May 29, 2014, Introduced by Rep. Shirkey and referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology.
A bill to amend 1939 PA 3, entitled
"An act to provide for the regulation and control of public and
certain private utilities and other services affected with a public
interest within this state; to provide for alternative energy
suppliers; to provide for licensing; to include municipally owned
utilities and other providers of energy under certain provisions of
this act; to create a public service commission and to prescribe
and define its powers and duties; to abolish the Michigan public
utilities commission and to confer the powers and duties vested by
law on the public service commission; to provide for the
continuance, transfer, and completion of certain matters and
proceedings; to abolish automatic adjustment clauses; to prohibit
certain rate increases without notice and hearing; to qualify
residential energy conservation programs permitted under state law
for certain federal exemption; to create a fund; to provide for a
restructuring of the manner in which energy is provided in this
state; to encourage the utilization of resource recovery
facilities; to prohibit certain acts and practices of providers of
energy; to allow for the securitization of stranded costs; to
reduce rates; to provide for appeals; to provide appropriations; to
declare the effect and purpose of this act; to prescribe remedies
and penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"
by amending section 6m (MCL 460.6m), as added by 1982 PA 304.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 6m. (1) The utility consumer representation fund is
created as a special fund. The state treasurer shall be the
custodian of the fund and shall maintain a separate account of the
money in the fund. The money in the fund shall be invested in the
bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness issued or insured
by the United States government and its agencies, and in prime
commercial paper. The state treasurer shall release money from the
fund, including interest earned, in the manner and at the time
directed by the board.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (6), each energy utility
which
that has applied to the public service commission for the
initiation of an energy cost recovery proceeding shall remit to the
fund
prior to before or upon filing its initial application for
such
a that proceeding, and on or before the first anniversary
of
that application, an amount of money determined by the board in the
following manner:
(a) In the case of an energy utility company serving at least
100,000
customers in this state, an amount which that bears to
$300,000.00, multiplied by a factor as provided in subsection (4),
the same proportion as the company's jurisdictional 1981 total
operating revenues, as stated in its annual report, bear to the
jurisdictional 1981 total operating revenues of all energy utility
companies serving at least 100,000 customers in this state. This
amount shall be made available by the board for use by the attorney
general for the purposes described in subsection (17).
(b) In the case of an energy utility company serving at least
100,000
residential customers in this state, an amount which that
bears to $300,000.00, multiplied by a factor as provided in
subsection (4), the same proportion as the company's jurisdictional
1981 gross revenues from residential tariff sales bear to the
jurisdictional 1981 gross revenues from residential tariff sales of
all energy utility companies serving at least 100,000 residential
customers in this state. This amount shall be used for grants under
subsection (11).
(3) Payments made by an energy utility under subsection (2)(a)
shall
be are operating expenses of the utility which that the
public service commission shall permit the utility to charge to its
customers.
Payments made by a utility under subsection (2)(b) shall
be
are operating expenses of the utility which that the
public
service commission shall permit the utility to charge to its
residential customers.
(4) For purposes of subsection (2), the factor shall be set by
the board at a level not to exceed the percentage increase in the
index known as the consumer price index for urban wage earners and
clerical workers, select areas, all items indexed, for the Detroit
standard metropolitan statistical area, compiled by the bureau of
labor statistics of the United States department of labor, or any
successor
agency, which that has occurred between January 1981 and
January of the year in which the payment is required to be made. In
the event that more than 1 such index is compiled, the index
yielding the largest payment shall be the maximum allowable factor.
The board shall advise utilities of the factor.
(5) On or before the second and succeeding anniversaries of
its initial application for an energy cost recovery proceeding, an
energy utility shall remit to the board amounts equal to 5/6 of the
amounts required under subsection (2).
(6)
The remittance requirements of this section shall do not
apply to an energy utility organized as a cooperative corporation
pursuant
to sections 98 to 109 of Act No. 327 of the Public Acts of
1931,
being sections 450.98 to 450.109 of the Michigan Compiled
Laws,
under sections 98 to 109 of
1931 PA 327, MCL 450.98 to
450.109, and grants from the fund shall not be used to participate
in an energy cost recovery proceeding primarily affecting such a
utility.
(7) In the event of a dispute between the board and an energy
utility about the amount of payment due, the utility shall pay the
undisputed amount and, if the utility and the board cannot agree,
the board may initiate civil action in the circuit court for Ingham
county for recovery of the disputed amount. The commission shall
not accept or take action on an application for an energy cost
recovery proceeding from an energy utility subject to this section
which
that has not fully paid undisputed remittances required
by
this section.
(8) The commission shall not accept or take action on an
application for an energy cost recovery proceeding from an energy
utility subject to this section until 30 days after it has been
notified by the board or the director of the energy administration,
if section 6l(13) is applicable, that the board or the director is
ready to process grant applications, will transfer funds payable to
the
attorney general immediately upon the receipt of such those
funds, and will within 30 days approve grants and remit funds to
qualified grant applicants.
(9) The board may accept a gift or grant from any source to be
deposited in the fund if the conditions or purposes of the gift or
grant are consistent with this section.
(10) The costs of operation and expenses incurred by the board
in performing its duties under this section and section 6l,
including remuneration to board members, shall be paid from the
fund. A maximum of 5% of the annual receipts of the fund may be
budgeted and used to pay expenses other than grants made under
subsection (11).
(11) The net grant proceeds shall finance a grant program from
which
the board may award to an applicant an amount which that the
board determines shall be used for the purposes set forth in this
section.
