§ 39-3-1.2. Aggregation of electrical load by municipality or group of municipalities.
(a)(1) The legislative authority of a municipality may adopt an ordinance or resolution,
under which it may aggregate in accordance with this section one or more classes of
the retail electrical loads located, respectively, within the municipality or town
and, for that purpose, may enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads
the sale and purchase of electricity. The legislative authority also may exercise
this authority jointly with any other legislative authority. An ordinance or resolution
under this section shall specify whether the aggregation will occur only with the
prior consent of each person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an electric
load center proposed to be aggregated or will occur automatically for all persons
pursuant to the opt-out requirements of this section. Nothing in this section, however,
authorizes the aggregation of retail electric loads of an electric load center that
is located in the certified territory of a nonprofit electric supplier or an electric
load center served by transmission or distribution facilities of a municipal electric
utility.
(2) No legislative authority pursuant to an ordinance or resolution under this section
that provides for automatic aggregation as described in this section, shall aggregate
the electrical load of any electric load center located within its jurisdiction unless
it in advance clearly discloses to the person owning, occupying, controlling, or using
the load center that the person will be enrolled automatically in the aggregation
program and will remain so enrolled unless the person affirmatively elects by a stated
procedure not to be so enrolled. The disclosure shall state prominently the rates,
charges, and other terms and conditions of enrollment. The stated procedure shall
allow any person enrolled in the aggregation program the opportunity, at a minimum,
to opt-out of the program every two (2) years, without paying a switching fee. Any
person who leaves the aggregation program pursuant to the stated procedure shall default
to the last-resort service until the person chooses an alternative supplier.
(b) A governmental aggregator under this section is not a public utility engaging in the
wholesale purchase and resale of electricity, and the aggregated service is not a
wholesale utility transaction. A governmental aggregator shall be subject to supervision
and regulation by the commission only to the extent of any competitive retail electric
service it provides and commission authority.
(c) A town may initiate a process to authorize aggregation by a majority vote of a town
meeting or of the town council. A city may initiate a process to authorize aggregation
by a majority vote of the city council, with the approval of the mayor, or the city
manager. Two (2) or more municipalities may, as a group, initiate a process jointly
to authorize aggregation by a majority vote of each particular municipality as required
in this section.
(d) Upon the applicable requisite authority under this section, the legislative authority
shall develop a plan of operation and governance for the aggregation program so authorized.
Before adopting a plan under this section, the legislative authority shall hold at
least one public hearing on the plan. Before the hearing, the legislative authority
shall publish notice of the hearing once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction. The notice shall summarize the
plan and state the date, time, and location of any hearing. A municipality or group
of municipalities establishing load aggregation pursuant to this section shall develop
a plan, for review by its citizens, detailing the process and consequences of aggregation.
The plan shall identify which classes of customers may participate, based on their
applicable electric distribution company tariff or rate schedule. Any municipal load
aggregation plan established pursuant to this section shall provide for universal
access to all applicable customers and equitable treatment of applicable classes of
customers and shall meet any requirements established by law or the commission concerning
aggregated service. The plan shall be filed with the commission, for its final review
and approval, and shall include, without limitation, an organizational structure of
the program, its operations, and its funding; the process for establishing rates and
allocating costs among participants; the methods for entering and terminating agreements
with other entities; the rights and responsibilities of program participants; and
termination of the program. The plan must also include the terms and conditions under
which retail customers who or that have chosen to opt-out of the aggregated service
may take service from the aggregated entity. At the time of the legislative authority's
filing of the plan with the commission, a copy of the proposed plan filing shall be
provided to the electric distribution company whose customers would be included in
the plan. Prior to its decision, the commission shall conduct a public hearing. Following
approval of the plan, the legislative authority may solicit bids from nonregulated
power producers pursuant to the methods established by the plan. The legislative authority
shall report the results of this solicitation and proposed agreement awards to the
commission. The legislative authority shall have the right to terminate the operation
of the plan by placing its customers on last-resort service. If the legislative authority
terminates the operation of the plan and places customers on last-resort service,
a municipality seeking to form a new municipal aggregation load must submit a new
plan to the commission for approval, in accordance with this section, before the customers
may enroll in a new aggregation program.
(e)(1) Any retail customer in a municipality with an approved aggregation plan may elect
instead to receive retail supply from another licensed retail supplier or from the
local distribution company. Within thirty (30) days of the date the aggregated entity
is fully operational, ratepayers who or that have not affirmatively elected an alternative
authorized supplier shall be transferred to the aggregated entity subject to the opt-out
provision in this section. Following adoption of aggregation as specified above, the
program shall allow any retail customer to opt-out and choose any supplier or provider
that the retail customer wishes. Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing
any city or town or any municipal retail load aggregator to restrict the ability of
retail electric customers to obtain or receive service from any authorized provider
of it.
(2) It shall be the duty of the aggregated entity to fully inform participating ratepayers
in advance of automatic enrollment that they are to be automatically enrolled and
that they have the right to opt-out of the aggregated entity without penalty. In addition,
such disclosure shall prominently state all charges to be made and shall include full
disclosure of the standard-offer rate, how to access it, and the fact that it is available
to them without penalty, if they are currently on standard-offer service. The commission
shall furnish, without charge, to any citizen a list of all other supply options available
to them in a meaningful format that shall enable comparison of price and product.
(f) The municipality or group of municipalities shall, within two (2) years of approval
of its plan, or such further time as the commission may allow, provide written notice
to the commission that its plan is implemented. The commission may revoke certification
of the aggregation plan if the municipality or group of municipalities fails to substantially
implement the plan.
(g) The commission may, from time to time, promulgate rules by which the legislative authority
may request information from the electric distribution company or companies whose
customers would be included in its plan. These rules shall ensure that municipalities
have reasonable and timely access to information pertinent to the formation of the
plan and solicitation of bids to serve customers; that confidentiality of individuals
is protected; and that charges for production of data are reasonable and not unduly
burdensome to the legislative authority.