§ 39-1-27.6. Standards of conduct.
(a) An electric distribution company must conduct its business to conform with the standards
of conduct specified in subsections (b) through (e).
(b)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b)(2) and as authorized by the commission pursuant
to § 39-1-27(g), the employees of the electric distribution company engaged in distribution-system
operations must function independently of its employees, or the employees of any of
its affiliates, who are engaged in the business of a nonregulated power producer.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions in this section, in emergency circumstances affecting
system reliability, electric distribution companies may take whatever steps are necessary
to keep the system in operation. Electric distribution companies must report to the
commission each emergency that resulted in any deviation from the standards of conduct,
within twenty-four (24) hours of such deviation.
(c)(1) Any employee of any affiliate of an electric distribution company who is engaged in
the business of a nonregulated power producer is prohibited from: conducting distribution-system
operations or reliability functions; and having access to the system control center
or similar facilities used for distribution operations or reliability functions that
differs in any way from the access available to other nonregulated power producers.
(2) Employees engaged in either an affiliated nonregulated power producer function or
an electric distribution function are not precluded from transferring between such
functions as long as such transfer is not used as a means to circumvent the standards
of conduct of this section. Notices of any employee transfer to or from electric distribution
company operation or reliability functions must be reported to the commission. The
information to be reported must include: the name of the transferring employee; the
respective titles held while performing each function (i.e., on behalf of the electric
distribution company and the nonregulated power producer); and the effective date
of the transfer.
(3) Any employee of any affiliate of an electric distribution company who is engaged in
the nonregulated power producer function must not have preferential access to any
information about the electric distribution company's distribution system that is
not available to all nonregulated power producers.
(4) An electric distribution company is responsible for ensuring that any employee of
the electric distribution company may not disclose to employees of any affiliate engaged
in a nonregulated power producer function any information concerning the distribution
system of the electric distribution company or the distribution system of another
(including information received from nonaffiliates or information about distribution-system
operations, capability, price, curtailments, auxiliary services, and the like) through
nonpublic communications that is not at the same time available to all nonregulated
power producers without restriction. If an employee of the electric distribution company
engaged in distribution-system operations or reliability functions discloses information
in a manner contrary to the requirements of the standards of conduct, the electric
distribution company must immediately report that information to the commission. An
electric distribution company may not share any market information acquired from nonaffiliated,
nonregulated power producers or developed in the course of responding to requests
for distribution service with any employee of an affiliate engaged in a nonregulated
power producer function.
(5) All employees of the electric distribution company must apply all tariff provisions
in a fair and impartial manner that treats all customers (including those of an affiliated
nonregulated power producer) in a nondiscriminatory manner. The electric distribution
company may not offer a discount on purchases of distribution service where this discount
is conditioned upon customers purchasing power from a nonregulated power producer
that is affiliated with the electric distribution company, nor shall an electric distribution
company give preferences of any type in the provision of distribution service for
customers purchasing power supply from a nonregulated power producer that is affiliated
with the electric distribution company.
(d) An electric distribution company must maintain its books of accounts and records separately
from those of its affiliates and these must be available for commission inspection.
(e) The electric distribution company must maintain in a public place, and file with the
commission, current written procedures implementing the standards of conduct in such
detail as will enable customers and the commission to determine that the electric
distribution company is in compliance with the requirements of this section.