Chapter 090
2015 -- S 0893
Enacted 06/17/2015

A N   A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS

Introduced By: Senators P Fogarty, and Nesselbush
Date Introduced: May 07, 2015

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
Utilities Commission" is hereby amended to read as follows:
     39-1-27.3. Electric distribution companies required to provide retail access,
standard offer and last resort service. -- required to provide retail access, standard offer
and last-resort service. -- (a) To promote economic development and the creation and
preservation of employment opportunities within the state, each electric distribution company,
except Pascoag utility district, a quasi-municipal corporation, district, and subdivision of the state
("electric distribution company"), shall offer retail access from nonregulated power producers
to all customers.
      (b) Through year 2009, and effective July 1, 2007, through year 2020, each electric
distribution company shall arrange for a standard power supply offer ("standard offer") to
customers that have not elected to enter into power supply arrangements with other nonregulated
power suppliers. The rates that are charged by the electric distribution company to customers
for standard offer service shall be approved by the commission and shall be designed to recover
the electric distribution company's costs and no more than the electric distribution company's
costs; provided, that the commission may establish and/or implement a rate that averages the
costs over periods of time. The electric distribution company shall not be entitled to recover any
profit margin on the sale of standard offer power, except with approval of the commission as may
be necessary to implement, fairly and effectively, system reliability and least-cost procurement.
The electric distribution company will be entitled to recover its costs incurred from providing
the standard offer arising out of: (1) wholesale Wholesale standard offer supply agreements with
power suppliers in effect prior to January 1, 2002; (2) power Power supply arrangements that are
approved by the commission after January 1, 2002; (3) power Power supply arrangements made
pursuant to §§ 39-1-27.3.1 and 39-1-27.8; and (4) any other power supply related arrangements
prudently made after January 1, 2002, to provide standard offer supply or to mitigate standard
offer supply costs, including costs for system reliability, procurement, and least-cost
procurement, as provided for in § 39-1-27.7. Subject to commission approval, the electric
distribution company may enter into financial contracts designed to hedge fuel-related or other
variable costs associated with power supply arrangements and the costs of any such financial
contracts shall be recoverable in standard offer rates. The electric distribution company's
standard offer revenues and its standard offer costs shall be accounted for and reconciled with
interest at least annually. Except as otherwise may be directed by the commission in order to
accomplish purposes established by law, any over recoveries shall be refunded to customers in a
manner directed by the commission, and any under recoveries shall be recovered by the electric
distribution company through a uniform adjustment factor approved by the commission. The
commission shall have the discretion to apply such adjustment factor in any given instance to all
customers or to such specific class of customers that the commission deems equitable under the
circumstances provided that the distribution company recovers any under recovery in its entirety.
Once a customer has elected to enter into a power supply arrangement with a nonregulated power
producer, the electric distribution company shall not be required to arrange for the standard
offer to such customer except as provided in § 39-1-27.3.1. No customer who initially elects the
standard offer and then chooses an alternative supplier shall be required to pay any withdrawal
fee or penalty to the provider of the standard offer unless such a penalty or withdrawal fee was
agreed to as part of a contract; however, no residential customer shall be required to pay a penalty
or withdrawal fee for choosing an alternative supplier. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to restrict the right of any nonregulated power producer to offer to sell power to
customers at a price comparable to that of the standard offer specified pursuant to this subsection.
The electric distribution company may not terminate an existing standard offer wholesale
supply agreement without the written consent of the division.
      (c) In recognition that electricity is an essential service, each electric distribution
company shall arrange for a last resort last-resort power supply for customers who have left the
standard offer for any reason and are not otherwise receiving electric service from nonregulated
power producers. The electric distribution company shall procure last resort last-resort service
supply from wholesale power suppliers. Prior to acquiring last resort last-resort supply, the
electric distribution company will file with the commission a supply acquisition plan or plans
that include the acquisition procedure, the pricing options being sought, and a proposed term of
service for which last resort last-resort service will be acquired. The term of service may be
short or long term short- or long-term and acquisitions may occur from time to time and for
more than one supplier for segments of last resort last-resort service load over different terms, if
appropriate. All the components of the acquisition plans, however, shall be subject to commission
review and approval. Once an acquisition plan is approved by the commission, the electric
distribution company shall be authorized to acquire last resort last-resort service supply
consistent with the approved acquisition plan and recover its costs incurred from providing last
resort last-resort service pursuant to the approved acquisition plan. The commission may
periodically review the acquisition plan to determine whether it should be prospectively modified
due to changed market conditions. The commission shall have the authority and discretion to
approve special tariff conditions and rates proposed by the electric distribution company that
the commission finds are in the public interest, including without limitation: (1) short or long
term Short- or long-term optional service at different rates; (2) term Term commitments or
notice provisions before individual customers leave last resort last-resort service; (3) last resort
Last-resort service rates for residential or any other special class of customers that are different
than the rates for other last resort last-resort customers; and/or (4) last resort Last-resort
service rates that are designed to encourage any class of customers to return to the market. The
electric distribution company's last resort last-resort service revenues and its last resort last-
resort service costs shall be accounted for and reconciled with interest at least annually. Any over
recoveries shall be refunded and any under recoveries shall be recovered by the electric
distribution company through a uniform adjustment factor approved by the commission. The
commission shall have the discretion to apply such adjustment factor in any given instance to all
customers or to such specific class of customers that the commission deems equitable under the
