. The electric distribution company shall not be entitled to recover any profit margin 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | on the sale of standard-offer power, except with approval of the commission as may be necessary 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | to implement, fairly and effectively, system reliability and least-cost procurement. The electric 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | distribution company will be entitled to recover its costs incurred from providing the standard offer 19 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC001922 - Page 2 of 7 |
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| 44 | 44 | | arising out of: (1) Wholesale standard-offer supply agreements with power suppliers in effect prior 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | to January 1, 2002; (2) Power-supply arrangements that are approved by the commission after 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | January 1, 2002; (3) Power-supply arrangements made pursuant to §§ 39-1-27.3.1 and 39-1-27.8; 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | and (4) Any other power-supply-related arrangements prudently made after January 1, 2002, to 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | provide standard-offer supply or to mitigate standard-offer supply costs, including costs for system 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | reliability, procurement, and least-cost procurement, as provided for in § 39-1-27.7. Subject to 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | commission approval, the electric distribution company may enter into financial contracts designed 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | to hedge fuel-related or other variable costs associated with power-supply arrangements and the 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | costs of any such financial contracts shall be recoverable in standard-offer rates. The electric 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | distribution company’s standard-offer revenues and its standard-offer costs shall be accounted for 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | and reconciled with interest at least annually. Except as otherwise may be directed by the 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | commission in order to accomplish purposes established by law, any over recoveries shall be 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | refunded to customers in a manner directed by the commission, and any under recoveries shall be 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | recovered by the electric distribution company through a uniform adjustment factor approved by 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | the commission. The commission shall have the discretion to apply such adjustment factor in any 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | given instance to all customers or to such specific class of customers that the commission deems 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | equitable under the circumstances provided that the distribution company recovers any under 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | recovery in its entirety. Once a customer has elected to enter into a power-supply arrangement with 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | a nonregulated power producer, the electric distribution company shall not be required to arrange 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | for the standard offer to such customer except as provided in § 39-1-27.3.1. No customer who 20 |
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| 64 | 64 | | initially elects the standard offer and then chooses an alternative supplier shall be required to pay 21 |
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| 65 | 65 | | any withdrawal fee or penalty to the provider of the standard offer unless such a penalty or 22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | withdrawal fee was agreed to as part of a contract; however, no residential customer shall be 23 |
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| 67 | 67 | | required to pay a penalty or withdrawal fee for choosing an alternative supplier. Nothing in this 24 |
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| 68 | 68 | | subsection shall be construed to restrict the right of any nonregulated power producer to offer to 25 |
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| 69 | 69 | | sell power to customers at a price comparable to that of the standard offer specified pursuant to this 26 |
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| 70 | 70 | | subsection. The electric distribution company may not terminate an existing standard-offer 27 |
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| 71 | 71 | | wholesale supply agreement without the written consent of the division. 28 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (c) In recognition that electricity is an essential service, each electric distribution company 29 |
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| 73 | 73 | | shall arrange for a last-resort power supply for customers who have left the standard offer for any 30 |
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| 74 | 74 | | reason and are not otherwise receiving electric service from nonregulated power producers. The 31 |
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| 75 | 75 | | electric distribution company shall procure last-resort service supply from wholesale power 32 |
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| 76 | 76 | | suppliers. Prior to acquiring last-resort supply, the electric distribution company will file with the 33 |
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| 77 | 77 | | commission a supply acquisition plan or plans that include the acquisition procedure, the pricing 34 |
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| 78 | 78 | | |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | LC001922 - Page 3 of 7 |
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| 81 | 81 | | options being sought, and a proposed term of service for which last-resort service will be acquired. 1 |
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| 82 | 82 | | The term of service may be short- or long-term and acquisitions may occur from time to time and 2 |
