| 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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