Section 45:1252 - DefinitionsAs used in this Part:
(1) "Ancillary agreement" means any bond, insurance policy, letter of credit, reserve account, surety bond, swap arrangement, hedging arrangement, liquidity or credit support arrangement, or other financial arrangement entered into in connection with the issuance or payment of investment recovery bonds.(2) "Assignee" means any legal or commercial entity, including but not limited to a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, or other legally recognized entity to which an electric utility sells, assigns, or transfers, other than as security, all or a portion of its interest in or right to investment recovery property. The term also includes any legal or commercial entity to which an assignee sells, assigns, or transfers, other than as security, all or a portion of its interest in or right to investment recovery property.(3) "Commission" means the Louisiana Public Service Commission or, solely with respect to an electric utility furnishing electric service within the city of New Orleans, the council of the city of New Orleans. Each such commission will issue orders under this Part pertaining to those electric utilities subject to that commission's powers of regulation and supervision.(4) "Electric utility" or "utility" means an "electric public utility" as defined in R.S. 45:121 and in addition includes any person furnishing electric service within the city of New Orleans.(5) "Financing costs" means any of the following:(a) Interest and acquisition, defeasance, or redemption premiums that are payable on investment recovery bonds.(b) Any payment required under an ancillary agreement and any amount required to fund or replenish reserve or other accounts established under the terms of any indenture, ancillary agreement, or other financing documents pertaining to investment recovery bonds.(c) Any other cost related to issuing, supporting, repaying, servicing, and refunding investment recovery bonds, including but not limited to servicing fees, accounting and auditing fees, trustee fees, legal fees, consulting fees, administrative fees, printing and edgarizing fees, financial advisor fees, placement and underwriting fees, capitalized interest, rating agency fees, government registration fees, stock exchange listing and compliance fees, and filing fees, including costs related to obtaining the financing order.(d) Any income taxes and license fees imposed on the revenues generated from the collection of investment recovery charges or otherwise resulting from the collection of investment recovery charges, in any such case whether paid, payable, or accrued.(e) Any state and local taxes, franchise, gross receipts, and other taxes or similar charges, including but not limited to regulatory assessment fees, in any such case whether paid, payable, or accrued.(f) Any other costs and charges approved by the commission for inclusion in investment recovery charges.(6) "Financing order" means an order of the commission, if granted by the commission in its sole discretion, which allows for all of the following: (a) The issuance of investment recovery bonds.(b) The imposition, collection, and periodic adjustments of investment recovery charges.(c) The creation of investment recovery property.(d) The sale, assignment, or transfer of investment recovery property to an assignee.(7) "Financing party" means any holder of investment recovery bonds, any party to or beneficiary of an ancillary agreement, and any trustee, collateral agent, or other person acting for the benefit of any of the foregoing.(8) "Financing statement" has the same meaning as that provided in the Uniform Commercial Code-Secured Transactions. All financing statements referenced in this Part shall be filed in accordance with Part 5 of Chapter 9 of Title 10 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes and shall be filed in this state.(9) "Investment recovery bonds" means bonds, debentures, notes, certificates of participation, certificates of ownership, or other evidences of indebtedness or ownership that are issued pursuant to an indenture, contract, or other agreement of an electric utility or an assignee pursuant to a financing order, the proceeds of which are used directly or indirectly to provide, recover, finance, or refinance commission-approved investment recovery costs and financing costs, and which are secured by or payable from investment recovery property. If certificates of participation or ownership are issued, references in this Part to principal, interest, or premium shall be construed to refer to comparable amounts under those certificates. Investment recovery bonds shall be nonrecourse to the credit or any assets of the electric utility other than the investment recovery property as specified in the financing order and any rights under any ancillary agreement. Investment recovery bonds shall be legal investments for all governmental units, financial institutions, insurance companies, fiduciaries, and other persons that require statutory authority regarding legal investment.