Bill Text: CT SB01157 | 2011 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Concerning The Restoration Of The Energy Conservation And Load Management Fund.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-12 - House Calendar Number 505 [SB01157 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2011-SB01157-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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January Session, 2011 |
*_____SB01157FIN___041811____* |
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RESTORATION OF THE ENERGY CONSERVATION AND LOAD MANAGEMENT FUND.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) For purposes of the cumulative monthly financial statement prepared by the Comptroller pursuant to section 3-115 of the general statutes, and issued in May, 2011, said statement shall be prepared without taking into account any reduction to the economic recovery transfer directed by sections 16-245e of the general statutes, as amended by this act, 16-245f of the general statutes, as amended by this act, 16-245j of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and 16-245m of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and said statement shall specify that any General Fund surplus projected in said statement was determined without taking into account such reduction to the economic recovery transfer.
(b) The Comptroller shall include in said statement the revised amount of the economic recovery transfer to be paid from the proceeds of the economic recovery revenue bonds after any estimated surplus in such statement has been used to reduce such economic recovery transfer.
Sec. 2. Subdivisions (19) and (20) of subsection (a) of section 16-245e of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(19) "Economic recovery transfer" means the disbursement to the General Fund of nine hundred fifty-six million dollars from proceeds of the issuance of the economic recovery revenue bonds, which disbursement shall be reduced as provided in section 139 of public act 10-179 and, notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-30b, shall be reduced further by an amount equal to the estimated General Fund surplus as of June 30, 2011, as reflected in the Comptroller's May cumulative monthly financial statement, issued pursuant to section 3-115 and in accordance with section 1 of this act; and
(20) "Economic recovery revenue bonds" means rate reduction bonds issued to fund the economic recovery transfer, the costs of issuance, credit enhancements, operating expenses and such other costs as the finance authority deems necessary or advisable, and which shall be payable from competitive transition assessment charges that replace the competitive transition assessment charges funding stranded costs. [and that are offset in part by decreases to the charges funding the Energy Conservation and Load Management Fund, as provided in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-245m.]
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 16-245f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) Prior to September 1, 2010, each electric distribution company shall submit to the department an application for a financing order with respect to funding the economic recovery transfer through the issuance of economic recovery revenue bonds. The department shall hold a hearing for each such electric distribution company to determine the amount necessary to fund the economic recovery transfer, the payment of economic recovery revenue bonds, costs of issuance, credit enhancements and operating expenses for the economic recovery revenue bonds. Such amount as determined by the department shall constitute transition property. The department shall allocate the responsibility for the funding of the economic recovery transfer and the expenses of the economic recovery revenue bonds equitably between the electric distribution companies. Such allocation may provide that the respective charges payable by the customers of each electric distribution company may commence on different dates and that such rates may vary over the period the economic recovery revenue bonds and the related operating expenses are being paid, provided (1) such charges are equitably allocated to the customers of each electric distribution company, and (2) the department determines that, over such period, and taking into account the timing of charges, the charges on a kilowatt hour basis assessed to the customers of the respective electric distribution companies have substantially the same present value after consultation with the finance authority as to the discount rate to be used in determining such present value. Any hearing with respect to a financing order in respect to the economic recovery transfer and the issuance of economic recovery revenue bonds shall not be a contested case, as defined in section 4-166. The department shall issue a financing order in respect to the economic recovery revenue bonds for each electric distribution company on or before October 1, 2010. In such financing order, the department shall determine the competitive transition assessment in respect of the economic recovery revenue bonds, which shall not be assessed prior to June 30, 2011, unless the department sets an earlier date in the financing order. [A] If there are decreases to the charges as provided in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-245m, as amended by this act, a component of the competitive transition assessment in respect of the economic recovery revenue bonds shall be equal to the decreases to the charges provided in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-245m, as amended by this act, funding the Energy Conservation and Load Management Fund. The portion of the competitive transition assessment in respect to the economic recovery revenue bonds equal to such decreases shall be assessed and collected from the date such charges are reduced pursuant to the financing order. The department may provide in such financing order that money from other sources, including proceeds of charges assessed customers of municipal electric companies, transferred to the trustee under the indenture and intended to be used to pay debt service on the bonds shall be taken into account in making adjustments to the competitive transition assessment pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 16-245i if such payment is not made from General Fund revenues and would not adversely affect the tax status or credit rating of economic recovery revenue bonds.
Sec. 4. Subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of section 16-245j of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(4) (A) The proceeds of any rate reduction bonds, other than economic recovery revenue bonds, shall be used for the purposes approved by the department in the financing order, including, but not limited to, disbursements to the General Fund in substitution for such disbursements from the Energy Conservation and Load Management Fund established by section 16-245m and from the Renewable Energy Investment Fund established by section 16-245n, the costs of refinancing or retiring of debt of the electric company or electric distribution company, and associated federal and state tax liabilities; provided such proceeds shall not be applied to purchase generation assets or to purchase or redeem stock or to pay dividends to shareholders or operating expenses other than taxes resulting from the receipt of such proceeds.
(B) The proceeds of any economic recovery revenue bonds shall be used for the purposes approved by the department in the financing order, including, but not limited to, funding the economic recovery transfer, provided such proceeds shall not be applied to purchase generation assets or to purchase or redeem stock or to pay dividends to shareholders or operating expenses other than taxes resulting from the receipt of such proceeds.
