Chapter 367
2013 -- S 0836 SUBSTITUTE A AS
AMENDED
Enacted 07/15/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS - MUNICIPAL STREETLIGHT
INVESTMENT ACT
Introduced
By: Senators Sheehan, Sosnowski,
Date Introduced: April 04, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 39 of the General Laws entitled
"PUBLIC UTILITIES AND
CARRIERS" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
30
MUNICIPAL
STREETLIGHT INVESTMENT ACT
39-30-1. Findings
and purposes – (a) The
declares that:
(1) Taxpayers are
mandated to pay the electric distribution company large sums every
year to light municipal and many state-owned streets;
(2) Municipalities
are limited in how they can manage this public safety resource because
they do not own or control the light fixtures within their
borders;
(3) There is no
incentive in the applicable electric rate tariff for installing energy
efficient
lighting technologies that may reduce both power and
maintenance expenses;
(4) There is no
provision in the applicable electric rate tariff for municipalities to work
collectively to manage the maintenance of the street lighting
system; and
(5) Municipalities
around the country have saved considerable resources by purchasing
their streetlight systems from electric distribution
companies and contracting for the maintenance
independently.
(b) Now, therefore,
the purpose of this chapter is to reduce municipal street lighting costs
and improve service to citizens by:
(1) Improving public
safety with street lights that provide better illumination;
(2) Reducing maintenance
costs by allowing municipalities to own the street and area
lighting within their borders and to enter into regional
maintenance service contracts;
(3) Reducing
whole-system cost through municipal ownership and regional management
and by eliminating the current "facilities
charge;"
(4) Providing
innovative and proven technologies for more efficient lighting; and
(5) Providing more
responsive service for lighting repairs.
39-30-2.
Definitions. -- When used in this chapter, the
following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(1)
"Office" means the Office of Energy Resources.
(2) "Electric
distribution company" means a company defined in subdivision 39-1-2(12),
supplying standard offer service, last resort service, or any
successor service to end-use
customers.
(3) "Lighting
equipment" means all equipment used to light streets in the municipality,
the operation and maintenance of which is currently
charged to the municipality, including
lighting ballasts, fixtures, and other equipment necessary for
the conversion of electric energy
into street lighting service, but excluding the utility
poles upon which the lighting equipment is
fixed. Lighting equipment shall include, but not be limited
to, decorative street and area lighting
equipment and solid-state (LED) lighting technologies.
39-30-3.
Streetlight investment. -- (a) Any city or town receiving street lighting service
from an electric distribution company pursuant to an electric
rate tariff providing for the use by
such municipality of lighting equipment owned by the
electric distribution company, at its option,
upon sixty (60) days notice to the electric company and to
the department, and subject to the
provisions of subsections (b) through (e), may:
(1) Convert its
street lighting service from the subject tariff rate to an alternative tariff
rate providing for delivery service by the electric
distribution company of electric energy,
whether or not supplied by the electric distribution company,
over distribution facilities and wires
owned by the electric distribution company to lighting
equipment owned or leased by the
municipality, and further providing for the use by such
municipality of the space on any pole,
lamp post, or other mounting surface previously used by
the electric distribution company for the
mounting of the lighting equipment. The alternative tariff
rate shall provide for monthly bills for
street and area lighting that shall include a schedule of
energy charges based on a determination
annual kilowatt-hour usage per lumen rating or nominal
wattage of all types of lighting
equipment, but shall not include facility, support,
maintenance, or accessory charges. The new
tariff shall use existing usage calculation methods and
existing rates for any currently existing
lighting equipment, only setting reasonable new rates for
newly adopted lighting equipment. The
new tariff shall be structured so as to allow options for
various street lighting controls, including
both conventional dusk/dawn operation using photocell or
scheduling controls, as well as
schedule-based dimming or on/off controls that dim or turn off
street lights during periods of low
activity. The electric distribution company, in consultation
with the office, shall file the new tariff
with the public utilities commission within sixty (60)
days of the effective date of this chapter and
the commission shall then issue a decision within sixty
(60) days after the filing to effectuate the
purposes and provisions of this chapter.
(2) Purchase electric
energy for use in such municipal lighting equipment from the
electric distribution company or any other person allowed by
law to provide electric energy; and
(3) After due diligence,
including an analysis of the cost impact to the municipality,
acquire all of the public street and area lighting equipment
of the electric distribution company in
the municipality, compensating the electric distribution
company as necessary, in accordance
with subsection (b).
(b) Any municipality
exercising the option to convert its lighting equipment pursuant to
subsection (a) must compensate the electric distribution company
for the original cost, less
depreciation and less amortization, of any active or inactive
existing public lighting equipment
owned by the electric distribution company and installed in
the municipality as of the date the
municipality exercises its right of acquisition pursuant to
subsection (a), net of any salvage value.
Upon such payment, the municipality shall have the
right to use, alter, remove, or replace such
acquired lighting equipment in any way the municipality deems
appropriate. Any contract a
municipality enters for such services must require appropriate
levels of training and certification
of personnel providing pole service for public and
worker safety, evidence of twenty-four (24)
hour call capacity and a committed timely response
schedule for both emergency and routine
outages. The municipality may also request that the electric
company remove any part of such
lighting equipment that it does not acquire from the electric
distribution company in which case
the municipality shall reimburse the electric
distribution company the cost of removal by the
electric distribution company, along with the original cost,
less depreciation, of the removed part,
net of any salvage value.
(c) When a
municipality exercises its option pursuant to this subsection, the municipality
will notify the electric distribution company of any
alterations to street and area lighting
inventory within sixty (60) days of the alteration. The
electric distribution company will then
adjust its monthly billing determinations to reflect the
alteration within sixty (60) days.
(d) When a
municipality exercises its option pursuant to subsection (a), anyone other than
the electric distribution company controlling the right
to use space on any pole, lamp post, or
other mounting surface previously used by the electric
distribution company in such municipality
shall allow the municipality to assume the rights and
obligations of the electric distribution
company with respect to such space for the unexpired term of
any lease, easement, or other
agreement under which the electric distribution company used
such space; provided, however,
that:
(i)
The municipality is subject to the same terms and conditions that pole owners
make to
others that attach to the poles; and
(ii) In the
assumption of the rights and obligations of the electric distribution company
by
such a municipality, such municipality shall in no way or
form restrict, impede, or prohibit
universal access for the provision of electric and other
services.
(e) Any dispute
regarding the terms of the alternative tariff, the compensation to be paid
the electric distribution company, or any other matter
arising in connection with the exercise of
the option provided in subsection (a), including, but not
limited to, the terms on which space is to
be provided to the municipality in accordance with
subsection (c), shall be resolved by the
division of public utilities and carriers within ninety (90)
days of any request for such resolution
by the municipality or any person involved in such
dispute.
(f) Notwithstanding
any general or special law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, any
affiliate of any electric distribution company whose street
lighting service is converted by any
municipality in accordance with the provisions of this section may
solicit and compete for the
business of any such municipality for the provision of
lighting equipment or any other service
such as equipment maintenance in connection therewith.
39-30-4.
Liberal construction. -- The provisions of this
chapter shall be liberally
construed to give effect to the purposes thereof.
39-30-5. Severability. -- If any provision of this chapter
or the application thereof to any
person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or
applications of the chapter, which can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application,
and to this end the provisions of this chapter are
declared to be severable.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02291/SUB A/2
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