HOUSE BILL NO. 645
INTRODUCED BY J. MANGAN, F. THOMAS
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING AN ELECTRICAL ENERGY POOL; AUTHORIZING THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO REQUIRE A DEFAULT SUPPLIER, A DISTRIBUTION SERVICES PROVIDER, AND A PUBLIC UTILITY SERVING MONTANA CUSTOMERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY POOL; PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS; REQUIRING THE DEFAULT SUPPLIER, THE DISTRIBUTION SERVICES PROVIDER, AND THE PUBLIC UTILITY TO ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY POOL; AUTHORIZING THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY POOL TO MARKET THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY MADE AVAILABLE BY THE CUSTOMERS PARTICIPATING IN THE POOL TO OTHER MONTANA CUSTOMERS; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND A TERMINATION DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Electrical energy pool -- exchange program -- exceptions. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), the public service commission may require a default supplier, a distribution services provider, and a public utility to participate in an electrical energy pool. The purpose of the electrical energy pool is to make electrical energy available for resale through the conservation efforts of the customers contracting to become members of the electrical energy pool. The electrical energy pool must be administered by a public utility that has filed a transition plan with the commission.
(b) This section does not apply to a rural electric cooperative organized under the provisions of Title 35, chapter 18, or to a municipal electric utility described in 69-8-103(5)(b).
(2) During the transition period, an electrical energy supplier that is providing electrical energy to customers who are being served by a default supplier and who are participating in the electrical energy pool shall allow the electrical energy that is curtailed or conserved by those customers to be assigned to or sold to the electrical energy pool.
(3) A default supplier, a distribution services provider, and a public utility shall make participation in the electrical energy pool available to all customers. The electrical energy pool must include electrical energy made available by reduced consumption by customers and may include electrical energy from a generator or supplier selling or assigning electrical energy to the electrical energy pool.
(4) If a generator or supplier offers to sell or assign electrical energy to the electrical energy pool for distribution to Montana customers who are paying market rates or rates under another class, the commission shall determine whether to accept the electrical energy into the pool and may place conditions upon the sale or assignment.
(5) If a customer receiving electrical energy at or below regulated rates reduces the customer's electrical energy use from the customer's base period consumption, the distribution services provider shall assign the electrical energy to the electrical energy pool, as required by the commission.
(6) A customer's base period consumption is equal to the customer's weather-normalized electrical energy consumption during the same month in the base year. A customer reducing electrical energy usage from the base period consumption must receive a credit on the customer's electrical energy bill for the month equal to the amount of reduction in electrical energy use multiplied by a rate established by the commission. The rate established by the commission must be established to provide a sufficient incentive to the customer while maintaining an electrical energy pool rate beneficial to the Montana customer purchasing the electrical energy.
(7) A default supplier, a distribution services provider, or a public utility that provides services to administer the electrical energy pool must be allowed to recover its costs for providing the services in the manner determined by the commission.
(8) All electrical energy purchased from the electrical energy pool must be used by the customer for its facilities or operations in Montana. Electrical energy purchased from the electrical energy pool may not be resold by a customer for a profit. A customer receiving electrical energy from the electrical energy pool and providing onsite generation may not use the energy received from the pool to augment or supplement off-system sales of the electrical energy generated at the site.
(9) Subject to subsections (2) through (8), the commission:
(a) shall determine the rate for electrical energy pool sales and purchases of electrical energy from customer curtailments or conservation, the criteria for participation by buyers and sellers, and the method for allocation of available electrical energy to participating buying customers. The method of allocation must provide a preference for irrigation.
(b) shall adopt guidelines, criteria, methods, rates, and rules that it considers necessary to implement the electrical energy pool on an urgent basis in a manner that will afford relief to customers paying market rates as soon as possible; and
(c) may not discriminate among customers buying from the electrical energy pool by price or customer operating cost, but may take into account existing rate classes.
(10) The rules or tariffs to administer the electrical energy pool must be developed before July 1, 2001.
(11) The resale rate from the electrical energy pool to be paid by purchasing customers, as determined by the commission, must be sufficient to cover the full amount of the incentives paid to contracting customers and any other costs of the electrical energy pool.
(12) The default supplier is the successor in interest to the electrical energy pool. The default supplier may allocate any electrical energy or cash remaining in the electrical energy pool on June 30, 2002, among its customers.
(13) As used in this section, "conservation efforts" means demand reductions on the utility system achieved by the contracting customer through improving efficiency or reducing energy use. The term does not include shifting demand from the utility to a nonutility supply source.
Section 2. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 69, chapter 8, and the provisions of Title 69, chapter 8, apply to [section 1].
Section 3. Severability. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.
Section 4. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
Section 5. Termination. [This act] terminates June 30, 2002.
- END -
Latest Version of HB 645 (HB0645.ENR)
Processed for the Web on April 25, 2001 (11:58AM)
New language in a bill appears underlined, deleted material appears stricken.
Sponsor names are handwritten on introduced bills, hence do not appear on the bill until it is reprinted. See the status of this bill for the bill's primary sponsor.
Status of this Bill | 2001 Legislature | Leg. Branch Home
All versions of this bill (PDF Format)
Authorized print version w/line numbers (PDF format)
(406)444-3064