CHAPTER 33. JURISDICTION AND POWERS OF MUNICIPALITY
UTILITIES CODE
TITLE 2. PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY ACT
SUBTITLE B. ELECTRIC UTILITIES
CHAPTER 33. JURISDICTION AND POWERS OF MUNICIPALITY
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 33.001. MUNICIPAL JURISDICTION. (a) To provide fair,
just, and reasonable rates and adequate and efficient services,
the governing body of a municipality has exclusive original
jurisdiction over the rates, operations, and services of an
electric utility in areas in the municipality, subject to the
limitations imposed by this title.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the governing body of a
municipality shall not have jurisdiction over the BPL system, BPL
services, telecommunications using BPL services, or the rates,
operations, or services of the electric utility or transmission
and distribution utility to the extent that such rates,
operations, or services are related, wholly or partly, to the
construction, maintenance, or operation of a BPL system used to
provide BPL services to affiliated or unaffiliated entities.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., 2nd C.S., Ch.
2, Sec. 1, eff. September 7, 2005.
Sec. 33.002. SURRENDER OF MUNICIPAL JURISDICTION TO COMMISSION.
(a) A municipality shall regulate all local utility service in
the municipality until the commission assumes jurisdiction over a
local utility under this subtitle.
(b) A municipality may elect to have the commission exercise
exclusive original jurisdiction over electric utility rates,
operations, and services in the municipality by ordinance or by
submitting the question of the surrender of its jurisdiction to
the voters at a municipal election.
(c) The governing body of a municipality shall submit at a
municipal election the question of surrendering its jurisdiction
to the commission if the governing body receives a petition
signed by a number of qualified voters of the municipality equal
to at least the lesser of 20,000 or 10 percent of the number of
voters voting in the last preceding general election in the
municipality.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.003. REINSTATEMENT OF MUNICIPAL JURISDICTION. (a) A
municipality that surrenders its jurisdiction to the commission
may at any time reinstate its jurisdiction by a vote of the
electorate.
(b) A municipality that reinstates its jurisdiction under
Subsection (a) may not surrender that jurisdiction before the
fifth anniversary of the date of the election in which the
municipality elected to reinstate its jurisdiction.
(c) A municipality may not, by a vote of the electorate,
reinstate the jurisdiction of the governing body during the time
a case involving the municipality is pending before the
commission.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.004. AREA EXEMPT FROM COMMISSION REGULATION. (a) If a
municipality does not surrender its jurisdiction, local utility
service in the municipality is exempt from regulation by the
commission under this subtitle to the extent that this subtitle
applies to local service.
(b) The municipality may exercise in the exempt area the same
regulatory powers under the same standards and rules as the
commission or under other consistent standards and rules.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.005. EXEMPT AREA REPORTING. (a) An electric utility
serving an area exempt from commission regulation is subject to
the reporting requirements of this title.
(b) A report must be filed with:
(1) the governing body of the municipality; and
(2) the commission.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.006. COMMISSION POWERS IN NONEXEMPT AREAS. This
subchapter does not limit the duty and power of the commission to
regulate the service and rates of a municipally regulated
electric utility for service provided to another area in this
state.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.007. ALLOWABLE CHARGES. A municipality that performs a
regulatory function under this title may make each charge that is
authorized by:
(1) this title; or
(2) the applicable franchise agreement.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.008. FRANCHISE CHARGES. (a) Following the end of the
freeze period for a municipality that has been served by an
electric utility, and following the date a municipally owned
utility or an electric cooperative has implemented customer
choice for a municipality that has been served by that
municipally owned utility or electric cooperative, a municipality
may impose on an electric utility, transmission and distribution
utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative, as
appropriate, that provides distribution service within the
municipality a reasonable charge as specified in Subsection (b)
for the use of a municipal street, alley, or public way to
deliver electricity to a retail customer. A municipality may not
impose a charge on:
(1) an electric utility, or transmission and distribution
utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative for
electric service provided outside the municipality;
(2) a qualifying facility;
(3) an exempt wholesale generator;
(4) a power marketer;
(5) a retail electric provider;
(6) a power generation company;
(7) a person that generates electricity on and after January 1,
2002; or
(8) an aggregator, as that term is defined by Section 39.353.