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| 83 | 83 | | be staggered for more than one supplier for segments of last-resort service load over different terms, 3 |
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| 84 | 84 | | if appropriate to lower prospective ratepayer charges. All the components of the acquisition plans, 4 |
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| 85 | 85 | | however, shall be subject to commission review and approval. Once an acquisition plan is approved 5 |
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| 86 | 86 | | by the commission, the electric distribution company shall be authorized to acquire last-resort 6 |
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| 87 | 87 | | service supply consistent with the approved acquisition plan and recover its costs incurred from 7 |
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| 88 | 88 | | providing last-resort service pursuant to the approved acquisition plan. The commission may 8 |
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| 89 | 89 | | periodically shall, as appropriate, review the acquisition plan to determine whether it should be 9 |
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| 90 | 90 | | prospectively modified due to changed market conditions. The commission shall have the authority 10 |
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| 91 | 91 | | and discretion to approve special tariff conditions and rates proposed by the electric distribution 11 |
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| 92 | 92 | | company that the commission finds are in the public interest, including without limitation: (1) 12 |
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| 93 | 93 | | Short- or long-term optional service at different rates; (2) Term commitments or notice provisions 13 |
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| 94 | 94 | | before individual customers leave last-resort service; (3) Last-resort service rates for residential or 14 |
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| 95 | 95 | | any other special class of customers that are different than the rates for other last-resort customers; 15 |
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| 96 | 96 | | and/or (4) Last-resort service rates that are designed to encourage any class of customers to return 16 |
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| 97 | 97 | | to the market. The electric distribution company’s last-resort service revenues and its last-resort 17 |
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| 98 | 98 | | service costs shall be accounted for and reconciled with interest at least annually. Any over 18 |
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| 99 | 99 | | recoveries shall be refunded and any under recoveries shall be recovered by the electric distribution 19 |
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| 100 | 100 | | company through a uniform adjustment factor approved by the commission. The commission shall 20 |
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| 101 | 101 | | have the discretion to apply such adjustment factor in any given instance to all customers or to such 21 |
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| 102 | 102 | | specific class of customers that the commission deems equitable under the circumstances provided 22 |
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| 103 | 103 | | that the distribution company recovers any under recovery in its entirety. Nothing in this section 23 |
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| 104 | 104 | | shall be construed to prohibit an electric distribution company from terminating service provided 24 |
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| 105 | 105 | | hereunder in accordance with commission rules and regulations in the event of nonpayment of this 25 |
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| 106 | 106 | | service. The commission may shall promulgate regulations to implement this section including the 26 |
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| 107 | 107 | | terms and conditions upon which last-resort service is offered and provided to customers and the 27 |
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| 108 | 108 | | required annual review of the acquisition plan. 28 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (d) If a customer being served by a nonregulated power producer pays any taxes assessed 29 |
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| 110 | 110 | | for electric service to the electric distribution company and the electric distribution company 30 |
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| 111 | 111 | | forwards such tax payment for the power portion of the bill to a nonregulated power producer for 31 |
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| 112 | 112 | | payment by the nonregulated power producer to the state, neither the customer nor the electric 32 |
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| 113 | 113 | | distribution company shall be liable for such taxes forwarded if the nonregulated power producer 33 |
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| 114 | 114 | | fails to remit such taxes to the state for any reason. 34 |
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| 115 | 115 | | |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | LC001922 - Page 4 of 7 |
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| 118 | 118 | | (e) Except for this section, after December 31, 2020, references in this title to "standard 1 |
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| 119 | 119 | | offer service" shall mean "last resort service." 2 |
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| 120 | 120 | | SECTION 2. Sections 39-1-27.3.1 and 39-1-27.8 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-1 3 |
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| 121 | 121 | | entitled "Public Utilities Commission" are hereby repealed. 4 |
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| 122 | 122 | | 39-1-27.3.1. Option to return to standard offer. 5 |
