As used in this article 41, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) Adjustment mechanism means a formula-based mechanism for making
automatic adjustments to CO-EI charges authorized in a financing order and for
making any adjustments that are necessary to correct for overcollection or
undercollection of such charges or otherwise ensure the timely and complete
payment of the CO-EI bonds and all financing costs.
(2) Ancillary agreement means any bond, insurance policy, letter of credit,
reserve account, surety bond, interest rate lock or swap arrangement, hedging
arrangement, liquidity or credit support arrangement, or other financial
arrangement entered into in connection with CO-EI bonds that is designed to
promote the credit quality and marketability of the CO-EI bonds or to mitigate the
risk of an increase in interest rates.
(3) Assignee means any person to which an interest in CO-EI property is
sold, assigned, transferred, or conveyed, other than as security, and any successor
to or subsequent assignee of such a person.
(4) Bondholder means any holder or owner of CO-EI bonds.
(5) CO-EI bonds means Colorado energy impact bonds that are low-cost
corporate securities, such as senior secured bonds, debentures, notes, certificates
of participation, certificates of beneficial interest, certificates of ownership, or
other evidences of indebtedness or ownership that have a scheduled maturity date
as determined reasonable by the commission but not later than thirty-two years
following issuance, that are rated AA or AA2 or better by at least one major
independent credit rating agency at the time of pricing, and that are issued by an
electric utility or an assignee pursuant to a financing order, the proceeds of which
are used, directly or indirectly, to recover, finance, or refinance commission-approved CO-EI costs and financing costs.
(6) CO-EI charge means a charge in an amount authorized by the
commission in a financing order in order to provide a source of revenue solely to
repay, finance, or refinance CO-EI costs and financing costs that are imposed on
and are a part of all customer bills and are collected in full by the electric utility to
which the financing order applies, its successors or assignees, or a collection agent
through a nonbypassable charge that is separate and apart from the electric
utility's base rates.
(7) (a) CO-EI costs means:
(I) (A) At the option of and upon petition by an electric utility, and as
approved by the commission, any of the pretax costs that the electric utility has
incurred or will incur that are caused by, associated with, or remain as a result of
the retirement of an electric generating facility located in the state.
(B) As used in this subsection (7), pretax costs, if approved by the
commission, include, but are not limited to, the unrecovered capitalized cost of a
retired electric generating facility, costs of decommissioning and restoring the site
of the electric generating facility, and other applicable capital and operating costs,
accrued carrying charges, deferred expenses, reductions for applicable insurance
and salvage proceeds and the costs of retiring any existing indebtedness, fees,
costs, and expenses to modify existing debt agreements or for waivers or consents
related to existing debt agreements.
(II) Amounts for assistance to affected workers and communities if approved
by the commission;
(III) Pretax costs that an electric utility has previously incurred related to the
commission-approved closure of an electric generating facility occurring before
May 30, 2019; and
(IV) As approved by the commission, any of the pretax costs associated with
the implementation of an approved program or project to mitigate the effects of
extreme weather, wildfires, climate change, or other hazards, including but not
limited to the costs associated with an electric utility's wildfire mitigation plan that
has been approved by the commission.
(b) CO-EI costs do not include any monetary penalty, fine, or forfeiture
assessed against an electric utility by a government agency or court under a
federal or state environmental statute, rule, or regulation.
(8) CO-EI property means:
(a) All rights and interests of an electric utility or successor or assignee of an
electric utility under a financing order for the right to impose, bill, collect, and
receive CO-EI charges as it is authorized to do solely under the financing order and
to obtain periodic adjustments to such CO-EI charges as provided in the financing
order; and
(b) All revenue, collections, claims, rights to payments, payments, money, or
proceeds arising from the rights and interests specified in subsection (8)(a) of this
section, regardless of whether such revenue, collections, claims, rights to payment,
payments, money, or proceeds are imposed, billed, received, collected, or
maintained together with or commingled with other revenue, collections, rights to
payment, payments, money, or proceeds.
(9) CO-EI revenue means all revenue, receipts, collections, payments,
money, claims, or other proceeds arising from CO-EI property.
(10) Commission means the public utilities commission of the state of
Colorado.
(11) Customer means a person that takes electric distribution or electric
transmission service from an electric utility or its successors or assignees under
commission-approved rate schedules or pursuant to special contracts for
consumption of electricity in the state. The term includes a customer's successors
and assignees.
(12) Electric utility means an entity operating for the purpose of supplying
electricity to the public for domestic, mechanical, or public uses and includes an
investor-owned electric utility subject to regulation under articles 1 to 7 of this title
40, a municipally owned utility, and a cooperative electric association.
(13) Financing costs means, if approved by the commission in a financing
order, costs to issue, service, repay, or refinance CO-EI bonds, whether incurred or
paid upon issuance of the CO-EI bonds or over the life of the CO-EI bonds, and
includes:
(a) Principal, interest, and redemption premiums that are payable on CO-EI
bonds;
(b) Any payment required under an ancillary agreement and any amount
required to fund or replenish a reserve account or other accounts established under
the terms of any indenture, ancillary agreement, or other financing document
pertaining to CO-EI bonds;
(c) Any other costs related to issuing, supporting, repaying, refunding, and
servicing CO-EI bonds, including, but not limited to, servicing fees, accounting and
auditing fees, trustee fees, legal fees, consulting fees, financial advisor fees,
administrative fees, placement and underwriting fees, capitalized interest, rating
agency fees, stock exchange listing and compliance fees, security registration fees,
filing fees, information technology programming costs, and any other demonstrable
costs necessary to otherwise ensure and guarantee the timely payment of CO-EI
bonds or other amounts or charges payable in connection with CO-EI bonds;
(d) Any taxes and license fees imposed on the revenue generated from the
collection of a CO-EI charge;
(e) Any state and local taxes, including franchise, sales and use, and other
taxes or similar charges, including, but not limited to, regulatory assessment fees,
whether paid, payable, or accrued; and
(f) Any costs incurred by an electric utility to pay the commission's costs of
engaging specialized counsel and expert consultants experienced in securitized
electric utility ratepayer-backed bond financing similar to CO-EI bonds as
authorized by section 40-41-107 (3).
(14) Financing order means an order of the commission issued pursuant to
section 40-41-106 that grants, in whole or in part, an application filed pursuant to
section 40-41-103 and that authorizes the issuance of CO-EI bonds in one or more
series, the imposition, charging, and collection of CO-EI charges, and the creation of
CO-EI property.
(15) Financing party means a holder of CO-EI bonds and trustees, collateral
agents, any party under an ancillary agreement, or any other person acting for the
benefit of a holder of CO-EI bonds.
(16) Financing statement has the same meaning as set forth in section 4-9-102 (39).
(17) Nonbypassable means that the payment of a CO-EI charge may not be
avoided by any future or existing customer located within an electric utility service
area as such service area existed as of the date of the financing order or, if the
financing order so provides, as such service area may be expanded, even if the
customer elects to purchase electricity from a supplier other than the electric
utility.
(18) Successor means, with respect to any legal entity, another legal entity
that succeeds by operation of law to the rights and obligations of the first legal
entity pursuant to any bankruptcy, reorganization, restructuring, other insolvency
proceeding, merger, acquisition, consolidation, or sale or transfer of assets,
whether any of these occur due to a restructuring of the electric power industry or
otherwise. Solely for the purpose of implementing this article 41, successor does
not include any municipally owned electric utility established and providing retail
electric service before the date on which CO-EI bonds are issued pursuant to a
financing order relating to electric generating facilities that serve or previously
served the service area of the municipally owned electric utility.