(b) If a municipality collected a charge or fee for a franchise
to use a municipal street, alley, or public way from an electric
utility, a municipally owned utility, or an electric cooperative
before the end of the freeze period, the municipality, after the
end of the freeze period or after implementation of customer
choice by the municipally owned utility or electric cooperative,
as appropriate, is entitled to collect from each electric
utility, transmission and distribution utility, municipally owned
utility, or electric cooperative that uses the municipality's
streets, alleys, or public ways to provide distribution service a
charge based on each kilowatt hour of electricity delivered by
the utility to each retail customer whose consuming facility's
point of delivery is located within the municipality's
boundaries. The charge imposed shall be equal to the total
electric franchise fee revenue due the municipality from electric
utilities, municipally owned utilities, or electric cooperatives,
as appropriate, for calendar year 1998 divided by the total
kilowatt hours delivered during 1998 by the applicable electric
utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative to
retail customers whose consuming facilities' points of delivery
were located within the municipality's boundaries. The
compensation a municipality may collect from each electric
utility, transmission and distribution utility, municipally owned
utility, or electric cooperative providing distribution service
shall be equal to the charge per kilowatt hour determined for
1998 multiplied times the number of kilowatt hours delivered
within the municipality's boundaries.
(c) The municipal franchise charges authorized by this section
shall be considered a reasonable and necessary operating expense
of each electric utility, transmission and distribution utility,
municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative that is
subject to a charge under this section. The charge shall be
included in the nonbypassable delivery charges that a customer's
retail electric provider must pay under Section 39.107 to the
utility serving the customer.
(d) The municipal franchise charges authorized by this section
are in lieu of any franchise charges or fees payable under a
franchise agreement in effect before the expiration of the freeze
period or, as appropriate, before the implementation of customer
choice by a municipally owned utility or electric cooperative.
Except as otherwise provided by this section, this section does
not affect a provision of a franchise agreement in effect before
the end of the freeze period or, as appropriate, before the
implementation of customer choice by a municipally owned utility
or electric cooperative.
(e) A municipality may conduct an audit or other inquiry or may
pursue any cause of action in relation to an electric utility's,
transmission and distribution utility's, municipally owned
utility's, or electric cooperative's payment of charges
authorized by this section only if such audit, inquiry, or
pursuit of a cause of action concerns a payment made less than
two years before commencement of such audit, inquiry, or pursuit
of a cause of action; provided, however, that this subsection
does not apply to an audit, inquiry, or cause of action commenced
before September 1, 1999. An electric utility, transmission and
distribution utility, municipally owned utility, or electric
cooperative shall, on request of the municipality in connection
with a municipal audit, identify the service provider and the
type of service delivered for any service in addition to
electricity delivered directly to retail customers through the
utility's electricity-conducting facilities that are located in
the municipality's streets, alleys, or public ways and for which
the utility receives compensation.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, on the
expiration of a franchise agreement existing on September 1,
1999, an electric utility, transmission and distribution utility,
municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative and a
municipality may mutually agree to a different level of
compensation or to a different method for determining the amount
the municipality may charge for the use of a municipal street,
alley, or public way in connection with the delivery of
electricity at retail within the municipality.
(g) After the end of the freeze period or after implementation
of customer choice by the municipally owned utility or electric
cooperative, as appropriate, a newly incorporated municipality or
a municipality that has not previously collected compensation for
the delivery of electricity at retail within the municipality may
adopt and collect compensation based on the same rate per
kilowatt hour that is collected by any other municipality in the
same county that is served by the same electric utility,
transmission and distribution utility, municipally owned utility,
or electric cooperative.
(h) In this section, "distribution service" means the delivery
of electricity to all retail customers.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 15, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
SUBCHAPTER B. RATE DETERMINATION
Sec. 33.021. RATE DETERMINATION. (a) A municipality regulating
an electric utility under this subtitle shall require the utility
to submit information as necessary to make a reasonable
determination of rate base, expenses, investment, and rate of
return in the municipality.
(b) A municipality shall make a determination under Subsection
(a) using the procedures and requirements prescribed by this
title.
(c) A municipality shall retain personnel necessary to make the
determination of reasonable rates.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.022. CONSIDERATION OF REVENUES AND RETURN FROM NONEXEMPT
AREA. In establishing rates and charges in an area exempt from
commission regulation, the governing body may consider an
electric utility's revenues and return on investment in an area
that is not exempt from commission regulation.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.023. RATEMAKING PROCEEDINGS. (a) The governing body of
a municipality participating in or conducting a ratemaking
proceeding may engage rate consultants, accountants, auditors,
attorneys, and engineers to:
(1) conduct investigations, present evidence, and advise and
represent the governing body; and
(2) assist the governing body with litigation in an electric
utility ratemaking proceeding before the governing body, a
regulatory authority, or a court.
