§ 39-2-1.2. Utility base rate — Advertising, demand-side management, and renewables.
(a) In addition to costs prohibited in § 39-1-27.4(b), no public utility distributing or providing heat, electricity, or water to or for
the public shall include as part of its base rate any expenses for advertising, either
direct or indirect, that promotes the use of its product or service, or is designed
to promote the public image of the industry. No public utility may furnish support
of any kind, direct or indirect, to any subsidiary, group, association, or individual
for advertising and include the expense as part of its base rate. Nothing contained
in this section shall be deemed as prohibiting the inclusion in the base rate of expenses
incurred for advertising, informational or educational in nature, that is designed
to promote public safety conservation of the public utility's product or service.
The public utilities commission shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are
necessary to require public disclosure of all advertising expenses of any kind, direct
or indirect, and to otherwise effectuate the provisions of this section.
(b) Effective as of January 1, 2008, and for a period of twenty (20) years thereafter,
each electric distribution company shall include a charge per kilowatt-hour delivered
to fund demand-side management programs. The 0.3 mills per kilowatt-hour delivered
to fund renewable energy programs shall remain in effect until December 31, 2028.
The electric distribution company shall establish and, after July 1, 2007, maintain,
two (2) separate accounts, one for demand-side management programs (the "demand-side
account�), which shall be funded by the electric demand-side charge and administered
and implemented by the distribution company, subject to the regulatory reviewing authority
of the commission, and one for renewable energy programs, which shall be administered
by the Rhode Island commerce corporation pursuant to § 42-64-13.2 and shall be held and disbursed by the distribution company as directed by the Rhode
Island commerce corporation for the purposes of developing, promoting, and supporting
renewable energy programs.
During the time periods established in this subsection, the commission may, in its
discretion, after notice and public hearing, increase the sums for demand-side management
and renewable resources. In addition, the commission shall, after notice and public
hearing, determine the appropriate charge for these programs. The office of energy
resources, and/or the administrator of the renewable energy programs, may seek to
secure for the state an equitable and reasonable portion of renewable energy credits
or certificates created by private projects funded through those programs. As used
in this section, "renewable energy resources� shall mean: (1) Power generation technologies,
as defined in § 39-26-5, "eligible renewable energy resources,â€� including off-grid and on-grid generating
technologies located in Rhode Island, as a priority; (2) Research and development
activities in Rhode Island pertaining to eligible renewable energy resources and to
other renewable energy technologies for electrical generation; or (3) Projects and
activities directly related to implementing eligible renewable energy resources projects
in Rhode Island. Technologies for converting solar energy for space heating or generating
domestic hot water may also be funded through the renewable energy programs. Fuel
cells may be considered an energy efficiency technology to be included in demand-side
management programs. Special rates for low-income customers in effect as of August
7, 1996, shall be continued, and the costs of all of these discounts shall be included
in the distribution rates charged to all other customers. Nothing in this section
shall be construed as prohibiting an electric distribution company from offering any
special rates or programs for low-income customers which are not in effect as of August
7, 1996, subject to the approval by the commission.
(1) The renewable energy investment programs shall be administered pursuant to rules established
by the Rhode Island commerce corporation. Said rules shall provide transparent criteria
to rank qualified renewable energy projects, giving consideration to:
(i) The feasibility of project completion;
(ii) The anticipated amount of renewable energy the project will produce;
(iii) The potential of the project to mitigate energy costs over the life of the project;
and
(iv) The estimated cost per kilowatt-hour (KWh) of the energy produced from the project.
(c) [Deleted by P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 4, § 14.]
(d) The chief executive officer of the commerce corporation is authorized and may enter
into a contract with a contractor for the cost-effective administration of the renewable
energy programs funded by this section. A competitive bid and contract award for administration
of the renewable energy programs may occur every three (3) years and shall include,
as a condition, that after July 1, 2008, the account for the renewable energy programs
shall be maintained and administered by the commerce corporation as provided for in
subsection (b) of this section.
