AI-assisted research summary: An electric utility company may recover certain prudently incurred on-island transmission infrastructure costs through an automatic rate adjustment clause, and the commission must set up or adjust that clause for timely recovery.
(a) An electric utility company may recover, through an automatic rate adjustment clause, its revenue requirement resulting from the capital costs that it prudently incurs for on-island transmission infrastructure; provided that the commission has approved the utility's commitment of capital expenditure costs for the project. (b) To provide for timely recovery of the revenue requirement, the commission shall establish a separate automatic rate adjustment clause for that purpose, or modify an existing automatic rate adjustment clause. The use of the automatic rate adjustment clause to recover the revenue requirement shall be allowed to continue until the revenue requirement is incorporated in rates in an electric utility company's rate case. (c) The electric utility company's revenue requirement shall include: (1) The commission-approved rate of return, as set in the electric utility company's last rate case, on the utility's net investment in the high-voltage electric transmission cable system from the acquisition date of the high-voltage electric transmission cable system, and in the on-island transmission infrastructure from the date the on-island transmission infrastructure is completed and available for service; (2) Depreciation; and (3) Revenue taxes and other relevant costs as approved by the commission. (d) The electric utility company's net investment includes costs incurred by the electric utility for planning, permitting, and constructing the on-island transmission infrastructure, including an allowance for funds used during construction where the utility finances the planning, permitting, and construction costs, less offsets such as accumulated depreciation and associated unamortized deferred income taxes. (e) The on-island transmission infrastructure shall be available for service before the commercial operations date of the high-voltage electric transmission cable system. Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter to the contrary, at the time the commission approves the electric utility company's commitment of capital expenditure costs for the project, the commission may either: (1) Allow the electric utility company to recover its approved revenue requirement resulting from the capital costs that it prudently incurs for on-island infrastructure at the time that the infrastructure is available for service; or (2) Allow the company to continue to accrue an allowance for funds used during construction on such prudently incurred capital costs until the commercial operations date for the high-voltage electric transmission system. (f) If the electric utility company elects not to complete the on-island transmission infrastructure, and the commission approves this election, or the electric utility company is precluded from completing construction of the on-island transmission infrastructure, the electric utility company shall be allowed to recover reasonable costs determined by the commission to have been prudently incurred by the electric utility company with respect to the on-island transmission infrastructure. The electric utility company shall be allowed by the commission to recover the reasonable costs through the cable surcharge over a period equal to the period during which the costs were incurred or five years, whichever is greater. [L 2012, c 165, pt of §2]