(b) The electric utility in the ratemaking proceeding shall
reimburse the governing body of the municipality for the
reasonable cost of the services of a person engaged under
Subsection (a) to the extent the applicable regulatory authority
determines is reasonable.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.024. STATEMENT OF INTENT. (a) Not later than the 31st
day before the date an electric utility files a statement of
intent under Section 36.102, the electric utility shall provide
notice of intent to file the statement to each municipality
having original jurisdiction.
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date a municipality
receives notice under Subsection (a), the municipality may
request that the electric utility file with the municipality a
statement of intent in accordance with Section 36.102.
(c) If requested by a municipality under Subsection (b), the
electric utility shall file the statement of intent with the
municipality at the same time the statement is filed with the
commission.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.025. MUNICIPAL STANDING. (a) A municipality has
standing in each case before the commission that relates to an
electric utility providing service in the municipality.
(b) A municipality's standing is subject to the right of the
commission to:
(1) determine standing in a case involving a retail service area
dispute that involves two or more electric utilities; and
(2) consolidate municipalities on an issue of common interest.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.026. JUDICIAL REVIEW. A municipality is entitled to
judicial review of a commission order relating to an electric
utility providing services in the municipality as provided by
Section 15.001.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER C. APPEAL OF MUNICIPAL ORDER
Sec. 33.051. APPEAL BY PARTY. A party to a rate proceeding
before a municipality's governing body may appeal the governing
body's decision to the commission.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.052. APPEAL BY RESIDENTS. The residents of a
municipality may appeal to the commission the decision of the
municipality's governing body in a rate proceeding by filing with
the commission a petition for review signed by a number of
qualified voters of the municipality equal to at least the lesser
of 20,000 or 10 percent of the qualified voters of the
municipality.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.053. FILING OF APPEAL. (a) An appeal under this
subchapter is initiated by filing a petition for review with the
commission and serving a copy of the petition on each party to
the original rate proceeding.
(b) The appeal must be initiated not later than the 30th day
after the date of the final decision by the governing body of the
municipality.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.054. HEARING AND ORDER. (a) An appeal under this
subchapter, Subchapter D, or Subchapter E is de novo and based on
the test year presented to the municipality.
(b) The commission shall enter a final order establishing the
rates the commission determines the municipality should have set
in the ordinance to which the appeal applies.
(c) In a proceeding involving the rates of a municipally owned
utility, the commission must enter a final order on or before the
185th day after the date the appeal is perfected or the utility
files a rate application as prescribed by Section 33.104.
(d) In a proceeding in which a rate change is concurrently
sought from the commission under the commission's original
jurisdiction, the commission must enter a final order on or
before the later of the 120th day after the date the appeal is
perfected or the date final action must be taken in the
proceeding filed with the commission.
(e) In a proceeding not governed by Subsection (c) or (d), the
commission must enter a final order on or before the 185th day
after the date the appeal is perfected.
(f) If the commission fails to enter a final order before the
expiration of the applicable period prescribed by Subsections
(c)-(e), the rates proposed by the utility are considered to be
approved by the commission and take effect on the expiration of
that period.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.055. APPLICABILITY OF RATES. (a) Temporary or
permanent rates set by the commission are prospective and
observed from the date of the applicable commission order, except
an interim rate order necessary to effect uniform system-wide
rates or to provide an electric utility the opportunity to avoid
confiscation during the period beginning on the date a petition
for review is filed with the commission and ending on the date of
a final order establishing rates.
(b) The commission shall order interim rates on a prima facie
showing by the electric utility that it has experienced
confiscation during that period. The electric utility shall
refund or credit against future bills:
(1) money collected under the interim rates in excess of the
rate finally ordered; and
(2) interest on that money, at the current rate as determined by
the commission.
(c) In this section, "confiscation" includes negative cash flow
experienced by an electric utility at any time a rate case
proceeding is pending.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER D. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO APPEAL BY RATEPAYERS
OUTSIDE MUNICIPALITY
Sec. 33.101. APPEAL BY RATEPAYERS OUTSIDE MUNICIPALITY. (a)
The ratepayers of a municipally owned utility who are outside the
municipality may appeal to the commission an action of the
governing body of the municipality affecting the municipally
owned utility's rates by filing with the commission a petition
for review signed by a number of ratepayers served by the utility
outside the municipality equal to at least the lesser of 10,000
or five percent of those ratepayers.
(b) A petition for review is properly signed if signed by a
person or the spouse of a person in whose name residential
utility service is carried.
(c) For purposes of this section, each person who receives a
separate bill is a ratepayer. A person who receives more than one
bill may not be counted as more than one ratepayer.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.102. IDENTIFICATION OF RATEPAYERS OUTSIDE MUNICIPALITY.
