FIRST REGULAR SESSION
95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES KRAUS (Sponsor), BIVINS, YATES, LeVOTA, TALBOY, HOLSMAN, LARGENT, JONES (117) AND ZIMMERMAN (Co-sponsors).
2133L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 393, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to energy efficiency investments by electric and gas corporations.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 393, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 393.1124, to read as follows:
393.1124. 1. This section shall be known as the "Missouri Residential and Small Business Energy Efficiency Investment Act".
2. The public service commission shall permit electric and gas corporations to implement commission-approved energy efficiency programs proposed under this section. Recovery for such programs shall not be permitted unless the programs provide benefits to all customers in the customer class for which the program is proposed, regardless of whether the program is utilized by all customers.
3. The commission shall develop cost recovery mechanisms that value energy efficiency investments equal to or better than traditional supply side investments. Such mechanisms shall include the capitalization of investments in and expenditures for energy efficiency programs and a recovery of lost sales attributable to approved energy efficiency programs. The commission may also develop cost recovery mechanisms to further encourage investments in energy efficiency including, in combination and without limitation: an incentive rate of return higher than the rate of return on other investments, accelerated depreciation on energy efficiency investments, allowing the utility to retain a portion of the net benefits of an energy efficiency program for its shareholders, allowing the utility a fixed investment recovery mechanism to recover lost margins, and a cost adjustment clause for collection of costs associated with energy efficiency programs.
4. The commission may reduce or exempt allocation of energy efficiency expenditures to low income classes, as defined in an appropriate rate proceeding, as a subclass of residential service. No customer in any rate class shall pay more than five thousand dollars a month to support programs authorized under this section; provided, however, for any customer consuming more than one million five hundred thousand megawatts per hour of electricity per year, the maximum monthly payment for programs authorized under this section shall be the greater of one percent of the average monthly cost of electricity over the previous three years or five thousand dollars. No customer shall receive excessive benefits from any energy efficiency program. The cap shall not include any charges associated with customer-specific energy efficiency programs mutually agreed to by the customer and the utility. Notwithstanding any other statute or commission rules, this section explicitly provides the commission authority to approve low income tariffs.
5. The commission shall provide oversight and may adopt rules and procedures and approve corporation-specific settlements and tariff provisions, as necessary, to ensure that electric and gas corporations can achieve the goals of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, RSMo, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, and, if applicable, section 536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo, to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2009, shall be invalid and void.
6. Each electric and gas corporation shall submit an annual report to the commission describing the energy efficiency programs implemented by the utility in the previous year. The report shall document program expenditures, including incentive payments, peak demand and energy savings impacts and the techniques used to estimate those impacts, avoided costs and the techniques used to estimate those costs, the estimated cost-effectiveness of the energy efficiency programs, and the net economic benefits of the energy efficiency programs.
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