§ 8-1-2-42.7 — Designation of test period; temporary implementation of rates and charges; extension of time; reconciliation of rates and charges

Indiana § 8-1-2-42.7

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 1: UTILITIES GENERALLY
• Ch. 2: Utility Regulation

Text

7. (a) For purposes of this section,"average
prime rate" means the arithmetic mean, to the nearest one-hundredth
of one percent (0.01%), of the prime rate values published in the
Federal Reserve Bulletin for the three (3) months preceding the first
month of a calendar quarter.
(b) For purposes of this section, "case in chief" includes the
following:
(1) Testimony, exhibits, and supporting work papers.
(2) Proposed test year and rate base cutoff dates.
(3) Proposed revenue requirements.
(4) Jurisdictional operating revenues and expenses, including
taxes and depreciation.
(5) Balance sheet and income statements.
(6) Jurisdictional rate base.
(7) Proposed cost of capital and capital structure.
(8) Jurisdictional class cost of service study.
(9) Proposed rate design and pro forma tariff sheets.
(c) For purposes of this section, "utility" refers to the following:
(1) A public utility.
(2) A municipally owned utility.
(3) A cooperative owned utility.
(d) In a petition filed with the commission to change basic rates and
charges, a utility may designate a test period for the commission to use.
The utility must include with its petition the utility's complete case in
chief. The commission shall approve a test period that is one (1) of the
following:
(1) A forward looking test period determined on the basis of
projected data for the twelve (12) month period beginning not
later than twenty-four (24) months after the date on which the
utility petitions the commission for a change in its basic rates and
charges.
(2) A historic test period based on a twelve (12) month period that
ends not more than two hundred seventy (270) days before the
date on which the utility petitions the commission for a change in
its basic rates and charges. The commission may adjust a historic
test period for fixed, known, and measurable changes and
appropriate normalizations and annualizations.
(3) A hybrid test period based on at least twelve (12) consecutive
months of combined historic data and projected data. The
commission may adjust the historic data as set forth in
subdivision (2).
(e) This subsection does not apply to a proceeding in which a utility
is seeking an increase in basic rates and charges and requesting initial
relief under IC 8-1-2.5-5 or IC 8-1-2.5-6. If the commission does not
issue an order on a petition filed by a utility under subsection (d) within
three hundred (300) days after the utility files its case in chief in
support of the proposed increase, the utility may temporarily implement
fifty percent (50%) of the utility's proposed permanent increase in basic
rates and charges, subject to the commission's review and
determination under subsection (f). The utility shall submit the
proposed temporary rates and charges to the commission at least thirty
(30) days before the date on which the utility seeks to implement the
temporary rates and charges. The temporary rates and charges may
reflect proposed or existing approved customer class allocations and
rate designs. However, if the utility uses a forward looking test period
described in subsection (d)(1) or a hybrid test period described in
subsection (d)(3), the utility may not:
(1) implement the temporary increase before the date on which
the projected data period begins; or
(2) object during a proceeding before the commission to a
discovery request for historic data as described in subsection
(d)(2) solely on the basis that the utility has designated a forward
looking or hybrid test period.
(f) The commission shall review the temporary rates and charges to
determine compliance with this section. The temporary rates and
charges take effect on the latest of the following dates unless the
commission determines that the temporary rates and charges are not
properly designed in compliance with this section:
(1) The date proposed by the utility.
(2) Three hundred (300) days after the date on which the utility
files its case in chief.
(3) The termination of any extension of the three hundred (300)
day deadline authorized under subsection (g) or (h).
If the commission determines that the temporary rates and charges are
not properly designed in compliance with this section, the utility may
cure the defect and file the corrected temporary rates and charges with
the commission within a reasonable period determined by the
commission.
(g) If the commission grants a utility an extension of the procedural
schedule, the commission may extend the three hundred (300) day
deadline set forth in subsection (e) by the length of the extension.
(h) The commission may suspend the three hundred (300) day
deadline set forth in subsection (e) one (1) time for good cause. The
suspension may not exceed sixty (60) days.
(i) If a utility implements temporary rates and charges that differ
from the permanent rates and charges approved by the commission in
a final order on the petition filed under subsection (d), the utility shall
perform a reconciliation and implement a refund, in the form of a credit
rider, or a surcharge, as applicable, on customer bills rendered on or
after the date the commission approves the credit or surcharge. The
refund or surcharge shall be credited or added in equal amounts each
month for six (6) months. The amount of the total refund or surcharge
equals the amount by which the temporary rates and charges differ
from the permanent rates and charges, plus, for a refund only, interest
at the applicable average prime rate for each calendar quarter during
which the temporary rates and charges were in effect.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.133-2013, SEC.4.