(a) A municipality that owns a utility shall:
(1) disclose to any person, on request, the number of ratepayers
who reside outside the municipality; and
(2) provide to any person, on request, a list of the names and
addresses of the ratepayers who reside outside the municipality.
(b) The municipality may not charge a fee for disclosing the
information under Subsection (a)(1). The municipality may charge
a reasonable fee for providing information under Subsection
(a)(2).
(c) The municipality shall provide information requested under
Subsection (a)(1) by telephone or in writing, as preferred by the
person making the request.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.103. FILING OF APPEAL. (a) Not later than the 14th day
after the date a governing body of a municipality makes a final
decision, the municipality shall issue a written report stating
the effect of the decision on each class of ratepayer.
(b) An appeal under this subchapter is initiated by filing a
petition for review with the commission and serving a copy of the
petition on each party to the original rate proceeding.
(c) The appeal must be initiated not later than the 45th day
after the date the municipality issues the written report
required by Subsection (a).
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.104. RATE APPLICATION. Not later than the 90th day
after the date a petition for review is filed that complies with
Section 33.103, the municipality shall file with the commission a
rate application that complies in all material respects with the
rules and forms prescribed by the commission. The commission may,
for good cause shown, extend the period for filing a rate
application.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER E. RATE DETERMINATION AND APPEAL OF ORDERS OF CERTAIN
MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
Sec. 33.121. APPLICATION OF COMMISSION REVIEW. A municipally
owned utility is subject to this subchapter if the utility is a
utility:
(1) whose rates are appealed under Subchapter D;
(2) for which the commission orders a decrease in annual nonfuel
base revenues that exceeds the greater of $25,000,000 or 10
percent of the utility's nonfuel base revenues, as computed on a
total system basis without regard to the utility's municipal
boundaries and established in the appealed rate ordinance; and
(3) for which the commission finds that the rates paid by the
combined residential or other major customer class, other than a
class in which the municipality is the customer of the
municipally owned utility, are removed from cost-of-service
levels to the extent that, under the nonfuel base revenue
requirement adopted by the commission as computed on a total
system basis without regard to the municipality's boundaries, a
change in nonfuel base rate revenues in excess of 50 percent from
adjusted test year levels would be required to move that class to
a relative rate of return of unity (1.00 or 100 percent) under
the cost-of-service methodology adopted by the commission in an
appeal under Subchapter D.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.122. REVIEW OF CERTAIN RATE DECISIONS. (a) Except as
provided by Subsections (b)-(f), for a period of 10 years
beginning on the later of August 28, 1989, or the effective date
of the rate ordinance that is the subject of the commission's
final order invoking the application of this section, the
commission has appellate jurisdiction over the rates charged by
the municipally owned utility, both inside and outside the
municipality, in the same manner and subject to the same
commission powers and authority provided by this subtitle for an
electric utility.
(b) The commission has jurisdiction to review the cost
allocation and rate design methodologies adopted by the governing
body of a municipally owned utility subject to this section. If
the commission finds that the cost-of-service methodologies
result in rates that are unjust, unreasonable, or unreasonably
discriminatory, or unduly preferential to a customer class, the
commission may order the implementation of ratesetting
methodologies the commission finds reasonable.
(c) The commission shall ensure that a customer class, other
than a class in which the municipality is the customer of the
municipally owned utility, does not pay rates that result in a
relative rate of return of more than 115 percent under the
cost-of-service methodology found reasonable by the commission. A
customer class may not experience a percentage base rate increase
that is greater than 1-1/2 times the system average base
increase. In moving an above-cost class toward cost-of-service
levels, each class farthest above cost shall be moved
sequentially toward cost so that no above-cost class moves toward
cost until no other class is further removed from cost.
(d) A municipality subject to this section may design
residential rates, as a matter of intra-class rate design, to
accomplish reasonable energy conservation goals, notwithstanding
any other provision of this title.
(e) The commission's jurisdiction under this section may be
invoked by any party to a local rate proceeding required by this
section in the same manner as an appeal of the rates of an
electric utility under Section 33.051.
(f) The commission's jurisdiction under this section does not
extend to a municipally owned utility's:
(1) revenue requirements, whether base rate or fuel revenues;
(2) invested capital;
(3) return on invested capital;
(4) debt service coverage ratio; or
(5) level of transfer of revenues from the utility to the
municipality's general fund.
(g) The governing body of a municipally owned utility subject to
this section shall establish procedures similar to the procedures
of a municipality that retains original jurisdiction under
Section 33.001 to regulate an electric utility operating in the
municipality. The procedures must include a public hearing
process in which an affected ratepayer is granted party status on
request and is grouped for purposes of participation in
accordance with common or divergent interests, including the
particular interests of all-electric residential ratepayers and
residential ratepayers outside the municipality.
