House Bill hb1601
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1601
By Representative Maygarden
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to environmental cost recovery
3 for electric utilities; amending s. 366.8255,
4 F.S.; redefining the term "environmental
5 compliance costs" to include certain costs
6 relating to air quality; providing an effective
7 date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 Section 1. Section 366.8255, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 366.8255 Environmental cost recovery.--
14 (1) As used in this section, the term:
15 (a) "Electric utility" or "utility" means any
16 investor-owned electric utility that owns, maintains, or
17 operates an electric generation, transmission, or distribution
18 system within the State of Florida and that is regulated under
19 this chapter.
20 (b) "Commission" means the Florida Public Service
21 Commission.
22 (c) "Environmental laws or regulations" includes all
23 federal, state, or local statutes, administrative regulations,
24 orders, ordinances, resolutions, or other requirements that
25 apply to electric utilities and are designed to protect the
26 environment.
27 (d) "Environmental compliance costs" includes all
28 costs or expenses incurred by an electric utility in complying
29 with environmental laws or regulations, including but not
30 limited to:
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1601
555-170-02
1 1. Inservice capital investments, including the
2 electric utility's last authorized rate of return on equity
3 thereon;
4 2. Operation and maintenance expenses;
5 3. Fuel procurement costs;
6 4. Purchased power costs;
7 5. Emission allowance costs; and
8 6. Direct taxes on environmental equipment; and
9 7. Costs or expenses incurred by an electric utility
10 pursuant to an agreement entered into prior to January 1,
11 2003, between the electric utility and the Florida Department
12 of Environmental Protection or the United States Environmental
13 Protection Agency for the purpose of preventing imminent
14 noncompliance with applicable ozone ambient air quality
15 standards by an electrical generating facility owned by the
16 electric utility.
17 (2) An electric utility may submit to the commission a
18 petition describing the utility's proposed environmental
19 compliance activities and projected environmental compliance
20 costs in addition to any Clean Air Act compliance activities
21 and costs shown in a utility's filing under s. 366.825. If
22 approved, the commission shall allow recovery of the utility's
23 prudently incurred environmental compliance costs, including
24 the costs incurred in compliance with the Clean Air Act, and
25 any amendments thereto or any change in the application or
26 enforcement thereof, through an environmental compliance
27 cost-recovery factor that is separate and apart from the
28 utility's base rates. An adjustment for the level of costs
29 currently being recovered through base rates or other
30 rate-adjustment clauses must be included in the filing.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1601
555-170-02
1 (3) The environmental compliance cost-recovery factor
2 must be set periodically, but at least annually, based on
3 projections of the utility's environmental compliance costs
4 during the forthcoming recovery period, and must be adjusted
5 for variations in line losses. The environmental compliance
6 cost-recovery factor must provide for periodic true-up of the
7 utility's actual environmental compliance costs with the
8 projections on which past factors have been set, and must
9 further require that any refund or collection made as part of
10 the true-up process include interest.
11 (4) Environmental compliance costs recovered through
12 the environmental cost-recovery factor shall be allocated to
13 the customer classes using the criteria set out in s.
14 366.06(1), taking into account the manner in which similar
15 types of investment or expense were allocated in the company's
16 last rate case.
17 (5) Recovery of environmental compliance costs under
18 this section does not preclude inclusion of such costs in base
19 rates in subsequent rate proceedings, if that inclusion is
20 necessary and appropriate; however, any costs recovered in
21 base rates may not also be recovered in the environmental
22 cost-recovery clause.
23 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
24 law.
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27 HOUSE SUMMARY
28
Provides that the costs for expenses incurred by an
29 electric utility pursuant to certain agreements with
state or federal environmental agencies to prevent
30 imminent noncompliance with ozone ambient air quality
standards may be recovered by the utility.
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