65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 720, § 1
This rule adopts for regulatory accounting and reporting purposes the standards established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in its Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 106, Employers' Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions (SFAS 106). All public utilities that are required under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to adopt SFAS 106 for financial reporting purposes must at the same time also do so for regulatory accounting and reporting purposes.
The rule requires the utilization of an external funding mechanism (unless the Commission grants a waiver provision from this requirement). The rule establishes guidelines for the inclusion of OPEB costs in a utility's revenue requirement.
Finally, this rule provides specific instructions applicable to all public utilities for the use of SFAS 106 standards in accounting for the cost of the utility's OPEB obligations. For telephone utilities this rule supersedes the requirement contained in Chapter 210 (8) (F) (4) that OPEB expenses be determined on a cash basis.
The Commission's authority to establish the regulatory accounting treatment of OPEBs derives from 35-A M.R.S.A. §501.
65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 720, § 1