ASSEMBLY ACTION Initial and Date |SENATE ACTION Initial and Date
Adopted Lost | Adopted Lost
Concurred In Not |Concurred In Not
Receded Not | Receded Not
Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sec. 3, renumbering sections 1 and 2 as sections 3 and 4 and adding new sections designated sections 1 and 2, following the enacting clause, to read as follows:
“Section 1. NRS 703.330 is hereby amended to read as follows:
703.330 1. A complete record must be kept of all hearings before the Commission. All testimony at such hearings must be taken down by the stenographer appointed by the Commission [,] or, under the direction of any competent person appointed by the Commission, must be reported by sound recording equipment in the manner authorized for reporting testimony in district courts. The testimony reported by a stenographer must be transcribed, and the transcript filed with the record in the matter. The Commission may by regulation provide for the transcription or safekeeping of sound recordings. [Cost] The costs of recording and transcribing testimony at any hearing, except those hearings ordered pursuant to NRS 703.310, must be paid by the applicant. If a complaint is made pursuant to NRS 703.310 by a customer or by a political subdivision of the State or municipal organization, the complainant is not liable for any costs. Otherwise, if there are several applicants or parties to any hearing, the Commission may apportion the costs among them in its discretion.
2. If a petition is served upon the Commission as provided in NRS 703.373 for the bringing of an action against the Commission, before the action is reached for trial, the Commission shall file a certified copy of all proceedings and testimony taken with the clerk of the court in which the action is pending.
3. A copy of the proceedings and testimony must be furnished to any party, on payment of a reasonable amount [,] to be fixed by the Commission, and the amount must be the same for all parties.
4. The provisions of this section do not prohibit the Commission from:
(a) Restricting access to the records and transcripts of a hearing pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 3 of NRS 703.196.
(b) Protecting the confidentiality of information pursuant to NRS 704B.310 or 704B.320 [.] or section 7 of this act.
Sec. 2. NRS 704.185 is hereby amended to read as follows:
704.185 1. A public utility which purchases natural gas for resale may record upon its books and records in deferred accounts all cost increases or decreases in the natural gas purchased for resale . [in deferred accounts.] Any public utility which [utilizes] uses deferred accounting to reflect changes in costs of natural gas purchased for resale shall include in its annual report to the Commission a statement showing the allocated rate of return for each of its operating departments in Nevada which uses deferred accounting.
2. If the rate of return for any department using deferred accounting pursuant to subsection 1 is greater than the rate of return allowed by the Commission in the last rate proceeding, the Commission shall order the utility which recovered any costs of natural gas purchased for resale through rates during the reported period to transfer to the next energy adjustment period that portion of such recovered amounts which exceeds the authorized rate of return.
3. A public utility which purchases natural gas for resale may request approval from the Commission to record upon its books and records in deferred accounts any other cost or revenue which the Commission deems appropriate for deferred accounting and which is not otherwise subject to the provisions of subsections 1 and 2. If the Commission approves such a request, the Commission shall determine the appropriate requirements for reporting and recovery that the public utility must follow with regard to each such deferred account.”.
Amend the bill as a whole by adding new sections designated sections 5 through 12, following sec. 2, to read as follows:
“Sec. 5. Chapter 704B of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 6 and 7 of this act.
Sec. 6. “Consumer’s Advocate” means the Consumer’s Advocate of the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General.
Sec. 7. 1. An eligible customer that is purchasing energy, capacity or ancillary services from a provider of new electric resources may purchase energy, capacity or ancillary services from an alternative provider without obtaining the approval of the Commission if the terms and conditions of the transaction with the alternative provider, other than the price of the energy, capacity or ancillary services, conform to the terms and conditions of the transaction that was originally approved by the Commission with respect to the eligible customer.
2. If any terms and conditions of the transaction with the alternative provider, other than the price of the energy, capacity or ancillary services, do not conform to the terms and conditions of the transaction that was originally approved by the Commission with respect to the eligible customer, the eligible customer must obtain approval from the Commission before those nonconforming terms and conditions are enforceable.
3. If the eligible customer files a request with the Commission for approval of any nonconforming terms and conditions, the Commission shall review and make a determination concerning the request on an expedited basis.
4. Notwithstanding any specific statute to the contrary, information concerning any terms and conditions of the transaction with the alternative provider that the Commission determines are commercially sensitive:
(a) Must not be disclosed by the Commission except to the regulatory operations staff of the Commission, the Consumer’s Advocate and his staff and the affected electric utility for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section; and
(b) Shall be deemed to be confidential for all other purposes, and the Commission shall take such actions as are necessary to protect the confidentiality of such information.
