35.26—Recovery of stranded costs by public utilities and transmitting utilities.
(a) Purpose.
This section establishes the standards that a public utility or transmitting utility must satisfy in order to recover stranded costs.
(b) Definitions—
1) Wholesale stranded cost means any legitimate, prudent and verifiable cost incurred by a public utility or a transmitting utility to provide service to:
(i)
A wholesale requirements customer that subsequently becomes, in whole or in part, an unbundled wholesale transmission services customer of such public utility or transmitting utility; or
(ii)
A retail customer that subsequently becomes, either directly or through another wholesale transmission purchaser, an unbundled wholesale transmission services customer of such public utility or transmitting utility.
(2)
Wholesale requirements customer means a customer for whom a public utility or transmitting utility provides by contract any portion of its bundled wholesale power requirements.
(3)
Wholesale transmission services means the transmission of electric energy sold, or to be sold, at wholesale in interstate commerce or ordered pursuant to section 211 of the Federal Power Act (FPA).
(4)
Wholesale requirements contract means a contract under which a public utility or transmitting utility provides any portion of a customer's bundled wholesale power requirements.
(5)
Retail stranded cost means any legitimate, prudent and verifiable cost incurred by a public utility to provide service to a retail customer that subsequently becomes, in whole or in part, an unbundled retail transmission services customer of that public utility.
(6)
Retail transmission services means the transmission of electric energy sold, or to be sold, in interstate commerce directly to a retail customer.
(7)
New wholesale requirements contract means any wholesale requirements contract executed after July 11, 1994, or extended or renegotiated to be effective after July 11, 1994.
(8)
Existing wholesale requirements contract means any wholesale requirements contract executed on or before July 11, 1994.
(c) Recovery of wholesale stranded costs—
1) General requirement. A public utility or transmitting utility will be allowed to seek recovery of wholesale stranded costs only as follows:
(i)
No public utility or transmitting utility may seek recovery of wholesale stranded costs if such recovery is explicitly prohibited by a contract or settlement agreement, or by any power sales or transmission rate schedule or tariff.
(ii)
No public utility or transmitting utility may seek recovery of stranded costs associated with a new wholesale requirements contract if such contract does not contain an exit fee or other explicit stranded cost provision.
(iii)
If wholesale stranded costs are associated with a new wholesale requirements contract containing an exit fee or other explicit stranded cost provision, and the seller under the contract is a public utility, the public utility may seek recovery of such costs, in accordance with the contract, through rates for electric energy under sections 205-206 of the FPA. The public utility may not seek recovery of such costs through any transmission rate for FPA section 205 or 211 transmission services.
(iv)
If wholesale stranded costs are associated with a new wholesale requirements contract, and the seller under the contract is a transmitting utility but not also a public utility, the transmitting utility may not seek an order from the Commission allowing recovery of such costs.
(v)
If wholesale stranded costs are associated with an existing wholesale requirements contract, if the seller under such contract is a public utility, and if the contract does not contain an exit fee or other explicit stranded cost provision, the public utility may seek recovery of stranded costs only as follows:
(A)
If either party to the contract seeks a stranded cost amendment pursuant to a section 205 or section 206 filing under the FPA made prior to the expiration of the contract, and the Commission accepts or approves an amendment permitting recovery of stranded costs, the public utility may seek recovery of such costs through FPA section 205-206 rates for electric energy.
(B)
If the contract is not amended to permit recovery of stranded costs as described in paragraph (c)(1)(v)(A) of this section, the public utility may file a proposal, prior to the expiration of the contract, to recover stranded costs through FPA section 205-206 or section 211-212 rates for wholesale transmission services to the customer.
(vi)
If wholesale stranded costs are associated with an existing wholesale requirements contract, if the seller under such contract is a transmitting utility but not also a public utility, and if the contract does not contain an exit fee or other explicit stranded cost provision, the transmitting utility may seek recovery of stranded costs through FPA section 211-212 transmission rates.
(vii)
If a retail customer becomes a legitimate wholesale transmission customer of a public utility or transmitting utility, e.g., through municipalization, and costs are stranded as a result of the retail-turned-wholesale customer's access to wholesale transmission, the utility may seek recovery of such costs through FPA section 205-206 or section 211-212 rates for wholesale transmission services to that customer.