(10) "Investment recovery charge" means the amounts authorized by the commission to recover, finance, or refinance investment recovery costs and financing costs. If determined appropriate by the commission and provided for in a financing order, such amounts are to be imposed on customer bills and collected by an electric utility or its successors or assignees, or a collection agent, in full through a charge which may be collected as part of the electric utility's base rates, fuel adjustment clauses, or in any other manner deemed appropriate by the commission, for the time period specified in the financing order, paid by existing and future customers receiving transmission or distribution service, or both, from the electric utility or its successors or assignees under rate schedules or special contracts approved by the commission. The commission may provide for payment of such charges even if the customer elects to purchase electricity from an alternative electricity supplier including as the result of a fundamental change in the manner of regulation of public utilities in this state.(11) "Investment recovery costs" means, if requested by the electric utility, and as may be approved by the commission, costs incurred or to be incurred by an electric utility consisting of any of the following:(a) Costs associated with the following:(i) The cancelled construction of electric generating or transmission facilities.(ii) Any other type of capital investment in excess of three hundred fifty million dollars determined by the commission to be suitable for securitization financing under this Part.(b) Costs associated with purchasing or otherwise acquiring long-term supplies of fuel of any type or facilities of any type for the production, delivery, or storage of such supplies before or after use or of waste or other byproducts of such use, including without limitation acquisitions of rights in immovables or movables, whether corporeal or incorporeal, wherever situated, acquisitions of ownership interests in juridical persons that own mineral rights or other rights to fuel supplies, prepaid forward purchases of fuel, and storage of spent nuclear fuel or any waste from the generation of electricity.(c) Any other expenses, unrecovered costs, capital expenditures, or write-offs incurred or to be incurred by the electric utility, including without limitation incremental out-of-pocket costs, write-offs of unpaid customer bills in excess of those provided for in rates, lost contributions to fixed costs, and costs of special rate relief or other credit arrangements extended to customers, as a result of an event designated as a state emergency by the governor if the expenses, unrecovered costs, capital expenditures, or write-offs are approved, in whole or in part, by the commission as eligible for recovery from the ratepayers of the electric utility and the commission determines that securitization is the appropriate means of financing for the expenses, unrecovered costs, capital expenditures, or write-offs after proceedings in accordance with the commission's rules.(d) Costs of repurchasing equity or retiring any existing indebtedness relating to any costs as provided in Subparagraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this Paragraph.(12) "Investment recovery property" means the contract right constituting incorporeal movable property newly created pursuant to this Part which consists of any of the following: (a) The rights and interests of an electric utility or successor or assignee of the electric utility specified under a financing order, including the right to impose, bill, charge, collect, and receive investment recovery charges authorized in the financing order and to obtain periodic adjustments to such charges as may be provided in the financing order.(b) All revenues, collections, claims, rights to payment, payments, money, or proceeds arising from the rights and interests specified in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, regardless of whether such revenues, collections, claims, rights to payment, payments, money, or proceeds are imposed, billed, received, collected, or maintained together with or commingled with other revenues, collections, rights to payment, payments, money, or proceeds.(13) "Lien creditor" means any of the following:(a) A creditor that has acquired a lien on the property involved by attachment, sequestration, seizure, levy, or by similar means.(b) An assignee for benefit of creditors from the time of assignment.(c) A trustee in bankruptcy from the date of the filing of the petition.(d) A receiver in equity from the time of appointment.(14) "Secured party" means a financing party in favor of which an electric utility or its successors or assignees creates a security interest in any or all portions of its interest in or right to investment recovery property. A secured party may be granted a security interest in investment recovery property under this Part and a security interest in other collateral subject to the Uniform Commercial Code--Secured Transactions in one security agreement.(15) "Security interest" means a pledge, hypothecation, or other encumbrance of or other right over any portion of investment recovery property created by contract to secure the payment or performance of an obligation.(16) "Uniform Commercial Code--Secured Transactions" means Chapter 9 of Title 10 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. Acts 2010, No. 988, §2, eff. July 6, 2010; Acts 2020, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 32, §1.Amended by Acts 2020EX1, No. 32,s. 1, eff. 8/29/2020. Acts 2010, No. 988, §2, eff. 7/6/2010.