2020 -- H 7276 | |
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LC003167 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- REGULATORY POWERS OF | |
ADMINISTRATION | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Place, Chippendale, Quattrocchi, and Lyle | |
Date Introduced: January 23, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Corporations | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 39-3-1.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-3 entitled "Regulatory |
2 | Powers of Administration" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 39-3-1.2. Aggregation of electrical load by municipality or group of municipalities. |
4 | (a) The legislative authority of a municipality may adopt an ordinance or resolution, |
5 | under which it may aggregate in accordance with this section one or more classes of the retail |
6 | electrical loads located, respectively, within the municipality or town and, for that purpose, may |
7 | enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electricity. The |
8 | legislative authority also may exercise this authority jointly with any other legislative authority. |
9 | An ordinance or resolution under this section shall specify whether the aggregation will occur |
10 | only with the prior consent of each person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an electric |
11 | load center proposed to be aggregated or will occur automatically for all persons pursuant to the |
12 | opt-out requirements of this section. Nothing in this section, however, authorizes the aggregation |
13 | of retail electric loads of an electric load center that is located in the certified territory of a |
14 | nonprofit electric supplier or an electric load center served by transmission or distribution |
15 | facilities of a municipal electric utility. |
16 | No legislative authority pursuant to an ordinance or resolution under this section that |
17 | provides for automatic aggregation as described in this section, shall aggregate the electrical load |
18 | of any electric load center located within its jurisdiction unless it in advance clearly discloses to |
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1 | the person owning, occupying, controlling, or using the load center that the person will be |
2 | enrolled automatically in the aggregation program and will remain so enrolled unless the person |
3 | affirmatively elects by a stated procedure not to be so enrolled. The disclosure shall state |
4 | prominently the rates, charges, and other terms and conditions of enrollment. The stated |
5 | procedure shall allow any person enrolled in the aggregation program the opportunity, at a |
6 | minimum, to opt-out of the program every two (2) years, without paying a switching fee. Any |
7 | person that leaves the aggregation program pursuant to the stated procedure shall default to the |
8 | last resort service until the person chooses an alternative supplier. |
9 | A governmental aggregator under this section is not a public utility engaging in the |
10 | wholesale purchase and resale of electricity, and the aggregated service is not a wholesale utility |
11 | transaction. A governmental aggregator shall be subject to supervision and regulation by the |
12 | commission only to the extent of any competitive retail electric service it provides and |
13 | commission authority. |
14 | A town may initiate a process to authorize aggregation by a majority vote of a town |
15 | meeting or of the town council. A city may initiate a process to authorize aggregation by a |
16 | majority vote of the city council, with the approval of the mayor, or the city manager. Two (2) or |
17 | more municipalities may, as a group, initiate a process jointly to authorize aggregation by a |
18 | majority vote of each particular municipality as required in this section. |
19 | Upon the applicable requisite authority under this section, the legislative authority shall |
20 | develop a plan of operation and governance for the aggregation program so authorized. Before |
21 | adopting a plan under this section, the legislative authority shall hold at least one public hearing |
22 | on the plan. Before the hearing, the legislative authority shall publish notice of the hearing once a |
23 | week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction. The |
24 | notice shall summarize the plan and state the date, time, and location of any hearing. A |
25 | municipality or group of municipalities establishing load aggregation pursuant to this section |
26 | shall develop a plan, for review by its citizens, detailing the process and consequences of |
27 | aggregation. The plan shall identify which classes of customers may participate, based on their |
28 | applicable electric distribution company tariff or rate schedule. Any municipal load aggregation |
29 | plan established pursuant to this section shall provide for universal access to all applicable |
30 | customers and equitable treatment of applicable classes of customers and shall meet any |
31 | requirements established by law or the commission concerning aggregated service. The plan shall |
32 | be filed with the commission, for its final review and approval, and shall include, without |
