196.027 Environmental trust financing.

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(1)Definitions. In this section:

(a)“Ancillary agreement” means any bond insurance policy or other financial arrangement entered into in connection with the issuance of environmental trust bonds.

(b)“Assignee” means any person to which an interest in environmental control property is sold, assigned, transferred, or conveyed and any successor to such a person.

(c)“Energy utility” means a public utility engaged in the transmission, delivery, or furnishing of natural gas by means of pipes or mains or of heat, light, or power.

(d)“Environmental control activity” means any of the following:

1. The construction, installation, or otherwise putting into place of environmental control equipment in connection with an energy utility plant that, before March 30, 2004, has been used to provide service to customers.

2. The retiring of any existing plant, facility, or other property to reduce, control, or eliminate environmental pollution in accordance with federal or state law.

(e)“Environmental control charge” means a charge paid by customers of an energy utility or its successors for the energy utility to recover environmental control costs and financing costs.

(f)“Environmental control cost” means capital cost, including capitalized cost relating to regulatory assets, incurred or expected to be incurred by an energy utility in undertaking an environmental control activity and, with respect to an environmental control activity described in par.

(d)2. , includes the unrecovered value of property that is retired, including any demolition or similar cost that exceeds the salvage value of the property. “Environmental control cost” does not include any monetary penalty, fine, or forfeiture assessed against an energy utility by a government agency or court under a federal or state environmental statute, rule, or regulation.

(g)“Environmental control equipment” means any device, equipment, structure, process, facility, or technology, owned or controlled by an energy utility, that is designed for the primary purpose of preventing, reducing, or remediating environmental pollution.

(h)“Environmental control property” means all of the following:

1. The right specified in a financing order to impose, collect, or receive environmental control charges, or to obtain adjustments to such charges as provided in this section, and any interest in such right.

2. All revenues and proceeds arising from the right and interests specified in subd. 1.

(i)“Environmental pollution” means the contamination or rendering unclean or impure of the air, land, or waters of the state, or the making of the same injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use, or deleterious to animal or plant life.

(j)“Environmental trust bonds” means bonds, debentures, notes, certificates of participation, certificates of beneficial interest, certificates of ownership, or other evidences of indebtedness that are issued by an energy utility or an assignee, the proceeds of which are used directly or indirectly to recover, finance, or refinance environmental control costs and financing costs, and that are secured by or payable from environmental control property.

(k)“Financing cost” means any of the following:

1. Interest and redemption premiums, that are payable on environmental trust bonds.

2. A payment required under an ancillary agreement, including any amount required to fund a reserve account.

3. The cost of retiring or refunding an energy utility’s existing debt and equity securities in connection with the issuance of environmental trust bonds, but only to the extent the securities were issued for the purpose of financing environmental control costs.

4. Any other reasonable cost related to issuing and servicing environmental trust bonds, including servicing fees, trustee fees, legal fees, administrative fees, placement fees, capitalized interest, and rating agency fees.

5. Any taxes and license fees imposed on the revenues generated from the collection of environmental control charges.

(L)“Financing order” means an order under sub.

(2)that allows for the issuance of environmental trust bonds, the collection of environmental control charges, and the creation of environmental control property.

(2)Financing orders.

(a)Applications. An energy utility may apply to the commission for a financing order. In addition to any other information required by the commission, an energy utility shall do all of the following in an application:

1. Describe the environmental control activities that the energy utility proposes to undertake, indicate whether the energy utility’s electric, natural gas, or steam service is associated with the activities, and describe the reasons for undertaking the activities.

2. Estimate the environmental control costs of the activities described under subd. 1.

3. Indicate whether the energy utility proposes to finance all or a portion of the costs estimated under subd. 2. with environmental trust bonds. If the energy utility proposes to finance a portion of the costs, the energy utility shall identify that portion in the application.

4. Estimate the financing costs of the environmental trust bonds proposed under subd. 3.

5. Estimate the environmental control charges necessary to recover the environmental control costs and financing costs estimated in the application and indicate whether the environmental control charges are proposed for the energy utility’s electric, natural gas, or steam service.

6. Estimate any cost savings to customers resulting from financing environmental control costs with environmental trust bonds as opposed to alternative financing methods.

(b)Commission powers and duties.

1. No later than 120 days after receiving an application under par.

(a), the commission shall, after a hearing, issue a financing order or an order rejecting the application. The commission may issue a financing order if the commission finds all of the following:

a. That the order will result in lower overall costs to customers than would alternative methods of financing environmental control activities.

b. That the proposed structuring and expected pricing of the environmental trust bonds will result in the lowest environmental control charges that are consistent with market conditions and the terms of the financing order.

c. That the financing order is otherwise consistent with the public interest, and is prudent, reasonable, and appropriate.

2. In a financing order issued to an energy utility, the commission shall do all of the following:

a. Except as provided in subds. 2. c. and 4. , specify the amount of environmental control costs and financing costs that may be recovered through environmental control charges and the period over which such costs may be recovered.

b. For the period specified in subd. 2. a. require that, as long as any customer obtains distribution service from the energy utility or its successors, the customer shall pay environmental control charges to the energy utility or its assignees regardless of whether the customer obtains other service from a different energy utility or other energy supplier.

c. Include a formula-based mechanism for making any adjustments in the environmental control charges that customers are required to pay under the order and making any adjustments that are necessary to correct for any overcollection or undercollection of the charges or to otherwise ensure the energy utility’s or assignee’s timely recovery of environmental control costs and financing costs.

d. Specify the environmental control property that is created and that may be used to pay or secure environmental trust bonds.

e. If considered appropriate by the commission, include a provision allowing for the retirement of environmental trust bonds before their termination dates.

f. Include any other conditions that the commission considers appropriate and that are not otherwise inconsistent with this section.