Sec. 8. NRS 704B.010 is hereby amended to read as follows:
704B.010 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 704B.020 to 704B.140, inclusive, and section 6 of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
Sec. 9. NRS 704B.300 is hereby amended to read as follows:
704B.300 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a provider of new electric resources may sell energy, capacity or ancillary services to one or more eligible customers if [the] :
(a) The eligible customers have been approved to purchase energy, capacity and ancillary services from the provider pursuant to the provisions of NRS 704B.310 and 704B.320 [.] ; or
(b) The transaction complies with the provisions of section 7 of this act.
2. A provider of new electric resources shall not sell energy, capacity or ancillary services to an eligible customer [:
(a) Before April 1, 2002, if the eligible customer’s load is in the service territory of an electric utility that primarily serves less densely populated counties;
(b) Before June 1, 2002, if the eligible customer’s load is in the service territory of an electric utility that primarily serves densely populated counties; or
(c) If] if the transaction violates the provisions of this chapter.
3. A provider of new electric resources that sells energy, capacity or ancillary services to an eligible customer pursuant to the provisions of this chapter:
(a) Does not become and shall not be deemed to be a public utility solely because of that transaction; and
(b) Does not become and shall not be deemed to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission except as otherwise provided in this chapter or by specific statute.
4. If a provider of new electric resources is not a public utility in this state and is not otherwise authorized by the provisions of a specific statute to sell energy, capacity or ancillary services at retail in this state, the provider shall not sell energy, capacity or ancillary services at retail in this state to a person or entity that is not an eligible customer.
Sec. 10. NRS 704B.310 is hereby amended to read as follows:
704B.310 1. An eligible customer that is purchasing bundled electric service for all or any part of its load from an electric utility shall not purchase energy, capacity or ancillary services from a provider of new electric resources [and an eligible customer that is purchasing energy, capacity or ancillary services from a provider of new electric resources shall not purchase energy, capacity or ancillary services from another provider] unless:
(a) The eligible customer files an application with the Commission not later than 180 days before the date on which the eligible customer intends to begin purchasing energy, capacity or ancillary services from the provider [;] , except that the Commission may allow the eligible customer to file the application within any shorter period that the Commission deems appropriate; and
(b) The Commission approves the application by a written order issued in accordance with the provisions of this section and NRS 704B.320.
[
FLUSH
The date on which
the eligible customer intends to begin purchasing energy, capacity or ancillary
services from the provider must not be sooner than the date on which the
provider is authorized by NRS 704B.300 to begin selling energy, capacity or ancillary
services to the eligible customer.]
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, each application filed pursuant to this section must include:
(a) Information demonstrating that the person filing the application is an eligible customer;
(b) Information demonstrating that the proposed provider will provide energy, capacity or ancillary services from a new electric resource;
(c) Information concerning the terms and conditions of the proposed transaction that is necessary for the Commission to evaluate the impact of the proposed transaction on customers and the public interest, including, without limitation, information concerning the duration of the proposed transaction and the amount of energy, capacity or ancillary services to be purchased from the provider; and
(d) Any other information required pursuant to the regulations adopted by the Commission.
3. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 704B.320, the Commission shall not require the eligible customer or provider to disclose:
(a) The price that is being paid by the eligible customer to purchase energy, capacity or ancillary services from the provider; or
(b) Any other terms or conditions of the proposed transaction that the Commission determines are commercially sensitive.
4. The Commission shall provide public notice of the application of the eligible customer and an opportunity for a hearing on the application in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of NRS 703.320 and the regulations adopted by the Commission.
5. The Commission shall approve the application of the eligible customer unless the Commission finds that the proposed transaction:
(a) Will be contrary to the public interest; or
(b) Does not comply with the provisions of NRS 704B.320, if those provisions apply to the proposed transaction.
6. In determining whether the proposed transaction will be contrary to the public interest, the Commission shall consider, without limitation:
(a) Whether the electric utility that has been providing electric service to the eligible customer will be burdened by increased costs as a result of the proposed transaction or whether any remaining customer of the electric utility will pay increased costs for electric service as a result of the proposed transaction;
(b) Whether the proposed transaction will impair system reliability or the ability of the electric utility to provide electric service to its remaining customers; and
(c) Whether the proposed transaction will add energy, capacity or ancillary services to the supply in this state.
7. If the Commission approves the application of the eligible customer:
(a) The eligible customer shall not begin purchasing energy, capacity or ancillary services from the provider pursuant to the proposed transaction sooner than 180 days after the date on which the application was filed [;] , unless the Commission allows the eligible customer to begin purchasing energy, capacity or ancillary services from the provider at an earlier date; and
(b) The Commission shall order such terms, conditions and payments as the Commission deems necessary and appropriate to ensure that the proposed transaction will not be contrary to the public interest. Such terms, conditions and payments:
(1) Must be fair and nondiscriminatory as between the eligible customer and the remaining customers of the electric utility; and
(2) Must include, without limitation, payment by the eligible customer to the electric utility of the eligible customer’s load-share portion of any unrecovered balance in the deferred accounts of the electric utility.