33 | limitation, an organizational structure of the program, its operations, and its funding; the process |
34 | for establishing rates and allocating costs among participants; the methods for entering and |
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1 | terminating agreements with other entities; the rights and responsibilities of program participants; |
2 | and termination of the program. The plan must also include the terms and conditions under which |
3 | retail customers who have chosen to opt-out of the aggregated service may take service from the |
4 | aggregated entity. Prior to approval of the plan, the commission must make a finding that entry |
5 | into such a program will result in a cost-efficient system for customers affected by the program |
6 | over a twenty (20) year period. Absent such a finding, the plan shall be rejected. At the time of |
7 | the legislative authority's filing of the plan with the commission, a copy of the proposed plan |
8 | filing shall be provided to the electric distribution company whose customers would be included |
9 | in the plan. Prior to its decision, the commission shall conduct a public hearing. Following |
10 | approval of the plan, the legislative authority may solicit bids from nonregulated power producers |
11 | pursuant to the methods established by the plan. The legislative authority shall report the results |
12 | of this solicitation and proposed agreement awards to the commission. The legislative authority |
13 | shall have the right to terminate the operation of the plan by placing its customers on last-resort |
14 | service. If the legislative authority terminates the operation of the plan and places customers on |
15 | last-resort service, a municipality seeking to form a new municipal aggregation load must submit |
16 | a new plan to the commission for approval, in accordance with this section, before the customers |
17 | may enroll in a new aggregation program. |
18 | Any retail customer in a municipality with an approved aggregation plan may elect |
19 | instead to receive retail supply from another licensed retail supplier or from the local distribution |
20 | company. Within thirty (30) days of the date the aggregated entity is fully operational, ratepayers |
21 | who have not affirmatively elected an alternative authorized supplier shall be transferred to the |
22 | aggregated entity subject to the opt-out provision in this section. Following adoption of |
23 | aggregation as specified above, the program shall allow any retail customer to opt-out and choose |
24 | any supplier or provider that the retail customer wishes. Nothing in this section shall be construed |
25 | as authorizing any city or town or any municipal retail load aggregator to restrict the ability of |
26 | retail electric customers to obtain or receive service from any authorized provider of it. |
27 | It shall be the duty of the aggregated entity to fully inform participating ratepayers in |
28 | advance of automatic enrollment that they are to be automatically enrolled and that they have the |
29 | right to opt-out of the aggregated entity without penalty. In addition, such disclosure shall |
30 | prominently state all charges to be made and shall include full disclosure of the standard-offer |
31 | rate, how to access it, and the fact that it is available to them without penalty, if they are currently |
32 | on standard-offer service. The commission shall furnish, without charge, to any citizen a list of all |
33 | other supply options available to them in a meaningful format that shall enable comparison of |
34 | price and product. |
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1 | The municipality or group of municipalities shall, within two (2) years of approval of its |
2 | plan, or such further time as the commission may allow, provide written notice to the commission |
3 | that its plan is implemented. The commission may revoke certification of the aggregation plan if |
4 | the municipality or group of municipalities fails to substantially implement the plan. |
5 | (b) The commission may, from time to time, promulgate rules by which the legislative |
6 | authority may request information from the electric-distribution company or companies whose |
7 | customers would be included in its plan. These rules shall ensure that municipalities have |
8 | reasonable and timely access to information pertinent to the formation of the plan and solicitation |
9 | of bids to serve customers, that confidentiality of individuals is protected, that charges for |
10 | production of data are reasonable and not unduly burdensome to the legislative authority. |
11 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC003167 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- REGULATORY POWERS OF | |
ADMINISTRATION | |
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1 | This act would require the public utilities commission (PUC) make a finding that any |
2 | aggregation plan of electrical load submitted by a municipality or group of municipalities would |
3 | result in a cost efficient system for affected customers over a twenty (20) year period, prior to |
4 | granting its approval. |
5 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC003167 | |
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