§ 16-243gg — Costs associated with trade associations, lobbying, legislative action, advertising, marketing and board of director's or officers; travel, lodging or food and business expenses. Recovery of costs by an electric distribution, gas, pipeline or water company prohibited.

(a) No electric distribution company, gas company, pipeline company or water company, as such terms are defined in section 16-1, shall recover through rates any direct or indirect cost associated with membership, dues, sponsorships or contributions to a business or industry trade association, group or related entity incorporated under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended from time to time. (b) No electric distribution company, gas company, pipeline company or water company, as such terms are defined in section 16-1 , shall recover through rates any direct or indirect cost associated with lobbying or legislative action, as such terms are defined in section 1-91 . (c) No electric distribution company, gas company, pipeline company or water company, as such terms are defined in section 16-1 , shall recover through rates any direct or indirect cost associated with advertising, marketing, communications that seek to influence public opinion or any other related costs identified by the authority, unless such marketing, advertising, communications or related costs are specifically approved or ordered by the authority or the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. (d) No electric distribution company, gas company, pipeline company or water company, as such terms are defined in section 16-1 , shall recover through rates any direct or indirect cost associated with (1) travel, lodging or food and beverage expenses for such company's board of directors and officers or the board of directors and officers of such company's parent company; (2) entertainment or gifts; (3) any owned, leased or chartered aircraft for such company's board of directors and officers or the board of directors and officers of such company's parent company; or (4) investor relations. (e) On or before January 15, 2024, and annually thereafter, each electric distribution company, gas company, pipeline company or water company, as such terms are defined in section 16-1 , with more than seventy-five thousand customers shall report to the authority an itemized list of costs associated with the activities described in this section and subsection (b) of section 16-243p in a form prescribed by the authority. Such report shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) Any costs spent by the parent company or affiliates of the public service company directly billed or allocated to the public service company; (2) a list of the title, job description and salary of any employees of the public service company who performed work associated with the activities described in this section or in subsection (b) of section 16-243p and the hours attributed to such work; (3) a list of the title, job description and salary of any employees of the parent company or affiliate who performed work associated with the activities described in this section or in subsection (b) of section 16-243p and the hours attributed to such work that were directly billed or allocated to the public service company; (4) an itemized list of costs that the public service company made to all third-party vendors for any expenses associated with the activities described in this section or in subsection (b) of section 16-243p including unredacted billing amounts, billing dates, payees and explanation of the expenditure in detail sufficient to describe the purpose of the cost; and (5) any other itemized information deemed relevant by the authority. No electric distribution company, gas company, pipeline company or water company, as such terms are defined in section 16-1 , shall recover through rates any costs associated with the preparation of such report.

Legislative History

(P.A. 23-102, S. 3; 23-204, S. 116.) History: P.A. 23-102 effective June 29, 2023; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsecs. (a) to (e) by replacing references to public service companies with references to electric distribution, gas, pipeline and water companies, effective June 12, 2023.