§ 72:8-d — Valuation of Electric, Gas, and Water Utility Company Distribution Assets

I. In this section:
(a) "FERC" means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(b) "Utility company assets" means the following property not exempt under RSA 72:23:
(1) For an electric company providing electricity service to retail customers: the distribution poles, wires, conductors, attachments, meters, transformers, and substations accounted for by the utility in accordance with FERC Form 1, buildings, contributions in aid of construction (CIAC), construction works in progress (CWIP), and land rights, including use of the public rights of way, easements on private land owned by third parties, and land owned in fee by the electric company, so long as such easements and fee land are associated solely with distribution power lines classified as distribution according to FERC standards.
(2) For a gas company providing gas service to retail customers: distribution pipes, fittings, meters, pressure reducing stations, buildings, contributions in aid of construction (CIAC), construction works in progress (CWIP), and land rights including use of the public rights of way, easements on private land owned by third parties, and land owned in fee by the gas company.
(3) For a water company providing water service to retail customers: pipes, fittings, meters, wells, pressure/pump stations, buildings, contributions in aid of construction (CIAC), construction works in progress (CWIP), and land rights including use of the public rights of way, easements on private land owned by third parties, and land owned in fee by the water company. No electric power fixtures employed solely as an emergency source of electric power in a public water distribution system shall be taxable.
(c) "Utility company assets" shall not include:
(1) Electric company transmission poles, wires, conductors, attachments, meters, transformers, and substations, classified as transmission according to FERC standards, buildings associated with transmission, and land rights, including easements on private land owned by third parties, and land owned in fee by the electric company, so long as such easements and fee land are associated with transmission power lines classified as transmission according to FERC standards.
(2) Electric generation facilities and associated land rights, whether in fee or by easement.
(3) Gas transmission pipeline facilities regulated by FERC and associated land rights, whether in fee or easement.
(4) Wholly owned telephone, cable, or Internet service providers, and large scale natural gas and propane gas liquid storage and processing facility assets.
(5) Fee-owned land, office buildings, garages, and warehouses.
(d) "Retention dam" means a dam constructed for the purpose of impounding drinking water supply.
II. (a) The selectmen or assessors shall appraise utility company assets lying within the limits of the town or city using a unified method of valuing the utility company assets, excluding land rights, according to the following formula:
(1) For electric and gas utility company assets: a weighted average of 70 percent of each asset's original cost and 30 percent of each asset's net book cost as reported in compliance with paragraphs IV and V.
(2) For water utility company assets: a weighted average of 25 percent of each asset's original cost and 75 percent of each asset's net book cost as reported in compliance with paragraphs IV and V.
(b) To the appraisal under subparagraph (a), for the use of public rights of way and private distribution system easements, the selectmen or assessors shall add 3 percent of the valuation determined under subparagraph (a).
(c) The total of subparagraphs (a) and (b), as implemented under paragraph VI, shall be the valuation of the utility company's assets for purposes of local property taxation, and added to the municipality's assessed value of the utility company's fee-owned land, office buildings, garages, and warehouses.
III. Any water utility company land parcel owned in fee for sanitary radii, retention dams, and/or watershed protection purposes which is subject to regulation by the department of environmental services to protect water quality shall be entitled to be assessed under RSA 79-C at the value such land would have been assigned under the current use values established pursuant to RSA 79-A if the land had met the criteria for open space land under that chapter, even if said parcel is less than 10 acres in size and/or has a well structure and related piping on the parcel.
IV. Each utility company shall report by May 1 of each year to the selectmen or assessors of each town or city in which its utility company assets are located and to the department of revenue administration, the original cost and net book value as of December 31 of the preceding year of each account code category of distribution, transmission, and generation assets, if any, located within such town or city in accordance with FERC Form 1 and/or Form 2 Federal Account Code items.
V. The commissioner of the department of revenue administration shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A for the forms and requirements for the reporting under paragraph IV. Such reporting requirements shall also include an obligation on the utility company with utility company assets to utilize an accounting system to report and track with the best information available, in an efficient, equitable and transparent manner using the best information then available from the utility company's accounting records, contributions in aid of construction (CIAC), construction works in progress (CWIP), and undistributed plant assets in each town or city and the original cost of each such asset as reported by the contributing entity.
VI. (a) The assessed value of all utility company assets existing and assessed as of April 1, 2018 determined in subparagraph II(c) shall be implemented over a 5-year period as follows:
(1) The value for assessment of property taxes for the tax year effective April 1, 2020 shall be a weighted average of 80 percent of the final locally assessed value effective April 1, 2018 and 20 percent of the apportioned value determined under subparagraph II(c) effective April 1, 2020.
(2) The value for assessment of property taxes for the tax year effective April 1, 2021 shall be a weighted average of 60 percent of the final locally assessed value effective April 1, 2018 and 40 percent of the apportioned value determined under subparagraph II(c) effective April 1, 2021.
(3) The value for assessment of property taxes for the tax year effective April 1, 2022 shall be a weighted average of 40 percent of the final locally assessed value effective April 1, 2018 and 60 percent of the apportioned value determined under subparagraph II(c) effective April 1, 2022.
(4) The value for assessment of property taxes for the tax year effective April 1, 2023 shall be a weighted average of 20 percent of the final locally assessed value effective April 1, 2018 and 80 percent of the apportioned value determined under subparagraph II(c) effective April 1, 2023.
(5) For each of the years in subparagraphs (a)(1) through (4), all utility company assets installed after April 1, 2018, and not included in assessment as of April 1, 2018, shall be assessed at the apportioned value determined under subparagraph II(c) effective as of April 1 of the property tax year. For each of the years in subparagraphs (a)(1) through (4), all utility company assets retired after April 1, 2018, and included in assessment as of April 1, 2018, shall not be assessed.
(6) Beginning with the tax year effective April 1, 2024 and every tax year thereafter the locally assessed value shall be the apportioned value determined under subparagraph II(c) effective as of April 1 of the property tax year.
(b) For purposes of subparagraph (a), "final locally assessed value effective April 1, 2018" means the municipality's value of the utility company's assets as taken from the department of revenue administration's form MS-1 for 2018.
VII. All determinations or decisions under this section shall be appealable by the electric, gas, or water utility company or the town or city by petition to the board of tax and land appeals under RSA 71-B.

Legislative History

2019, 117:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2019.