§1323. Procedures for new electric generating capacity.

(a) Excess capacity costs.--Whenever a public utility claims the costs of an electric generating unit in its rates for the first time and the commission finds that the unit results in the utility having excess capacity, the commission shall disallow from the utility's rates, in the same proportion as found to be excess capacity:

(1) the return on specific unit or units of any excess generating reserve;

(2) the return on the average net original cost per megawatt of the utility's generating capacity; or

(3) the equity investment in the new unit.

In addition to the disallowances set forth in this subsection, the commission may disallow any other costs of the unit or units which the commission deems appropriate. For the purposes of this section, a rebuttable presumption is created that a unit or units or portion thereof shall be determined to be excess unless found to be needed to meet the utility's customer demand plus a reasonable reserve margin in the test year or the year following the test year, or, if it is a base load unit, it is also found to produce annual economic benefits which will exceed the total annual cost of the plant during the test year or within a reasonable period following the test year.

(b) Units which are out of service.--Whenever an electric generating unit, determined by the commission to be a base load unit, is first claimed in the rates of a public utility and the unit is out of service at the time that the commission makes its final decision in the case in which the unit's costs are claimed, the commission shall make either of the following adjustments:

(1) exclude from the utility's rates all costs associated with the unit; or

(2) for a period of one year from the date of the final decision, require that the utility shall guarantee at least the level of either generation or energy savings, whichever produces the rate or rates most advantageous to the ratepayer, that the utility had estimated would be produced by the unit in the first year of its operation.

An adjustment shall be made under this subsection regardless of whether or not the new base load unit had been in service during or at the end of the test year used in the proceeding.

(c) Other powers and duties preserved.--This section shall not be construed to diminish the powers and duties of the commission under any other provision of law to reduce rates because of excess capacity or any other reason, provided that, in determining whether a base load unit, which was in commercial operation for at least one year prior to the effective date of this section, results in a public utility having excess capacity, cogeneration, for which an agreement has been entered into by the public utility within three years after the in-service date of the base load unit, shall not be considered by the commission in determining the reserve margins or economic benefits resulting from the base load unit for the first five years after the date of the cogeneration agreement.

(d) Record evidence.--Any adjustments to rates made under this section shall be made on the basis of specific findings upon evidence of record, which findings shall be set forth explicitly, together with their underlying rationale, in the final order of the commission.

(July 10, 1986, P.L.1238, No.114, eff. imd.)

Notation

1986 Amendment.  Act 114 added section 1323 and provided in section 19 that section 1323 shall be applicable to all cases pending before the commission.