Chapter
05-049
2005 -- H 5877
Enacted 06/16/05
A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES
AND CARRIERS -- DUTIES OF UTILITIES AND
CARRIERS
Introduced By: Representatives Moura, and Long
Date
Introduced: March 01, 2005
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 39-2-1.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-2 entitled "Duties
of
Utilities
and Carriers" is hereby amended to read as follows:
39-2-1.2.
Utility base rate -- Advertising, demand side management and renewables.
-- (a) In addition to costs prohibited in section
39-1-27.4(b), no public utility distributing or
providing
heat, electricity, or water to or for the public shall include as part of its
base rate any
expenses
for advertising, either direct or indirect, which promotes the use of its
product or
service,
or is designed to promote the public image of the industry. No public utility
may furnish
support
of any kind, direct, or indirect, to any subsidiary, group, association, or
individual for
advertising
and include the expense as part of its base rate. Nothing contained in this
section shall
be
deemed as prohibiting the inclusion in the base rate of expenses incurred for
advertising,
informational
or educational in nature, which is designed to promote public safety
conservation of
the
public utility's product or service. The public utilities commission shall
promulgate such rules
and
regulations as are necessary to require public disclosure of all advertising
expenses of any
kind,
direct or indirect, and to otherwise effectuate the provisions of this section.
(b) Effective as of January 1, 2003, and for a period of ten (10) years
thereafter, each
electric
distribution company shall include charges of 2.0 mills per kilowatt-hour
delivered to
fund
demand side management programs and 0.3 mills per kilowatt-hour delivered to
fund
renewable
energy programs. Existing charges for these purposes and their method of
administration
shall continue through December 31, 2002. Thereafter, the electric distribution
company
shall establish two (2) separate accounts, one for demand side management
programs,
which
shall be administered and implemented by the distribution company, subject to
the
regulatory
reviewing authority of the commission, and one for renewable energy programs,
which
shall be
administered by the state energy office.
During the ten (10) year period the commission may, in its discretion, after
notice and
public
hearing, increase the sums for demand side management and renewable resources;
thereafter,
the commission shall, after notice and public hearing, determine the
appropriate charge
for
these programs. The energy office and the administrator of the renewable energy
programs
shall
seek to secure for the state an equitable and reasonable portion of renewable
energy credits
or
certificates created by projects funded through those programs. As used in this
section,
"renewable
energy resources" shall mean power generation technologies that produce
electricity
from
wind energy, small scale (less than 100 megawatts) hydropower plants that do
not require
the
construction of new dams, solar energy, and sustainably managed biomass. as defined in
section
39-26-5, "eligible renewable energy resources". Technologies for
converting solar energy
for
space heating or generating domestic hot water may also be funded through the
renewable
energy
programs, so long as these technologies are installed on housing projects that
have been
certified
by the executive director of the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance
corporation
as
serving low-income Rhode Island residents. Fuel cells may be considered an energy efficiency
technology
to be included in demand sided management programs. Special rates for low
income
customers
in effect as of August 7, 1996 shall be continued, and the costs of all of
these discounts
shall be
included in the distribution rates charged to all other customers. Nothing in
this section
shall be
construed as prohibiting an electric distribution company from offering any
special rates
or
programs for low income customers which are not in effect as of August 7, 1996,
subject to the
approval
by the commission.
(c) The director of the state energy office is authorized and shall enter into
a contract
with a
contractor for the effective administration of the renewable energy programs
funded by
this
section. The director shall initiate the competitive bid process by the
issuance and
advertisement
of specifications and request for proposals, on or before September 1, 2002.
The
contract
resulting from the competitive bid process shall be awarded to become effective
for a
three
(3) year period commencing no later than January 1, 2003. A competitive bid and
contract
award
for administration of the renewable energy programs shall occur every three (3)
years
thereafter.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02255
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