(a)As used in this section, “affiliate” means a person, as defined in section 16-1, or class of persons that, with a gas company, as defined in said section 16-1, is under the control of the same holding company, or a person or class of persons that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may, after notice and hearing, find has such a relation to a gas company conducting business and financial transactions that involve cross-subsidization or preferential treatment between the company and such person or class of persons as to make it necessary to protect ratepayers.
(b)The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall establish a code of conduct that sets minimum standards for gas company transactions with affiliates to achieve, at a minimum, the following goals, provided such code shall
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(a) As used in this section, “affiliate” means a person, as defined in section 16-1, or class of persons that, with a gas company, as defined in said section 16-1, is under the control of the same holding company, or a person or class of persons that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may, after notice and hearing, find has such a relation to a gas company conducting business and financial transactions that involve cross-subsidization or preferential treatment between the company and such person or class of persons as to make it necessary to protect ratepayers. (b) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall establish a code of conduct that sets minimum standards for gas company transactions with affiliates to achieve, at a minimum, the following goals, provided such code shall not interfere with interactions with regulated affiliates that are consistent with appropriate and efficient business practice or the public interest: (1) Provide rules for when the purchases or sales of goods or services between a gas company and an affiliate should be by written contract based on such factors as the nature, value and term of the purchase or sale; (2) Provide rules with respect to sharing or giving access to certain types of customer identifying or commercially sensitive information to affiliates that may differ between regulated and unregulated affiliates; (3) Provide for a system of records and reporting for transactions between a gas company and its affiliates; (4) Establish standards to ensure that any payment by a gas company to any affiliate or from any affiliate to a gas company is appropriate and reasonable; (5) Provide a standard for avoidance of conflict of interest between a gas company and affiliates; (6) Ensure that any such transactions shall not have an improper and adverse impact on the costs or revenues of the gas company, on the rates and charges paid by gas company customers or on the quality of service provided by the gas company; (7) Ensure that gas company ratepayers do not subsidize affiliate operations; (8) Ensure fair, appropriate and equitable standards for purchases, sales, leases, asset transfers and cost or profit-sharing transactions or any type of financing or encumbrance involving a gas company and its affiliates; and (9) Ensure that gas supply and distribution services are provided by a gas company in an appropriate manner to affiliates and nonaffiliates alike. (c) In addition to the powers granted to the authority in section 16-8c , during a rate proceeding under 16-19 , the authority may summon witnesses from an affiliate with which a gas company has had direct or indirect transactions, examine the affiliate under oath and order production, inspect and audit the books, records or other information relevant to any transaction that the authority has reason to believe has or will have an adverse impact on the costs and revenues of the affiliated gas company. Proprietary commercial and proprietary financial information of an affiliate provided pursuant to this section shall be confidential and protected by the authority as the authority deems appropriate, subject to the provisions of section 1-210 . (d) Each gas company shall submit to the authority records and such information as the authority may require, at intervals determined by the authority and in such form as the authority may order regarding affiliate transactions. (e) The authority may, upon its own motion, investigate a gas company's compliance with the code of conduct, and any such investigation shall be a contested case, as defined in section 4-166 . (f) The authority may make orders to enforce the code of conduct, including, but not limited to, cease and desist orders and may levy civil penalties pursuant to section 16-41 against entities subject to the code of conduct. (g) The code of conduct shall not prohibit communications necessary to restore gas company service or to prevent or respond to emergency conditions. (h) On or before November 1, 2010, the authority shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to establish the code of conduct in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, related accounting and reporting requirements and procedures for gas company and affiliate compliance with this section. (i) Any methodology for the allocation of costs between a gas company and other companies under the control of the same holding company currently approved by, or under current orders issued by, the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, shall be entitled to a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness. Charges rendered to a gas company by an affiliate that is a traditional centralized service company shall be at cost and entitled to a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness.