IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the following rule shall govern the interpretation and applicability of 30 V.S.A. § 248.
A transmission line within the meaning of 30 V.S.A. § 5248, as amended effective March 31, 1972, is a line and related facilities whose primary purpose is the delivery of electric power in bulk to a distribution system or portion thereof which serves individual customers. The Public Utility Commission will assume that each of the following two types of lines are transmission lines within the meaning of 30 V.S.A. § 248, as amended, in the absence of a specific declaration by the Public Utility Commission to the contrary:
A distribution line (or facility) whose principal purpose is to serve individual customers, and whose service to individual customers is physically interrupted only by a transformer and service drop, remains under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Board and District Environmental Commission as provided by Act 250, 10 V.S.A. § 6001.
30 V.S.A. § 248 does not include any transmission line for which a permit had been granted pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6001 et seq. which remains effective. This latter provision is included to comply with 1 V.S.A. § 214(b) (2).
This rule shall govern the calculation of the Energy Efficiency Charge rates, pursuant to 30 V.S.A. § 209(d)(3). This rule does not address the annual budget for the Energy Efficiency Utility program, which shall be determined in a separate Board process.
. Total Rate Revenues
. Rate Revenues from Residential Customers
. kWh Sales to Residential Customers
. Such other information as the Board may deem necessary for the calculation of the Energy Efficiency Charge
Additional kWh and kW sales and revenue data from the most recent calendar year for which complete information is available shall be provided by each electric distribution utility to the Board and the DPS, on or before September 15 of each calendar year, using the electronic filing format designated by the Board for this purpose. The specific information to be provided by each electric distribution utility shall be:
. Rate Revenues from Residential Customers Exempt from Paying the Energy Efficiency Charge, if any
. kWh Sales to Residential Customers Exempt from Paying the Energy Efficiency Charge, if any
. Rate Revenues from Commercial Customers Exempt from Paying the Energy Efficiency Charge, if any
. kWh Sales to Commercial Customers Exempt from Paying the Energy Efficiency Charge, if any
. Rate Revenues from Industrial Customers Exempt from Paying the Energy Efficiency Charge, if any
. kWh Sales to Industrial Customers Exempt from Paying the Energy Efficiency Charge, if any
. Rate Revenues from Commercial Customers
. kWh Sales to Commercial Customers
. Energy Revenues from Demand-Billed Commercial Customers
. Demand Revenues from Demand-Billed Commercial Customers
. kWh Sales to Demand-Billed Commercial Customers
. Billed Peak kW Sales to Demand-Billed Commercial Customers
. Rate Revenues from Industrial Customers
. kWh Sales to Industrial Customers
. Energy Revenues from Demand-Billed Industrial Customers
. Demand Revenues from Demand-Billed Industrial Customers
. kWh Sales to Demand-Billed Industrial Customers
. Billed Peak kW Sales to Demand-Billed Industrial Customers
. Such other information as the Board may deem necessary for the calculation of the Energy Efficiency Charge
After provision of notice and opportunity to comment to DPS and the electric distribution utilities, the Board may modify, in a manner applicable to all electric distribution utilities, the foregoing list of information to be provided by those utilities.
. The actual amount of uncollectibles related to the Energy Efficiency Charge for the first eight months of the current calendar year. In determining uncollectible amounts attributable to the Energy Efficiency Charge, an electric distribution utility may include, after exhausting reasonably available remedies, a partial non-payment of a bill by a customer, provided that the only portion of such non-payment attributed to the Energy Efficiency Charge is that amount determined by multiplying the partial non-payment by a fraction with the numerator consisting of the Energy Efficiency Charge amount on the bill and the denominator consisting of the total amount on the bill. If a utility's billing system does not allow the actual amount of non-payments attributed to the Energy Efficiency Charge to be easily determined, a utility may calculate the amount of uncollectible amounts attributed to the Energy Efficiency Charge by multiplying the utility's total amount of uncollectible amounts by a fraction with the numerator consisting of the utility's Energy Efficiency Charge billings and the denominator consisting of the utility's retail billings for the same time period.
. A reasonable estimate of the uncollectibles related to the Energy Efficiency Charge for the remaining four months of the current calendar year.
. A carrying charge for uncollectibles related to the Energy Efficiency Charge for the current calendar year. This charge shall be calculated by multiplying the uncollectibles related to the Energy Efficiency Charge for the current calendar year by either the electric distribution utility's Allowance for Funds Used During Construction rate or, if the electric distribution utility does not have such a rate, the electric distribution utility's short-term borrowing rate.
. The difference between the prior year's estimate of the uncollectibles related to the Energy Efficiency Charge for the last four months of the prior calendar year and the actual uncollectibles related to the Energy Efficiency Charge for that period. This difference shall be calculated by subtracting the prior year's estimate from the sum of the actual amounts provided by the distribution utilities when they requested reimbursement for their prior year's uncollectibles related to the Energy Efficiency Charge pursuant to Section 5.310. The result may be a positive or negative number.
. Year 1: A reasonable estimate of over- or under-collections for the current calendar year for each rate class -- residential, commercial, and industrial. Because of the two-month lag between when the Energy Efficiency Charge is applied to billing determinants and when the Fiscal Agent actually receives the funds, collections for the current calendar year will actually occur from March of the current calendar year through February of the following calendar year. The estimate of over- or under-collections shall be determined based upon a comparison of
Over-collections occur when the estimate in item (a) above exceeds the amount authorized to be collected in item (b) above. Under-collections occur when the amount authorized to be collected in item (b) above exceeds the estimate in item (a).
. Year 2: The difference between the prior year's estimate of the over- or under-collections for the prior calendar year and the actual over- or under-collections for that period for each rate class -- residential, commercial, and industrial. This difference shall be calculated by subtracting the prior year's estimate for each rate class from the actual amount for each rate class. In these calculations, over-collections shall be positive numbers and under-collections shall be negative numbers. The result of the calculations may be positive or negative numbers.
If Uncommitted Funds < 0.05 * Prior Year Total Budget, then Budget Credit shall be determined by the Board in a separate process
If Uncommitted Funds > 0.05 * Prior Year Total Budget, then Budget Credit = Uncommitted Funds
Each electric distribution utility may request reimbursement from the DPS for the incremental cost of adding the notice to a bill insert or newsletter which otherwise would be issued to its customers, or, if the electric distribution utility is unable to provide a bill insert or newsletter, the electric distribution utility may request reimbursement from the DPS for the incremental cost of the form of notice approved by the Clerk of the Board. Any requests for reimbursement must be received by the DPS by February 20 of the year in which the new Energy Efficiency Charge rates will take effect.
30-051 Code Vt. R. 30-000-051-X
October 24, 1972
AMENDED:
December 2017 [agency name change from Public Service Board; rule renumbered from 30 000 012]
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 30 V.S.A. Ch. 5, § 248