(e) Effective January 1, 2007, and for a period of twenty-one (21) years thereafter, each
gas distribution company shall include, with the approval of the commission, a charge
per deca therm delivered to fund demand-side management programs (the "gas demand-side
charge�), including, but not limited to, programs for cost-effective energy efficiency,
energy conservation, combined heat and power systems, and weatherization services
for low-income households.
(f) Each gas company shall establish a separate account for demand-side management programs
(the "gas demand-side account�) that shall be funded by the gas demand-side charge
and administered and implemented by the distribution company, subject to the regulatory
reviewing authority of the commission. The commission may establish administrative
mechanisms and procedures that are similar to those for electric demand-side management
programs administered under the jurisdiction of the commission and that are designed
to achieve cost-effectiveness and high, life-time savings of efficiency measures supported
by the program.
(g) The commission may, if reasonable and feasible, except from this demand-side management
charge:
(1) Gas used for distribution generation; and
(2) Gas used for the manufacturing processes, where the customer has established a self-directed
program to invest in and achieve best-effective energy efficiency in accordance with
a plan approved by the commission and subject to periodic review and approval by the
commission, which plan shall require annual reporting of the amount invested and the
return on investments in terms of gas savings.
(h) The commission may provide for the coordinated and/or integrated administration of
electric and gas demand-side management programs in order to enhance the effectiveness
of the programs. Such coordinated and/or integrated administration may after March
1, 2009, upon the recommendation of the office of energy resources, be through one
or more third-party entities designated by the commission pursuant to a competitive
selection process.
(i) Effective January 1, 2007, the commission shall allocate, from demand-side management
gas and electric funds authorized pursuant to this section, an amount not to exceed
three percent (3%) of such funds on an annual basis for the retention of expert consultants,
and reasonable administration costs of the energy efficiency and resource management
council associated with planning, management, and evaluation of energy-efficiency
programs, renewable energy programs, system reliability, least-cost procurement, and
with regulatory proceedings, contested cases, and other actions pertaining to the
purposes, powers, and duties of the council, which allocation may by mutual agreement,
be used in coordination with the office of energy resources to support such activities.
(j) Effective January 1, 2016, the commission shall annually allocate from the administrative
funding amount allocated in subsection (i) from the demand-side management program
as described in subsection (i) as follows: (1) for the energy efficiency and resource
management council, no more than forty percent (40%) for the purposes identified in
subsection (i) and (2) sixty percent (60%) of three percent (3%) from the demand-side
management gas and electric funds annually to the office of energy resources for activities
associated with planning, management, and evaluation of energy-efficiency programs,
renewable energy programs, system reliability, least-cost procurement, and with regulatory
proceedings, contested cases, and other actions pertaining to the purposes, powers,
and duties of the office of energy resources and shall have exclusive authority to
direct the use of the office administrative and programmatic funds.
(k) On April 15, of each year, the office and the council shall submit to the governor,
the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives, separate
financial and performance reports regarding the demand-side management programs, including
the specific level of funds that were contributed by the residential, municipal, and
commercial and industrial sectors to the overall programs; the businesses, vendors,
and institutions that received funding from demand-side management gas and electric
funds used for the purposes in this section; and the businesses, vendors, and institutions
that received the administrative funds for the purposes in subsections (i) and (j).
These reports shall be posted electronically on the websites of the office of energy
resources and the energy efficiency and resources management council.
(l) On or after August 1, 2015, at the request of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank,
each electric distribution company, except for the Pascoag Utility District and Block
Island Power Company, shall remit two percent (2%) of the amount of the 2014 electric
demand-side charge collections to the Rhode Island infrastructure bank.
(m) On or after August 1, 2015, at the request of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank,
each gas distribution company shall remit two percent (2%) of the amount of the 2014
gas demand-side charge collections to the Rhode Island infrastructure bank.