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| 123 | 123 | | (a) The commission may, notwithstanding the provisions of § 39-1-27.3, allow customers 6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | no longer eligible for standard-offer service to return to standard-offer service, subject to the 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | process set forth in this section. The process shall be as follows: The commission shall hold 8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | hearings to determine whether there is a sufficient presence of nonregulated power producers 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | offering reasonably priced power-supply service to customers in Rhode Island. If the commission 10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | determines that these market conditions are not present, the commission shall direct the electric 11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | distribution company to prepare and file a plan that creates an option for customers to return to the 12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | standard offer, including terms and conditions for customers returning and the manner in which the 13 |
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| 131 | 131 | | power supply will be procured. This plan may include term commitments or notice provisions 14 |
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| 132 | 132 | | before nonresidential customers are permitted to leave standard-offer service once they return. The 15 |
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| 133 | 133 | | commission shall conduct a hearing to review the electric distribution company’s plan and issue an 16 |
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| 134 | 134 | | order approving the plan, including any modifications the commission deems appropriate. 17 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (b) Once the plan is approved by the commission, the electric distribution company and 18 |
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| 136 | 136 | | the division shall jointly prepare a request for power-supply proposals (“RFP”) consistent with the 19 |
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| 137 | 137 | | commission’s order, develop reasonable bidder qualifications, issue the RFP, review the bids, and 20 |
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| 138 | 138 | | jointly select a winning bidder or bidders to supply power. If the electric distribution company and 21 |
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| 139 | 139 | | the division mutually agree that the bids are unreasonably high, they shall have the discretion to 22 |
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| 140 | 140 | | reject all bids and re-issue an RFP at a later date that they deem appropriate. If the electric 23 |
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| 141 | 141 | | distribution company and the division cannot agree on any matter, the dispute shall be submitted 24 |
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| 142 | 142 | | to the commission for resolution. Once the winning bidder or bidders are selected, a supply contract 25 |
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| 143 | 143 | | or contracts on terms reasonably acceptable to the distribution company and the division will be 26 |
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| 144 | 144 | | executed by the electric distribution company and no further regulatory approval shall be required. 27 |
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| 145 | 145 | | However, the results of the bidding process shall be filed with the commission. 28 |
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| 146 | 146 | | (c) All of the costs associated with the new supply contract(s) will be recovered through 29 |
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| 147 | 147 | | standard-offer rates and the electric distribution company’s fully reconciling adjustment provision. 30 |
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| 148 | 148 | | (d) The standard-offer rates for the residential customers returning to the standard offer 31 |
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| 149 | 149 | | shall be the same as the standard-offer rate paid by all other standard-offer customers. The standard-32 |
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| 150 | 150 | | offer rates for the nonresidential customers returning to the standard offer shall be determined by 33 |
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| 151 | 151 | | the commission after the commission reviews the costs of the power supply resulting from the bid 34 |
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| 152 | 152 | | |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | LC001922 - Page 5 of 7 |
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| 155 | 155 | | process. The rate for nonresidential customers returning to the standard offer may differ from those 1 |
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| 156 | 156 | | of other customers, if the commission deems the rate differential to be appropriate. 2 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (e) Any customer returning to the standard offer may not enter into any agreement to use 3 |
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| 158 | 158 | | standard-offer service to arbitrage the market with any supplier while the customer is on the 4 |
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| 159 | 159 | | standard offer and it shall be unlawful for any nonregulated power producer to enter into such an 5 |
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| 160 | 160 | | agreement. 6 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a legally enforceable entitlement for 7 |
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| 162 | 162 | | any supplier to require the electric distribution company to select any particular bid and/or sign a 8 |
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| 163 | 163 | | contract with the supplier. 9 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (g) The requirements set forth in this section shall not apply to Pascoag Fire District or 10 |
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| 165 | 165 | | Block Island Power Company. 11 |
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| 166 | 166 | | 39-1-27.8. Supply procurement portfolio. 12 |
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| 167 | 167 | | Each electric distribution company shall submit a proposed supply procurement plan or 13 |
