H. B. 4277
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and
Delegate Ashley)
[Introduced February 5, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article two, chapter twenty-four of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, relating to legislative findings on electric
service; providing jurisdiction of the public service
commission to determine public interest in permitting retail
customers in West Virginia to obtain direct access to
competitive markets for their power supply; prescribing a
plan to allow deregulation of existing utility generation
assets and access by retail customers to competitive
electric power supply markets and establish standards and
procedures therefor, if the commission determines that such
a plan is in the public interest; prescribing procedures
and standards for the marketing of power supply in the
state; issuing reports on findings and on the potential state and local tax consequences of any plan adopted by the
commission; and retaining continuing jurisdiction to modify
or rescind any plan adopted and implemented by the
commission.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter twenty-four of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
§24-2-18. Legislative findings on electric service; jurisdiction
of the commission to determine public interest in permitting retail access to competitive power supply markets; establish standards and procedures for the marketing of power supply; continuing jurisdiction; certain reports required.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds that:
(1) Electric service is essential to the health and well-being
of residents, to public safety and to orderly economic
development, and that the cost of electricity is an important
factor in decisions made by businesses concerning locating,
expanding and retaining facilities in West Virginia. Therefore,
reliable electric service should continue to be available to all customers at reasonable rates and on reasonable terms and
conditions;
(2) Many state governments have been studying policies that
would create a competitive market for the supply of electricity;
(3) The public service commission of West Virginia is the
appropriate agency to determine whether West Virginia should
adopt a plan whereby users of electricity in the state have open
access across existing and new utility delivery systems to a
competitive market for power supply. The commission may not
adopt any such plan unless it finds that the plan fairly balances
the interests of the electric utilities, their customers, and the
state's economy and that the plan:
(A) Is in the best interest of West Virginia electric energy
consumers;
(B) Results in potential benefits available for all customers,
considering that while some customers may be immediately
benefited by reductions in electricity costs, depending on their
individual needs and choices, no customer should be worse off;
(C) Preserves universal electric service at reasonable rates;
(D) Maintains reasonable standards of safety and reliability
of electric service;
(E) Does not impact compliance with environmental rules;
(F) Considers and maintains the public benefits of energy efficiency, renewable resource technology and research and
development;
(G) Encourages the continued and expanded use of West Virginia
coal, oil, natural gas and other energy resources;
(H) Assures that customers have meaningful choices among
electricity providers and that customers are protected from
anticompetitive behavior, poor service and unfair billing,
collection or disconnection procedures;
(I) Is conditioned upon workable competition with a level
playing field for all buyers and sellers, and provides for a code
of conduct for electric service providers to be established by
commission rule; and
(J) Assures that existing commitments of utilities arising
from past decisions made pursuant to historical regulatory and
legal principles are addressed in a fair and reasonable manner,
considering the financial integrity of the utilities.
(4) Restructuring of the electric utility industry should
reasonably preserve tax revenues for state and local governments,
not result in a shift of the tax burden to any customer or
customer group and that the tax system not result in a
disadvantage to any competitor in the market place.
(b) In addition to all other powers and duties the commission
is authorized to:
(1) Determine whether it is in the public interest to permit
retail customers in West Virginia to obtain direct access to
competitive markets for their supply of electricity and if that
determination is made:
(A) Prescribe a plan and adopt rules, standards and procedures
to allow deregulation of existing utility generation assets and
direct access by retail customers to competitive electric power
supply markets consistent with the legislative findings set forth
in this section while maintaining the safety and reliability of
the electric system for all parties;
(B) Prescribe, by order or rules, procedures and standards for
the marketing of power supply in the state; and
(C) Resolve all issues necessary to provide for an orderly
transition from the current regulated structure to a system of
direct retail access in a fully workable competitive power supply
market in a manner that is fair to customers, electric utilities
and other affected parties.
(c) After the adoption and implementation of a plan, rules,
procedures and standards the commission shall retain authority
and jurisdiction to modify or rescind the plan, if, upon
application to the commission or upon the commission's own
motion, and after notice and hearing, the commission finds that
it is in the public interest to do so, after a finding that a substantial change in state or federal law or court decision
necessitates the rescission or modification to continue to meet
the legislative findings in this section or the commission
determines that for any other reason the plan is not meeting the
legislative findings set forth in this section. The
implementation of any plan through an order of the commission
pursuant to this section does not amend existing provisions of
this code, except as specifically herein modified.
(d) If the commission adopts any plan pursuant to this section
prior to the fifteenth day of January, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, the plan will become effective as ordered by the
commission, but before the fifteenth day of March, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine. If the commission adopts any plan
pursuant to this section after the fifteenth day of January, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, but before the thirty-first
day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, or any
subsequent year, the plan will become effective as ordered by the
commission, but not before the fifteenth day of April of the year
following the year in which the plan is adopted. Upon the
adoption of the plan, the commission shall issue a report on the
potential state or local tax consequences to the governor, the
president of the state Senate and the speaker of the House of
Delegates, along with recommendations for statutory changes, if any are necessary, to satisfy the legislative findings specified
in subdivision (4), subsection (a), section eighteen, article
two, chapter twenty-four of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the public
service commission, if it determines that it is appropriate to do
so, to prescribe and implement a plan whereby retail customers in
West Virginia could obtain direct access to competitive markets
for their electric power supply.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.