FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 03, 2016
Time Requested: 02:42 PM |
| Agency: |
Public Service Commission |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2338 |
Introduced |
SB498 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Public Service Commission |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
8623
Sources of Revenue:
Special Fund
Legislation creates:
Neither Program nor Fund
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
Depending on the interpretation of the fuel surcharge calculation (see Memorandum explanation below), this draft bill will have no impact on the costs and revenues of the Public Service Commission.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2016
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2017
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
Depending on the interpretation of the fuel surcharge calculation (see Memorandum explanation below), this draft bill will have no impact on the costs and revenues of the Public Service Commission.
Memorandum
Currently, the Public Service Commission calculates the fuel surcharge twice a year. The Commission makes the calculation on a statewide basis, by performing a regression analysis on information obtained from the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, Average Self-Service Cash Price, EIA (Federal Energy Information Administration) and Oil Pricing Information Services (West Virginia). EIA Information is collected weekly and West Virginia information is collected daily. The surcharge may increase or decrease depending upon the inputs for the calculation and is applied only to fees related to equipment that uses fuel. The fuel surcharge is based on diesel information for haulers and tow companies. The taxi cab fuel surcharge requires a similar calculation but uses gasoline prices as inputs.
The proposed legislation is unclear as to whether that method of calculating the fuel surcharge would continue. Specifically, on page 2, line 29, the proposed legislation states that the Public Service Commission will "(4) Review its emergency fuel surcharge policy and, as necessary, develop and implement changes to ensure that any fuel surcharge approved by the commission shall reflect only the amount of fuel actually used by the carrier." is unclear. To the extent that language would require the Commission to perform a different type of calculation – for example, surcharges based on fuel usage by each carrier – implementation could require significant resources, and/or might not be feasible.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Cheryl A. Ranson
Email Address: cranson@psc.state.wv.us