8. If the Commission does not enter a final order on the application of the eligible customer within [90] 150 days after the date on which the application was filed with the Commission:
(a) The application shall be deemed to be approved by the Commission; and
(b) The eligible customer [shall not] may begin purchasing energy, capacity or ancillary services from the provider pursuant to the proposed transaction . [sooner than 180 days after the date on which the application was filed.]
Sec. 11. NRS 704B.320 is hereby amended to read as follows:
704B.320 1. For eligible customers whose loads are in the service territory of an electric utility that primarily serves densely populated counties, the aggregate amount of energy that all such eligible customers purchase from providers of new electric resources before July 1, 2003, must not exceed 50 percent of the difference between the existing supply of energy generated in this state that is available to the electric utility and the existing demand for energy in this state that is consumed by the customers of the electric utility, as determined by the Commission.
2. An eligible customer that is a nongovernmental commercial or industrial end-use customer whose load is in the service territory of an electric utility that primarily serves densely populated counties shall not purchase energy, capacity or ancillary services from a provider of new electric resources unless, as part of the proposed transaction, the eligible customer agrees to:
(a) Contract with the provider to purchase:
(1) An additional amount of energy which is equal to 10 percent of the total amount of energy that the eligible customer is purchasing for its own use under the proposed transaction and which is purchased at the same price, terms and conditions as the energy purchased by the eligible customer for its own use; and
(2) The capacity and ancillary services associated with the additional amount of energy at the same price, terms and conditions as the capacity and ancillary services purchased by the eligible customer for its own use; and
(b) Offers to assign the rights to the contract to the electric utility for use by the remaining customers of the electric utility.
3. If an eligible customer is subject to the provisions of subsection 2, the eligible customer shall include with its application filed pursuant to NRS 704B.310 all information concerning the contract offered to the electric utility that is necessary for the Commission to determine whether it is in the best interest of the remaining customers of the electric utility for the electric utility to accept the rights to the contract. Such information must include, without limitation, the amount of the energy and capacity to be purchased under the contract, the price of the energy, capacity and ancillary services and the duration of the contract.
4. Notwithstanding any specific statute to the contrary, information concerning the price of the energy, capacity and ancillary services and any other terms or conditions of the contract that the Commission determines are commercially sensitive:
(a) Must not be disclosed by the Commission except to the regulatory operations staff of the Commission, the Consumer’s Advocate and his staff and the electric utility for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section; and
(b) Shall be deemed to be confidential for all other purposes, and the Commission shall take such actions as are necessary to protect the confidentiality of such information.
5. If the Commission determines that the contract:
(a) Is not in the best interest of the remaining customers of the electric utility, the electric utility shall not accept the rights to the contract, and the eligible customer is entitled to all rights to the contract.
(b) Is in the best interest of the remaining customers of the electric utility, the electric utility shall accept the rights to the contract and the eligible customer shall assign all rights to the contract to the electric utility. A contract that is assigned to the electric utility pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed to be an approved part of the resource plan of the electric utility and a prudent investment, and the electric utility may recover all costs for the energy, capacity and ancillary services acquired pursuant to the contract. To the extent practicable, the Commission shall take actions to ensure that the electric utility uses the energy, capacity and ancillary services acquired pursuant to each such contract only for the benefit of the remaining customers of the electric utility that are not eligible customers, with a preference for the remaining customers of the electric utility that are residential customers with small loads.
6. The provisions of this section do not exempt the electric utility, in whole or in part, from the requirements imposed on the electric utility pursuant to NRS 704.7801 to 704.7828, inclusive, to comply with its portfolio standard for renewable energy. The Commission shall not take any actions pursuant to this section that conflict with or diminish those requirements.
[7. As used in this section, “Consumer’s Advocate” means the Consumer’s Advocate of the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General.]
Sec. 12. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.”.
Amend the title of the bill to read as follows:
“AN ACT relating to utilities; authorizing certain natural gas utilities to use deferred accounting for certain purposes; revising provisions governing the notice that must be provided for an application to obtain a permit for a utility facility; revising certain procedural requirements concerning applications to purchase energy, capacity or ancillary services from a provider of new electric resources; revising various provisions relating to transactions between eligible customers and providers of new electric resources; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.”.
Amend the summary of the bill to read as follows:
“SUMMARY—Makes various changes relating to utilities and providers of new electric resources. (BDR 58‑488)”.