circumstances provided that the distribution company recovers any under recovery in its entirety.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an electric distribution company from
terminating service provided hereunder in accordance with commission rules and regulations in
the event of nonpayment of this service. The commission may promulgate regulations to
implement this section including the terms and conditions upon which last resort last-resort
service is offered and provided to customers.
      (d) If a customer being served by a nonregulated power producer pays any taxes assessed
for electric service to the electric distribution company and the electric distribution company
forwards such tax payment for the power portion of the bill to a nonregulated power producer for
payment by the nonregulated power producer to the state, neither the customer nor the electric
distribution company shall be liable for such taxes forwarded if the nonregulated power
producer fails to remit such taxes to the state for any reason.
     SECTION 2. Sections 45-58-3 and 45-58-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-58
entitled "Pascoag Utility District" are hereby amended to read as follows:
     45-58-3. Statement of purpose. -- This chapter is intended to: (1) establish Establish
the Pascoag utility district as the successor to the utility functions fulfilled prior to April 4, 2001,
by the Pascoag fire district; (2) provide Provide for the orderly separation and transfer of those
utility functions and related utility assets and utility bond obligations (without impairment
thereof) from the Pascoag fire district to the utility district; (3) provide Provide for the retention
and fulfillment of the fire protection functions and fire protection assets of the Pascoag fire
district by the fire district; and (4) authorize Authorize and enable the utility district to provide
additional utility services, function as a nonregulated power producer and otherwise to contribute
to the development of effective competition in the state's electricity and communications
industries, in accordance with the legislature's findings as to the efficacy of competition in the
Utility Restructuring Act of 1996, as amended, and to provide such other utility products and
services as may be authorized, from time to time, by the utility district's board of utility
commissioners.
     45-58-8. Powers of the Utility District. -- The utility district shall have the power:
      (1) To acquire real or personal property and tangible or intangible personal property by
voluntary purchase from the owner or owners of the property, and to the extent that the board of
utility commissioners deems it advisable, to acquire property held by a corporation through
acquisition of the stock of the corporation and dissolution of the corporation;
      (2) To acquire real property, fixtures, and rights and interests in real property within its
utility service area by eminent domain, subject to the supervision of the public utilities
commission in the manner prescribed in § 39-1-31;
      (3) To own, operate, maintain, repair, improve, enlarge, and extend, in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter, any property acquired under this section all of which, together with
the acquisition of the property, are hereby declared to be public purposes;
      (4) To produce, purchase, acquire, distribute, and sell water and electricity at wholesale
or retail within or without its utility service area subject to franchise rights of other utilities; to lay
down, construct, own, operate, maintain, repair, and improve mains, pipes, wells, towers, and
other equipment and facilities necessary, appropriate or useful for those purposes; and to contract
with others for any or all of the foregoing purposes;
      (5) To produce, buy, sell, and trade electric capability, power, or energy products or
services at wholesale or retail; to purchase for its own use or for resale electric transmission
service and ancillary services; and to engage in any other transaction with respect to electricity or
electricity products that was heretofore authorized for the Pascoag fire district or investor-owned
electric companies operating as domestic electric utilities with within the state (including
participation in generating facilities as authorized by chapter 20 of title 39); provided, that the
utility district shall operate and be subject to regulation of its retail rates for electricity under title
39 of the general laws when operating within its utility service area;
      (6) To operate as a nonregulated power producer within the meaning and contemplation
of § 39-1-2(19) when engaging in the sale of electricity at retail outside of its utility service area;
      (7)(6) To acquire, own, lease, operate, maintain, repair, and expand facilities and
equipment necessary, appropriate, or useful to the operation of other utilities, including, but not
limited to, communications services such as internet service, high speed high-speed data
transfer, local and long distance long-distance telephone service, community antenna television
service, and to engage in the operation of such utilities;
      (8)(7) To sue and be sued;
      (9)(8) To adopt and alter a corporate seal;
      (10)(9) To acquire, hold, use, lease, sell, transfer, assign, or otherwise dispose of any
property, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein, for its corporate purposes, and to
mortgage, pledge, or lease any such property;
      (11)(10) To make and adopt bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs;
      (12)(11) To borrow money for any of the purposes or powers granted to it under or by
operation of this chapter, including the creation and maintenance of working capital, and to issue
negotiable bonds, notes, or other obligations, to fund or refund the same, and to secure the
obligation of such bond, notes, or other obligations in any case by pledge of, or security interest
in, the revenues and property of the utility district.
      (13)(12) To fix rates (subject to the requirements of title 39 of the general laws in the
case of retail electric rates within its utility service area) and collect charges for the use of the
facilities or services rendered by or any commodities furnished by the utility district;
      (14)(13) To contract in its own name for any lawful purpose which that would
effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter; to execute all instruments necessary to
carry out the purposes of this chapter; and to do all things necessary or convenient to carry into
effect and operation the powers granted by this chapter; and
      (15)(14) Until, and only until, such time as those utility bond obligations to which the
Pascoag utility district succeeds under or by operation of this chapter shall have been retired,
defeased, or otherwise satisfied in their entirety, to levy property tax assessments upon property
owners within its utility service area for the purpose of supporting utility bond obligations of the
Pascoag fire district outstanding as of April 4, 2001, in the same manner and to the same extent as
the Pascoag fire district was authorized to do so under the act passed at the May session 1887,
entitled "An Act to Incorporate the Pascoag Fire District" as thereafter amended and
supplemented from time to time.
     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC002592
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