Section 362-A:2-a Purchase of Output by Private Sector.
I. A limited producer of electrical energy shall have the authority to sell its produced electrical energy to not more than 3 purchasers other than the franchise electric utility, unless additional authority to sell is otherwise allowed by statute or commission order. Such purchaser may be any individual, partnership, corporation, or association. The commission may authorize a limited producer, including eligible customer-generators, to sell electricity at retail, either directly or indirectly through an electricity supplier, within a limited geographic area where the purchasers of electricity from the limited producer shall not be charged a transmission tariff or rate for such sales if transmission facilities or capacity under federal jurisdiction are not used or needed for the transaction. The public utilities commission shall review and approve all contracts concerning a retail sale of electricity pursuant to this section. The public utilities commission shall not set the terms of such contracts but may disapprove any contract which in its judgment:
(a) Fails to protect both parties against excessive liability or undue risk, or
(b) Entails substantial cost or risk to the electric utility in whose franchise area the sale takes place, or
(c) Is inconsistent with the public good.
II. Upon request of a limited producer, any franchised electrical public utility in the transmission area shall transmit electrical energy from the producer's facility to the purchaser's facility in accordance with the provisions of this section. The producer shall compensate the transmitter for all costs incurred in wheeling and delivering the current to the purchaser. The public utilities commission must approve all such agreements for the wheeling of power and retains the right to order such wheeling and to set such terms for a wheeling agreement including price that it deems necessary. The public utilities commission or any party involved in a wheeling transaction may demand a full hearing before the commission for the review of any and all of the terms of a wheeling agreement.
III. Before ordering an electric utility to wheel power from a limited electric producer or before approving any agreement for the wheeling of power, the public utilities commission must find that such an order or agreement:
(a) Is not likely to result in a reasonably ascertainable uncompensated loss for any party affected by the wheeling transaction.
(b) Will not place an undue burden on any party affected by the wheeling transaction.
(c) Will not unreasonably impair the reliability of the electric utility wheeling the power.
(d) Will not impair the ability of the franchised electric utility wheeling the power to render adequate service to its customers.
Source. 1979, 411:1. 1998, 261:5, eff. Aug. 25, 1998.