(12) The board shall create and make available to applicants
an application form. Each applicant shall indicate on the
application how the applicant meets the eligibility requirements
provided for in this section and how the applicant proposes to use
a grant from the fund to participate in 1 or more proceedings as
authorized
in subsection (17) which that
have been or are expected
to be filed. The board shall receive an application requesting a
grant from the fund only from a nonprofit organization or a unit of
local government in this state. The board shall consider only
applications
for grants containing proposals which that are in
keeping
consistent with subsections (17) and (18) and which that
serve the interests of residential utility consumers. For purposes
of making grants, the board may consider protection of the
environment, energy conservation, the creation of employment and a
healthy economy in the state, and the maintenance of adequate
energy
resources. The board shall not consider an application which
that primarily benefits the applicant or a service provided or
administered by the applicant. The board shall not consider an
application from a nonprofit organization if 1 of the
organization's principal interests or unifying principles is the
welfare of a utility or its investors or employees, or the welfare
of 1 or more businesses or industries, other than farms not owned
or
operated by a corporation, which that receive utility service
ordinarily and primarily for use in connection with the profit-
seeking manufacture, sale, or distribution of goods or services.
Mere ownership of securities by a nonprofit organization or its
members
shall does not disqualify an application submitted by that
organization.
(13) The board shall encourage the representation of the
interests of identifiable types of residential utility consumers
whose interests may differ, including various social and economic
classes and areas of the state, and if necessary, may make grants
to more than 1 applicant whose applications are related to a
similar issue to achieve this type of representation. In addition,
the board shall consider and balance the following criteria in
determining whether to make a grant to an applicant:
(a) Evidence of the applicant's competence, experience, and
commitment to advancing the interests of residential utility
consumers.
(b) In the case of a nongovernmental applicant, the extent to
which the applicant is representative of or has a previous history
of advocating the interests of citizens, especially residential
utility consumers.
(c) The anticipated effect of the proposal contained in the
application on residential utility consumers, including the
immediate and long-term impacts of the proposal.
(d) Evidence demonstrating the potential for continuity of
effort and the development of expertise in relation to the proposal
contained in the application.
(e) The uniqueness or innovativeness of an applicant's
position or point of view, and the probability and desirability of
that position or point of view prevailing.
(14) As an alternative to choosing between 2 or more
applications
which that have similar proposals, the board may
invite 2 or more of the applicants to file jointly and award a
grant to be managed cooperatively.
(15) The board shall make disbursements pursuant to a grant in
advance of an applicant's proposed actions as set forth in the
application if necessary to enable the applicant to initiate,
continue, or complete the proposed actions.
(16) Any notice to utility customers and the general public of
hearings or other state proceedings in which grants from the fund
may be used shall contain a notice of the availability of the fund
and the address of the board.
(17) The annual receipts and interest earned, less
administrative costs, may be used only for participation in
administrative and judicial proceedings under sections 6h, 6i, 6j,
and
6k, and in federal administrative and judicial proceedings
which
that directly affect the energy costs paid by Michigan
energy
utilities, and in cost allocation and rate design proceedings under
section
11(3) or (5). Amounts which that have
been in the fund more
than 12 months may be retained in the fund for future grants, or
may be returned to energy utility companies or used to offset their
future remittances in proportion to their previous remittances to
the fund, as the board determines will best serve the interests of
consumers.
(18) The following conditions shall apply to all grants from
the fund:
(a) Disbursements from the fund may be used only to advocate
the interests of energy utility customers or classes of energy
utility customers, and not for representation of merely individual
interests.
(b) The board shall attempt to maintain a reasonable
relationship between the payments from a particular energy utility
and the benefits to consumers of that utility.
(c) The board shall coordinate the funded activities of grant
recipients with those of the attorney general to avoid duplication
of effort, to promote supplementation of effort, and to maximize
the number of hearings and proceedings with intervenor
participation.
(19)
A recipient of a grant pursuant to under subsection (11)
may use the grant only for the advancement of the proposed action
approved by the board, including, but not limited to, costs of
staff, hired consultants and counsel, and research.
(20) A recipient of a grant under subsection (11) shall file a
report with the board within 90 days following the end of the year
or a shorter period for which the grant is made. The report shall
be
made in a form prescribed by the board and shall be is subject
to audit by the board. The report shall include the following
information:
(a) An account of all grant expenditures made by the grant
recipient. Expenditures shall be reported within the following
categories:
(i) Employee and contract for services costs.
(ii) Costs of materials and supplies.
(iii) Filing fees and other costs required to effectively
represent residential utility consumers as provided in this
section.
(b) Any additional information concerning uses of the grant
required by the board.
(21) The attorney general shall file a report with the house
and senate committees on appropriations within 90 days following
the end of each fiscal year. The report shall include the following
information:
(a) An account of all expenditures made by the attorney
general of funds received under this section. Expenditures shall be
reported within the following categories:
(i) Employee and contract for services costs.
(ii) Costs of materials and supplies.
(iii) Filing fees and other costs required to effectively
represent utility consumers as provided in this section.
(b) Any additional information concerning uses of the funds
received under this section required by the committees.
(22) On or before July 1 of each calendar year, the board
shall submit a detailed report to the legislature regarding the
discharge of duties and responsibilities under this section and
section 6l during the preceding calendar year.
(23)
Three years after the effective date of this section, By
October 13, 1985, and at 3-year intervals thereafter, a senate
committee chosen by the majority leader of the senate and a house
committee chosen by the speaker of the house of representatives
shall review the relationship between costs and benefits resulting
from this section and sections 6h through 6l, and may recommend
changes to the legislature.