(h) This section does not require the governing body of a
municipality or the governing board of a municipally owned
utility subject to this section to adopt procedures that require
the use of the Texas Rules of Evidence, the Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure, or the presentation of sworn testimony or any other
form of sworn evidence.
(i) The governing body of a municipally owned utility subject to
this section shall appoint a consumer advocate to represent the
interests of residential and small commercial ratepayers in the
municipality's local rate proceedings. The consumer advocate's
reasonable costs of participating in a proceeding, including the
reasonable costs of ratemaking consultants and expert witnesses,
shall be funded by and recovered from residential and small
commercial ratepayers.
(j) The commission shall adopt rules applicable to a party to an
appeal under Subchapter D that provide for the public disclosure
of financial and in-kind contributions and expenditures related
to preparing and filing an appeal petition and preparing expert
testimony or legal representation for an appeal. A party or
customer who is a member of a party who makes a financial
contribution or in-kind contribution to assist in an appeal by
another party or customer class under Subchapter D shall be
required, on a finding of the commission to that effect, to pay
the municipally owned utility a penalty equivalent in amount to
two times the amount of the contribution.
(k) This section does not limit the right of a party or customer
to spend money to represent its own interests following the
filing of a petition with the commission under Subchapter D.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 33.123. REVIEW OF CERTAIN DECISIONS FOR RATES CHARGED
OUTSIDE MUNICIPALITY. (a) For a period of 10 years beginning on
the later of August 28, 1989, or the effective date of the rate
ordinance that is the subject of the commission's final order
invoking the application of this section, the commission has
appellate jurisdiction over the rates charged by the municipally
owned utility, outside the municipality, as provided by this
section.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a ratepayer of
a municipally owned utility subject to this section who resides
outside the municipality may appeal any action of the governing
body of a municipality affecting the rates charged by the
municipally owned utility outside the municipality by filing a
petition for review with the commission in the manner provided
for an appeal under Subchapter D. The petition must plainly
disclose that the cost of the appeal will be funded by a
surcharge on the monthly electric bills of ratepayers outside the
municipality as prescribed by the commission.
(c) After the commission approves the sufficiency of a petition,
the appellants shall submit to the office for approval a budget
itemizing the scope and expected cost of consultant services to
be purchased by the appellants in the appeal.
(d) Not later than the 120th day after the date the commission
enters its final order, the municipality shall assess a onetime
surcharge on a per capita basis among residential ratepayers who
reside outside the municipality to pay the reasonable consultant
and legal costs approved by the counsellor. The municipality
shall reimburse the appellants for incurred costs not later than
the 90th day after the date the commission enters its final
order.
(e) A municipality may not:
(1) include the costs associated with its defense of an appeal
under this section in the rates charged a ratepayer outside the
municipality; or
(2) if the municipality appeals an order entered by the
commission under this section, include the costs associated with
its appeal in the rates charged a ratepayer outside the
municipality.
(f) A ratepayer who brings an appeal under this section may not
receive funding for rate case expenses except from a residential
ratepayer who resides outside the municipality or from another
municipality inside whose boundaries the municipally owned
utility provides service. The commission shall adopt rules for
reporting financial and in-kind contributions in support of an
appeal under this section. If the commission finds that an
appellant has received contributions from a source other than
from a ratepayer who resides outside the municipality or from
another municipality, the appeal and each commission order
entered in the appeal are void.
(g) The commission has jurisdiction in an appeal under this
section to review and ensure that the revenue requirements of a
municipally owned utility subject to this section are reasonable.
The jurisdiction under this subsection does not extend to
regulating the use and level of a transfer of the utility's
revenues to the municipality's general fund.
(h) The commission has jurisdiction to review the cost
allocation and rate design methodologies adopted by the governing
body of a municipally owned utility subject to this section. If
the commission finds that the cost-of-service methodologies
result in rates that are unjust, unreasonable, or unreasonably
discriminatory or unduly preferential to a customer class, the
commission may order the implementation of ratesetting
methodologies the commission finds reasonable. The commission's
jurisdiction under this subsection does not include intra-class
residential rate design.
(i) An intervenor in an appeal under this section is limited to
presenting evidence on cost allocation and rate design
methodologies, except that an intervenor may present evidence in
support of the municipality on an issue related to utility
revenues.
(j) A ratepayer of a municipally owned utility subject to this
section who resides outside the municipality may elect to
petition for review under either this section or Subchapter D
when appealing a rate ordinance or other ratesetting action of
the governing body of a municipality.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.