(C) The finance authority is authorized, without any further proceeding before the department, to structure the terms of the economic recovery revenue bonds by applying the provisions of the financing order for the economic recovery revenue bonds and the provisions of sections 16-245e to 16-245m, inclusive, as amended by this act.
Sec. 5. Subsection (d) of section 16-245j of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(d) Any rate reduction bonds issued or sold pursuant to or in reliance on and in accordance with any financing order issued by the department pursuant to sections 16-245e to 16-245k, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be valid and binding and the transition property from which such bonds are payable shall be enforceable in accordance with their terms, notwithstanding such financing order is later vacated, modified, or otherwise held to be wholly or partly invalid, unless operation of such financing order has been enjoined, stayed, or suspended by the department or a court of competent jurisdiction prior to such issuance.
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 16-245m of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) (1) On and after January 1, 2000, the Department of Public Utility Control shall assess or cause to be assessed a charge of three mills per kilowatt hour of electricity sold to each end use customer of an electric distribution company to be used to implement the program as provided in this section for conservation and load management programs but not for the amortization of costs incurred prior to July 1, 1997, for such conservation and load management programs.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, receipts from such charge shall be disbursed to the resources of the General Fund during the period from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, unless the department shall, on or before October 30, 2003, issue a financing order for each affected electric distribution company in accordance with sections 16-245e to 16-245k, inclusive, as amended by this act, to sustain funding of conservation and load management programs by substituting an equivalent amount, as determined by the department in such financing order, of proceeds of rate reduction bonds for disbursement to the resources of the General Fund during the period from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005. The department may authorize in such financing order the issuance of rate reduction bonds that substitute for disbursement to the General Fund for receipts of both the charge under this subsection and under subsection (b) of section 16-245n and also may, in its discretion, authorize the issuance of rate reduction bonds under this subsection and subsection (b) of section 16-245n that relate to more than one electric distribution company. The department shall, in such financing order or other appropriate order, offset any increase in the competitive transition assessment necessary to pay principal, premium, if any, interest and expenses of the issuance of such rate reduction bonds by making an equivalent reduction to the charge imposed under this subsection, provided any failure to offset all or any portion of such increase in the competitive transition assessment shall not affect the need to implement the full amount of such increase as required by this subsection and by sections 16-245e to 16-245k, inclusive, as amended by this act. Such financing order shall also provide if the rate reduction bonds are not issued, any unrecovered funds expended and committed by the electric distribution companies for conservation and load management programs, provided such expenditures were approved by the department after August 20, 2003, and prior to the date of determination that the rate reduction bonds cannot be issued, shall be recovered by the companies from their respective competitive transition assessment or systems benefits charge but such expenditures shall not exceed four million dollars per month. All receipts from the remaining charge imposed under this subsection, after reduction of such charge to offset the increase in the competitive transition assessment as provided in this subsection, shall be disbursed to the Energy Conservation and Load Management Fund commencing as of July 1, 2003. Any increase in the competitive transition assessment or decrease in the conservation and load management component of an electric distribution company's rates resulting from the issuance of or obligations under rate reduction bonds shall be included as rate adjustments on customer bills.
(3) (A) In the financing order authorizing the economic recovery revenue bonds, or other appropriate order, the department shall reduce the charge assessed by subdivision (1) of this subsection by thirty-five per cent. Such reduction shall become effective on April 4, 2012, or such earlier date set by the department in the financing order. An amount equivalent to such reduction shall constitute a portion of the competitive transition assessment in respect of the economic recovery revenue bonds, provided any failure to offset all or any portion of such competitive transition assessment shall not affect the requirement to implement the full amount of such competitive transition assessment, as required by sections 16-245e to 16-245k, inclusive. All receipts from the remaining charge, after reduction of such charge as provided in this subsection, shall be disbursed to the Energy Conservation and Load Management Fund. The competitive transition assessment in respect to the economic recovery revenue bonds or the decrease in the conservation and load management component of an electric distribution company's rates resulting from the issuance of or obligations under the economic recovery revenue bonds shall be included as rate adjustments on customer bills.
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, there shall be no reduction in the charge assessed by subdivision (1) of this subsection if the economic recovery transfer is reduced by one hundred sixty-six million six hundred thousand dollars, or more, because the amount of the estimated General Fund surplus contained in the cumulative monthly statement prepared by the Comptroller pursuant to section 3-115 and section 1 of this act is equal to or exceeds said amount. If the economic recovery transfer is reduced by less than one hundred sixty-six million six hundred thousand dollars because the amount of the estimated General Fund surplus contained in said statement is less than said amount, the amount of the reduction to the charge assessed in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be the same percentage of thirty-five per cent as the reduction of the economic recovery transfer described in subdivision (19) of subsection (a) of section 16-245e, as amended by this act, is to one hundred sixty-six million six hundred thousand dollars, as calculated by the finance authority.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
from passage |
New section |
Sec. 2 |
from passage |
16-245e(a)(19) and (20) |
Sec. 3 |
from passage |
16-245f(b) |
Sec. 4 |
from passage |
16-245j(c)(4) |
Sec. 5 |
from passage |
16-245j(d) |
Sec. 6 |
from passage |
16-245m(a) |
FIN |
Joint Favorable Subst. |