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30-803. Competition in retail supply of electricity; open markets

A. Public power entities may participate in retail electric competition statewide and shall open their entire service territories to competition to electricity suppliers certificated by the commission pursuant to section 40-207 and to providers of other services.

B. Public power entities shall maintain their existing service territories for electric distribution service. Public power entities shall not provide electric distribution services in the service territories of other electric distribution utilities in this state.

C. Electric distribution utilities shall continue to provide other services for the service territories they serve as follows:

1. Billing and collection services for competitive electric generation services shall be provided on a competitive basis for all retail electric customers that have competitive electric generation service.

2. Metering shall be provided on a competitive basis for all retail electric customers that have competitive electric generation service. All meters shall meet or exceed existing standards for safety, reliability and accuracy.

3. Meter reading shall be provided on a competitive basis for all retail electric customers that have competitive electric generation service.

D. Public power entities shall provide for buy-through service to any electric consumer on request at no additional charge other than charges for required transmission, distribution or ancillary services or for requested brokerage services, and any nonbypassable charges that would otherwise apply, from and after January 1, 2001.

E. Public power entities shall allow the aggregation of loads by multiple customers.

F. The governing body of a public power entity shall adopt a code of conduct to prevent anticompetitive activities that may result from the public power entity providing both competitive and noncompetitive services to retail electric customers. The code of conduct shall address at least the following issues:

1. Policies for allocating costs between noncompetitive and competitive activities to avoid cross-subsidization.

2. Policies to prevent employees providing noncompetitive services from directing retail electric customers to the public power entity's competitive services.

3. Policies to prevent employees from transferring proprietary information gained in the performance of noncompetitive services to employees engaged in performing competitive services without the consent of the retail electric customer.

4. Policies to provide retail electric customers with complete and accurate disclosure of which services are competitive and which services are noncompetitive.

5. Policies to prohibit preferential treatment when providing noncompetitive services based on a retail electric customer's provider of competitive services.

G. To ensure compliance with the process and procedures established in the code of conduct pursuant to subsection F of this section, each public power entity shall prepare annually the following reports that shall be made available to the public:

1. A list of all extraordinary circumstances excusing the public power entity's compliance with the code of conduct and a report explaining the nature, cause and duration of each incident.

2. A report detailing the costs associated with all transactions between the public power entity and its competitive retail electric affiliates, with the associated costs reported separately for each business activity and for each transaction.

3. A report detailing how many customers receiving competitive generation service were provided metering services or meter reading services by the public power entity and how many competitive electricity suppliers received consolidated billing services.

H. The governing body of a public power entity shall provide a dispute resolution process including nonbinding third party arbitrators or mediators for customers and interested parties filing a complaint regarding activities that are governed by the policies established pursuant to subsection F of this section. Knowingly and intentionally violating the provisions of this section shall result in the same civil penalties that apply to public service corporations for similar violations.

I. The provisions of subsection B of this section are subject to legislative review in 2008. The review shall include recommendations on whether public power entities should retain their then existing distribution service territories.