(2) Evidentiary demonstration for wholesale stranded cost recovery.
A public utility or transmitting utility seeking to recover wholesale stranded costs in accordance with paragraphs (c)(1) (v) through (vii) of this section must demonstrate that:
(i)
It incurred costs to provide service to a wholesale requirements customer or retail customer based on a reasonable expectation that the utility would continue to serve the customer;
(ii)
The stranded costs are not more than the customer would have contributed to the utility had the customer remained a wholesale requirements customer of the utility, or, in the case of a retail-turned-wholesale customer, had the customer remained a retail customer of the utility; and
(iii)
The stranded costs are derived using the following formula: Stranded Cost Obligation = (Revenue Stream Estimate—Competitive Market Value Estimate) × Length of Obligation (reasonable expectation period).
(3) Rebuttable presumption.
If a public utility or transmitting utility seeks recovery of wholesale stranded costs associated with an existing wholesale requirements contract, as permitted in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, and the existing wholesale requirements contract contains a notice provision, there will be a rebuttable presumption that the utility had no reasonable expectation of continuing to serve the customer beyond the term of the notice provision.
(4) Procedure for customer to obtain stranded cost estimate.
A customer under an existing wholesale requirements contract with a public utility seller may obtain from the seller an estimate of the customer's stranded cost obligation if it were to leave the public utility's generation supply system by filing with the public utility a request for an estimate at any time prior to the termination date specified in its contract.
(i)
The public utility must provide a response within 30 days of receiving the request. The response must include:
(A)
An estimate of the customer's stranded cost obligation based on the formula in paragraph (c)(2)(iii) of this section;
(C)
A detailed rationale justifying the basis for the utility's reasonable expectation of continuing to serve the customer beyond the termination date in the contract;
(D)
An estimate of the amount of released capacity and associated energy that would result from the customer's departure; and
(E)
The utility's proposal for any contract amendment needed to implement the customer's payment of stranded costs.
(ii)
If the customer disagrees with the utility's response, it must respond to the utility within 30 days explaining why it disagrees. If the parties cannot work out a mutually agreeable resolution, they may exercise their rights to Commission resolution under the FPA.
(5)
A customer must be given the option to market or broker a portion or all of the capacity and energy associated with any stranded costs claimed by the public utility.
(i)
To exercise the option, the customer must so notify the utility in writing no later than 30 days after the public utility files its estimate of stranded costs for the customer with the Commission.
(A)
Before marketing or brokering can begin, the utility and customer must execute an agreement identifying, at a minimum, the amount and the price of capacity and associated energy the customer is entitled to schedule, and the duration of the customer's marketing or brokering of such capacity and energy.
(ii)
If agreement over marketing or brokering cannot be reached, and the parties seek Commission resolution of disputed issues, upon issuance of a Commission order resolving the disputed issues, the customer may reevaluate its decision in paragraph (c)(5)(i) of this section to exercise the marketing or brokering option. The customer must notify the utility in writing within 30 days of issuance of the Commission's order resolving the disputed issues whether the customer will market or broker a portion or all of the capacity and energy associated with stranded costs allowed by the Commission.
(iii)
If a customer undertakes the brokering option, and the customer's brokering efforts fail to produce a buyer within 60 days of the date of the brokering agreement entered into between the customer and the utility, the customer shall relinquish all rights to broker the released capacity and associated energy and will pay stranded costs as determined by the formula in paragraph (c)(2)(iii) of this section.
(d) Recovery of retail stranded costs—
1) General requirement. A public utility may seek to recover retail stranded costs through rates for retail transmission services only if the state regulatory authority does not have authority under state law to address stranded costs at the time the retail wheeling is required.
(2) Evidentiary demonstration necessary for retail stranded cost recovery.
A public utility seeking to recover retail stranded costs in accordance with paragraph (d)(1) of this section must demonstrate that:
(i)
It incurred costs to provide service to a retail customer that obtains retail wheeling based on a reasonable expectation that the utility would continue to serve the customer; and
(ii)
The stranded costs are not more than the customer would have contributed to the utility had the customer remained a retail customer of the utility.