(n) Effective January 1, 2022, the commission shall allocate, from demand-side management
gas and electric funds authorized pursuant to this section, five million dollars ($5,000,000)
of such funds on an annual basis to the Rhode Island infrastructure bank. Gas and
electric demand-side funds transferred to the Rhode Island infrastructure bank pursuant
to this section shall be eligible to be used in any energy efficiency, renewable energy,
clean transportation, clean heating, energy storage, or demand-side management project
financing program administered by the Rhode Island infrastructure bank notwithstanding
any other restrictions on the use of such collections set forth in this chapter. The
infrastructure bank shall report annually to the commission within ninety (90) days
of the end of each calendar year how collections transferred under this section were
utilized.
(o) The Rhode Island office of energy resources, in coordination with the energy efficiency
and resource management council, and following consultation with the public utilities
commission and division of public utilities and carriers, shall issue a request for
proposals for the cost-effective administration and implementation of statewide energy
efficiency programs funded by this section no later than September 30, 2023. The draft
request for proposals shall be reviewed through at least one technical session at
the public utilities commission prior to issuance. Public utilities commission approval
shall not be required. The Rhode Island office of energy resources, in coordination
with the energy efficiency and resource management council, shall evaluate proposals
and determine whether energy efficiency administration and implementation by the electric
and gas distribution company or a third party is likely to achieve the most net benefits
for electric and gas customers in Rhode Island. After January 1, 2025, the office
of energy resources may, periodically, and at its discretion, issue additional requests
for proposals for the administration and implementation of statewide energy efficiency
programs funded through this chapter of an electric distribution company as defined
in §â€‚39-1-2(a)(12) or gas distribution company included as a public utility in §â€‚39-1-2(a)(20) that has greater than one hundred thousand (100,000) customers.
(1) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the electric and/or gas distribution company
from submitting a proposal to administer and implement the state energy efficiency
programs.
(2) If the office of energy resources, in coordination with the energy efficiency and
resource management council, determines that the use of a third-party administrator
is likely to achieve the most net benefits for electric and gas customers in Rhode
Island, it shall file its recommendation with the public utilities commission, which
shall docket and rule on the matter pursuant to its general statutory authorization.
(3) If the commission determines that the recommended third-party administrator is in
the interest of Rhode Island utility customers, it shall provide for the full cost
recovery for the third-party administrator consistent with the terms of the approved
contract, and which shall reflect the overall annual budget approved by the commission.
The third-party administrator shall be subject to all the requirements set forth for
the electric and gas distribution company per § 39-1-27.7.
(4) If the commission determines that a third-party administrator will administer the
state energy efficiency programs on or after June 1, 2024, the commission shall direct
the gas and electric distribution company to collect and transfer the gas and electric
energy efficiency funds to the third-party administrator for the annual state energy
efficiency program beginning with the program year and thereafter for the remaining
program years. The gas and electric distribution company shall transfer the annual
administrative funds to the office of energy resources and energy efficiency and resource
management council.
(5) If a third-party administrator implements the annual energy efficiency programs then
they shall be required to develop and design the annual state energy efficiency program
with the office of energy resources and energy efficiency and resource management
council, including a vote by the energy efficiency and resource management council
prior to the third-party administrator filing the annual program plan to the public
utilities commission for review and a decision.
(6) The third-party administrator shall file the annual state energy efficiency program
plan to the public utilities commission for review and approval no later than September
30, 2024, and annually thereafter on such date.
(7) The third-party administrator shall provide all information requested by the office
of energy resources, energy efficiency and resource management council, division of
public utilities and carriers, and the public utilities commission, including responses
to data requests, which are necessary for the agencies to carry out their respective
oversight roles, and shall be accountable to the same standards as the utility with
administering and implementing energy efficiency, system reliability, and least-cost
procurement standards and goals in accordance with § 39-1-27.7 and this section.
(8) If the office does not recommend advancement of a third-party administrator, the electric
and gas distribution company shall continue to administer statewide energy efficiency
programs.