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| 168 | 168 | | plans to the commission not later than March 1, 2009, and each March 1 thereafter through March 14 |
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| 169 | 169 | | 1, 2018. The supply procurement plan or plans shall be consistent with the purposes of least-cost 15 |
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| 170 | 170 | | procurement and shall, as appropriate, take into account plans and orders with regard to system 16 |
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| 171 | 171 | | reliability and energy efficiency and conservation procurement. The supply procurement plan or 17 |
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| 172 | 172 | | plans will include the acquisition procedure, the pricing options being sought, and a proposed term 18 |
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| 173 | 173 | | of service for which standard-offer service will be acquired. The term of service may be of various, 19 |
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| 174 | 174 | | staggered term lengths and acquisitions may occur from time to time and for more than one supplier 20 |
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| 175 | 175 | | for segments of standard-offer load over different terms, if appropriate. There also may be separate 21 |
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| 176 | 176 | | procurement plans for residential and nonresidential classes or separate plans among nonresidential 22 |
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| 177 | 177 | | classes. All the components of the procurement plans shall be subject to commission review and 23 |
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| 178 | 178 | | approval. Once a procurement plan is approved by the commission, the electric distribution 24 |
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| 179 | 179 | | company shall be authorized to acquire standard-offer service supply consistent with the approved 25 |
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| 180 | 180 | | procurement plan and recover its costs incurred from providing standard-offer service pursuant to 26 |
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| 181 | 181 | | the approved procurement plan. The commission may periodically review the procurement plan to 27 |
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| 182 | 182 | | determine whether it should be prospectively modified due to changed market conditions. The 28 |
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| 183 | 183 | | commission shall have the authority and discretion to establish eligibility criteria by rate class, and 29 |
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| 184 | 184 | | approve special tariff conditions and rates proposed by the electric distribution company that the 30 |
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| 185 | 185 | | commission finds are in the public interest, including, without limitation: (1) Short- and long-term 31 |
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| 186 | 186 | | optional service at different rates; (2) Term commitments or notice provisions before individual 32 |
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| 187 | 187 | | customers leave standard-offer service; (3) Standard-offer service rates for residential or any other 33 |
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| 188 | 188 | | special class of customers that are different than the rates for other standard-offer customers; (4) 34 |
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| 189 | 189 | | |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | LC001922 - Page 6 of 7 |
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| 192 | 192 | | Time of use commodity pricing for specified classes of customers, except residential customers; 1 |
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| 193 | 193 | | provided, however, that the commission may establish pilot programs for time of use commodity 2 |
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| 194 | 194 | | pricing for residential customers; and/or (5) Standard-offer service rates that are designed to 3 |
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| 195 | 195 | | encourage any class of customers to purchase supply directly from the market. 4 |
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| 196 | 196 | | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 197 | 197 | | ======== |
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| 198 | 198 | | LC001922 |
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| 199 | 199 | | ======== |
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| 200 | 200 | | |
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| 201 | 201 | | |
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| 202 | 202 | | LC001922 - Page 7 of 7 |
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| 203 | 203 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 204 | 204 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 205 | 205 | | OF |
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| 206 | 206 | | A N A C T |
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| 207 | 207 | | RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION |
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| 208 | 208 | | *** |
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| 209 | 209 | | This act would replace the time to time requirement with staggered as it relates to 1 |
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| 210 | 210 | | acquisitions for one or more supplier. Additionally, the commission would, as appropriate, review 2 |
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| 211 | 211 | | the acquisition plan to determine if it should be modified. Also, the commission would require 3 |
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| 212 | 212 | | annual review of the acquisition. Also, this act would repeal §§ 39-1-27.3.1 and 39-1-27.8. 4 |
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| 213 | 213 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 214 | 214 | | ======== |
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| 215 | 215 | | LC001922 |
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| 216 | 216 | | ======== |
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| 217 | 217 | | |
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