Chapter 109
2023 -- H 6047
Enacted 06/19/2023

A N   A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

Introduced By: Representative Tina L. Spears

Date Introduced: March 03, 2023

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.
     (a) To promote economic development and the creation and preservation of employment
opportunities within the state, each electric distribution company, except Pascoag Utility District
and the Block Island 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 standard-offer supply agreements with power suppliers in effect prior
to January 1, 2002; (2) Power-supply arrangements that are approved by the commission after
January 1, 2002; (3) 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 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 service supply from wholesale power
suppliers. Prior to acquiring 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 service will be acquired.
The term of service may be short- or long-term and acquisitions may occur from time to time and
for more than one supplier for segments of 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 service supply consistent with the
approved acquisition plan and recover its costs incurred from providing 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 optional service at different rates; (2) Term
commitments or notice provisions before individual customers leave last-resort service; (3) Last-
resort service rates for residential or any other special class of customers that are different than the
rates for other last-resort customers; and/or (4) 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 service revenues and its 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
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. Section 45-67-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-67 entitled "Block Island
Utility District Act of 2017" is hereby amended to read as follows:
     45-67-10. Exemptions.
     (a) The exemption waiver provided by the public utilities commission to BIPCo from the
terms of § 39-1-27 shall also apply to the utility district and the public utilities commission shall
have the authority to provide such other waivers from this section as may be in the public interest.
     (b) The utility district shall, from time to time, submit plans to the public utilities
commission on retail choice as defined in § 39-1-27.3. The public utilities commission shall have
the authority to approve those plans as may be in the interests of all ratepayers of the utility district,
including the option of not offering retail choice. Any waiver on retail choice granted by the public
utilities commission to BIPCo shall also apply to the utility district.
     (c) The exemptions provided for the Pascoag utility district and BIPCo under §§ 39-1-
27.3.1, 39-1-27.12, 39-2-1.2(b), 39-2-25, 39-26.1-1 through and including 39-26.1-6, and chapters
1.1, 26, 26.2, 26.4, and 26.6 of title 39 shall also apply to the Block Island utility district. The utility
district shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 18 of title 35.
     (d) As long as the utility district has a waiver from the restructuring provisions of § 39-1-
27, then the utility district shall also be granted a waiver from the provisions of § 39-1-27.6 such
that the employees of the utility district may be allowed to provide both electrical generation and
distribution services.
     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC002223
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